DOCSLIB.ORG

The Evelyn T. Butts Story Kenneth Cooper Alexa

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Developing and Sustaining Political Citizenship for Poor and Marginalized People: The Evelyn T. Butts Story Kenneth Cooper Alexander ORCID Scholar ID# 0000-0001-5601-9497 A Dissertation Submitted to the PhD in Leadership and Change Program of Antioch University in partial fulfillment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2019 This dissertation has been approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Ph.D. in Leadership and Change, Graduate School of Leadership and Change, Antioch University. Dissertation Committee • Dr. Philomena Essed, Committee Chair • Dr. Elizabeth L. Holloway, Committee Member • Dr. Tommy L. Bogger, Committee Member Copyright 2019 Kenneth Cooper Alexander All rights reserved Acknowledgements When I embarked on my doctoral work at Antioch University’s Graduate School of Leadership and Change in 2015, I knew I would eventually share the fruits of my studies with my hometown of Norfolk, Virginia, which has given so much to me. I did not know at the time, though, how much the history of Norfolk would help me choose my dissertation topic, sharpen my insights about what my forebears endured, and strengthen my resolve to pass these lessons forward to future generations. Delving into the life and activism of voting-rights champion Evelyn T. Butts was challenging, stimulating, and rewarding; yet my journey was never a lonely one. Throughout my quest, I was blessed with the support, patience, and enduring love of my wife, Donna, and our two sons, Kenneth II and David, young men who will soon begin their own pursuits in higher education. Their embrace of my studies constantly reminded me of how important family and community have been throughout my life. This remarkable achievement is also theirs. My deepest thanks also go to my late parents, David Alexander and Ruby Rebecca Cooper, and my late grandmother, Ruby Rose Cooper, and to many community mentors. A complete list of people who gave me positive guidance from childhood through my formative years in the public and political arenas might resemble a village telephone book, but I must single out a few. They include Elwood “Coach” Williams, the former director of the Southside Boys & Girls Club; longtime neighborhood leader George Banks; the late Horace C. Downing; the late Minnie Madrey; the late Yvonne B. Miller, Ph.D., the first African American woman elected to the Virginia House of Delegates, the first African American woman elected to the Senate of Virginia, and the first to chair a Virginia General Assembly standing committee; and my Antioch Missionary Baptist Church family. i I also owe a great debt of gratitude to so many other people who were generous with their time and insights, including Dr. Stephen Shaw, faculty research librarian at Antioch’s Graduate School of Leadership and Change, and Norfolk City Hall staff in the mayor’s office, city planning, voter registration, and the public library, especially in the Sergeant Memorial Collection. The resources at Old Dominion University’s Patricia W. and J. Douglas Perry Library and Norfolk State University’s Harrison B. Wilson Archives (and especially the efforts of NSU’s Annette Montgomery) proved invaluable. There are so many friends to thank, but I want to give special recognition to Michael Knepler and his wife, Barbara Taychert, both retired journalists, and Dr. Battinto Batts, Journalism Fund director, Scripps Howard Foundation, all of whom rendered much constructive advice about writing, and to Rodney Jordan for sharing archival material from his late uncle, Joseph A. Jordan Jr., who was Mrs. Butts’ close friend and attorney. Thanks, too, to political scientist Dr. Leslie A. Caughell of Virginia Wesleyan University as well as to the university’s Center for the Study of Religious Freedom, to historian Dr. Charles Ford of Norfolk State University, and to my great team of employees at Metropolitan Funeral Service for easing my professional burdens to allow me more time for my studies. I found enthusiasm and encouragement for my study of Evelyn Butts from so many people but especially from my leadership studies adviser, Dr. Jon Wergin, professor of Education Studies in Antioch’s Graduate School of Leadership and Change, and my dissertation committee members, Dr. Philomena Essed, professor of Critical Race, Gender and Leadership Studies in Antioch’s Graduate School of Leadership and Change; Dr. Elizabeth L. Holloway, professor of psychology in Antioch’s Graduate School of Leadership and Change; and Dr. Tommy L. Bogger, professor of history and university archivist at Norfolk State University. Each of you presented ii me with thoughtful challenges and pushed me to clarify where needed, sharpen my focus in various sections, and made sure I produced a dissertation that I could build upon for future publication. Of course, I never would have gotten very far in this project if not for the people who knew Evelyn Butts and agreed to be interviewed, including her daughter, Charlene Butts Ligon. Your names are highlighted in Chapters IV. Thank you for not only telling me about your experiences but for providing valuable personal and historical context for what was happening in Norfolk during the years of Mrs. Butts’ heyday as an activist. Because of you, this study of Evelyn Butts has become much more than an academic achievement in the advancement of my education. By sharing your stories, you have helped our community understand how much we have benefited by the social justice activism, leadership, and legacy of Evelyn Thomas Butts. iii Abstract This study tells the deep, rich story of Evelyn T. Butts, a grassroots civil rights champion in Norfolk, Virginia, whose bridge leadership style can teach and inspire new generations about political, community, and social change. Butts used neighbor-to-neighbor skills to keep her community connected with the national civil rights movement, which had heavily relied on grassroots leaders—especially women—for much of its success in overthrowing America’s Jim Crow system of segregation and suppression. She is best-known for her 1963 lawsuit that resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1966 decision to ban poll taxes for state and local elections, a democratizing event hailed as a progressive victory over the entrenchment of property and wealth as prerequisites for suffrage. Virginia required an annual $1.50 poll, while other Southern states had similar levies. Butts’ legacy from her 1954–1970 grassroots heyday is also built on what she did before and after her court victory to help blacks and poor whites attain political citizenship—the right to fully participate in political decision-making. Butts, who stood amid the continuum of black resistance leaders questing for freedom, civil rights, equality, justice, and dignity, exercised effective leadership on diverse concerns, including segregated schools, employment discrimination, and substandard housing. Self-determination for marginalized people lay at the heart of her crusades, especially for voter education, registration, and turnout. This first, full-length scholarly examination of Butts’ leadership is a qualitative study and narrative inquiry that includes the context of her times. This interdisciplinary study draws on literature in history, political science, sociology, civil rights, voting rights, critical race theory, and leadership theories, and is built on narrative analysis and constructivist/interpretivist techniques. Butts, who died in 1993, did not leave many personal writings, so research findings emerged from a triangulation of resources: interviews with friends; a self-published memoir by iv Butts’ youngest daughter; and newspaper archives. This study contributes to closing the gap in leadership literature about grassroots black women who remain unsung and understudied because of nontraditional leadership styles. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA: Antioch University Repository and Archive, http://aura.antioch.edu/ and OhioLINK ETD Center, https://etd.ohiolink.edu Keywords: Social sciences, Citizenship, African American women, Civil rights movement, Qualitative, Narrative inquiry, Narrative analysis, Poll tax, Bridge leader, Citizen leader, American history, Voting rights, Race, Class, Political development, Virginia v Table of Contents Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................................... i Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv Chapter I: Introduction .....................................................................................................................1 Overview .....................................................................................................................................1 Purpose ........................................................................................................................................2 Political Citizenship ....................................................................................................................4 The Problems ..............................................................................................................................6 A Brief Biography .....................................................................................................................10 Positionality of the Researcher .................................................................................................14
Recommended publications
  • H.Doc. 108-224 Black Americans in Congress 1870-2007

    H.Doc. 108-224 Black Americans in Congress 1870-2007

    “The Negroes’ Temporary Farewell” JIM CROW AND THE EXCLUSION OF AFRICAN AMERICANS FROM CONGRESS, 1887–1929 On December 5, 1887, for the first time in almost two decades, Congress convened without an African-American Member. “All the men who stood up in awkward squads to be sworn in on Monday had white faces,” noted a correspondent for the Philadelphia Record of the Members who took the oath of office on the House Floor. “The negro is not only out of Congress, he is practically out of politics.”1 Though three black men served in the next Congress (51st, 1889–1891), the number of African Americans serving on Capitol Hill diminished significantly as the congressional focus on racial equality faded. Only five African Americans were elected to the House in the next decade: Henry Cheatham and George White of North Carolina, Thomas Miller and George Murray of South Carolina, and John M. Langston of Virginia. But despite their isolation, these men sought to represent the interests of all African Americans. Like their predecessors, they confronted violent and contested elections, difficulty procuring desirable committee assignments, and an inability to pass their legislative initiatives. Moreover, these black Members faced further impediments in the form of legalized segregation and disfranchisement, general disinterest in progressive racial legislation, and the increasing power of southern conservatives in Congress. John M. Langston took his seat in Congress after contesting the election results in his district. One of the first African Americans in the nation elected to public office, he was clerk of the Brownhelm (Ohio) Townshipn i 1855.
  • The "Virginian-Pilot" Newspaper's Role in Moderating Norfolk, Virginia's 1958 School Desegregation Crisis

    The "Virginian-Pilot" Newspaper's Role in Moderating Norfolk, Virginia's 1958 School Desegregation Crisis

    Old Dominion University ODU Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - College of Education & Professional Studies Urban Education (Darden) Winter 1991 The "Virginian-Pilot" Newspaper's Role in Moderating Norfolk, Virginia's 1958 School Desegregation Crisis Alexander Stewart Leidholdt Old Dominion University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/urbanservices_education_etds Part of the Civil Rights and Discrimination Commons, Education Commons, Journalism Studies Commons, Mass Communication Commons, and the Race and Ethnicity Commons Recommended Citation Leidholdt, Alexander S.. "The "Virginian-Pilot" Newspaper's Role in Moderating Norfolk, Virginia's 1958 School Desegregation Crisis" (1991). Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), dissertation, , Old Dominion University, DOI: 10.25777/tb1v-f795 https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/urbanservices_education_etds/119 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Education & Professional Studies (Darden) at ODU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education by an authorized administrator of ODU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 1 THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT NEWSPAPER'S ROLE IN MODERATING NORFOLK, VIRGINIA'S 1958 SCHOOL DESEGREGATION CRISIS by Alexander Stewart Leidholdt B.A. May 1978, Virginia Wesleyan College M.S. May 1980, Clarion University Ed.S. December 1984, Indiana University A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Old Dominion Unversity in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY URBAN SERVICES OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY December, 1991 Approved By: Maurice R. Berube, Dissertation Chair Concentration Area^TFlrector ember Dean of the College of Education Member Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner.
  • HIS 315L: the United States Since 1865

    HIS 315L: the United States Since 1865

    HIS 315L: The United States since 1865 Chris Babits ※ [email protected] ※ Jermaine Thibodeaux ※ [email protected] ​ ​ ​ MTWThF ※ 1:00 to 2:30 pm ※ CLA 0.112 Supplement Friday Sessions ※ 3:00 to 4:00 pm ※ GAR 3.116 Office Hours Days, Times, and Locations Listed on Canvas Homepage Vietnam War Protesters (April 17, 1965) ​ COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course surveys American history​ from the Civil War to the present day. Through a combination of lectures, readings, and in-class discussions and activities, students will learn about some of the significant intellectual, political, social, cultural, and economic aspects of ​ ​ America’s recent past. Prominent themes include the fight for civil rights and the United States’ expanding role in international affairs. By the end of the semester, you'll have a deeper understanding of racial ideology, gender, LGBTQ rights, and U.S. foreign policy. Daily readings come in the form of primary sources and academic articles. Assignments include primary source analyses, evaluations of academic articles, attendance/participation, and a final paper. At various points in class, we will focus on refining the skills necessary for you to do well on each of these assignments. This class won't stress the memorization of names and dates. Instead, our goal is for you to think critically about why or how people and events influenced the past. Over the course of the ​ ​ ​ ​ semester, students will ask the question historians ask themselves: so what? Why must we know ​ ​ about a certain person, place, or event? What makes something historically significant? And can we foster the lessons of the past to create a better future? HIS 315L, Summer II (2017), 1 LEARNING OBJECTIVES: The American Historical Association​ (AHA) has recently engaged in a project to re-envision history pedagogy.
  • Period 6 Review

    Period 6 Review

    Period 6 Review 1865-1898 1889 “The Gospel 1865 1876 Battle of 1886 1898 Spanish- of Wealth” written 1894 Pullman Little Big Horn American War Reconstruction AFL founded Strike Era Period 6 1869 Transcontinental RR 1882 Chinese 1887 1892 Populist 1896 McKinley completed Exclusion Act passed Dawes Act Party formed elected president 1862- Pacific Railway Act passed Big Ideas of Period 6 Growth in the West Causes and Effects Railroads Free Land, Natural Resources Native Americans culture destroyed Rise of Big Business Causes and Effects Industrialization & advancements in technology Labor movement Arguments for and Against Social Darwinism Gospel of Wealth The New South: Myth or Reality Immigration New Immigration from S/E Europe Internal Migration from rural to urban areas Growth of the West Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune, letter to L. Sanderson, 1871 POV CCOT? POV – encouraging migration to the west after the Civil War CCOT – continuity of the 1840s migration with Manifest Destiny o Cut travel time to 1 week vs. 6 months o Created an integrated national market for raw materials and manufactured goods o Led to the creation of 4 standardized time zones o Sped up settlement of the west TREND in the graph CCOT? MINING o Between 1860 and 1890, $2 billion in gold and silver was mined in the west o Boom Towns – Ghost Towns o Diverse population in mining towns: whites, blacks, Mexicans & Chinese o Lead to new states and increased conflict with Native Americans CATTLE FRONTIER o Growing cities in east led to increased
  • Movement 1954-1968

    Movement 1954-1968

    CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT 1954-1968 Tuesday, November 27, 12 NEW MEXICO OFFICE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN AFFAIRS Curated by Ben Hazard Tuesday, November 27, 12 Montgomery Bus Boycott and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, The initial phase of the black protest activity in the post-Brown period began on December 1, 1955. Rosa Parks of Montgomery, Alabama, refused to give up her seat to a white bus rider, thereby defying a southern custom that required blacks to give seats toward the front of buses to whites. When she was jailed, a black community boycott of the city's buses began. The boycott lasted more than a year, demonstrating the unity and determination of black residents and inspiring blacks elsewhere. Martin Luther King, Jr., who emerged as the boycott movement's most effective leader, possessed unique conciliatory and oratorical skills. He understood the larger significance of the boycott and quickly realized that the nonviolent tactics used by the Indian nationalist Mahatma Gandhi could be used by southern blacks. "I had come to see early that the Christian doctrine of love operating through the Gandhian method of nonviolence was one of the most potent weapons available to the Negro in his struggle for freedom," he explained. Although Parks and King were members of the NAACP, the Montgomery movement led to the creation in 1957 of a new regional organization, the clergy-led Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) with King as its president. King remained the major spokesperson for black aspirations, but, as in Montgomery, little-known individuals initiated most subsequent black movements. On February 1, 1960, four freshmen at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College began a wave of student sit-ins designed to end segregation at southern lunch counters.
  • ©2013 Luis-Alejandro Dinnella-Borrego ALL RIGHTS

    ©2013 Luis-Alejandro Dinnella-Borrego ALL RIGHTS

    ©2013 Luis-Alejandro Dinnella-Borrego ALL RIGHTS RESERVED “THAT OUR GOVERNMENT MAY STAND”: AFRICAN AMERICAN POLITICS IN THE POSTBELLUM SOUTH, 1865-1901 By LUIS-ALEJANDRO DINNELLA-BORREGO A Dissertation submitted to the Graduate School-New Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in History written under the direction of Mia Bay and Ann Fabian and approved by ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ ________________________ New Brunswick, New Jersey May 2013 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION “That Our Government May Stand”: African American Politics in the Postbellum South, 1865-1913 by LUIS-ALEJANDRO DINNELLA-BORREGO Dissertation Director: Mia Bay and Ann Fabian This dissertation provides a fresh examination of black politics in the post-Civil War South by focusing on the careers of six black congressmen after the Civil War: John Mercer Langston of Virginia, James Thomas Rapier of Alabama, Robert Smalls of South Carolina, John Roy Lynch of Mississippi, Josiah Thomas Walls of Florida, and George Henry White of North Carolina. It examines the career trajectories, rhetoric, and policy agendas of these congressmen in order to determine how effectively they represented the wants and needs of the black electorate. The dissertation argues that black congressmen effectively represented and articulated the interests of their constituents. They did so by embracing a policy agenda favoring strong civil rights protections and encompassing a broad vision of economic modernization and expanded access for education. Furthermore, black congressmen embraced their role as national leaders and as spokesmen not only for their congressional districts and states, but for all African Americans throughout the South.
  • Downloadable Complete Magazine

    Downloadable Complete Magazine

    Virginia LawyerVOL. 68/NO. 3 • October 2019 VIRGINIA LAWYER REGISTER The Official Publication of the Virginia State Bar The Real Property Issue: Your Practice and Real Estate Transactions Liens That Survive Bankruptcy Common Interest Communities Transfer on Death Deeds Plus, Gifts for Lawyers Virginia Lawyer The Official Publication of the Virginia State Bar October 2019 Volume 68/Number 3 Features Noteworthy REAL PROPERTY VSB NEWS 17 Get Real: The Real Property Issue 36 2019 Diversity Forum Attracts by Ronald D. Wiley Jr. Capacity Crowd 18 No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Your Practice and Real Estate Transactions by Kay M. Creasman and Paul H. Melnick 22 Liens That Survive Bankruptcy: Is There a Better Way to Get That Message to Debtor Clients? by F. Lewis Biggs 37 The Honorable Teresa M. Chafin Invested to the Supreme Court of 24 A Review of Selected Virginia Laws and Virginia Regulations Pertaining to Common Interest 37 Virginia Law Foundation Communities and Community Managers Announces 2019 Grant Recipients by Susan Bradford Tarley 38 University of Richmond Law 26 Transfer on Death Deeds Student Wins IP Writing by Kay M. Creasman Competition 40 In Memoriam 30 Six Important Developments for Conservation Easements by Timothy Lindstrom 44 Conference of Local and Specialty Bar Associations ET AL. 42 Gifts for Lawyers Access to Legal Services 55 Listening to the Law 34 Herb Sebren of Tappahannock to Receive 2019 Powell Pro Bono Award 35 Kelly Guzzo and Consumer Litigation Associates Honored for Departments Pro Bono Work 6 Forum 51 CLE Calendar VIRGINIA LAWYER REGISTER 59 Professional Notices 56 Disciplinary Summaries 58 Virginia Lawyers: If You Need 61 Classified Ads 61 Advertiser’s Index 57 Disciplinary Proceedings Business, We Need You! 58 The Honorable Teresa M.
  • African Americans at the College of William and Mary from 1950 to 1970

    African Americans at the College of William and Mary from 1950 to 1970

    African Americans at the College of William and Mary from 1950 to 1970 By: Jacqueline Filzen 1 Introduction This paper investigates the admission policies and the experiences of the first African American students at the College of William and Mary between 1950 and 1970—the height of the civil rights era. During these tense times in American history African American emerged as leaders of social change by enrolling in institutions of higher learning such as William and Mary. In addition to exploring the experience of the first African Americans, this paper also explores the attitudes of students, faculty, and William and Mary’s administration to integration. African Americans graduated from American colleges as early as the 1820s. The first African Americans to receive a college degree included John Rosswumm, Edward Jones, and Lucius Twilight.1 These men went on to becoming successful newspaper editors, businessmen, and local politicians. Other African Americans joined their ranks and received college degrees between 1820 and 1900. “W.E.B. Dubois reported that 390 blacks had earned diplomas from white colleges and universities between 1865 and 1900”.2 Like “many of the nation’s most prestigious, predominantly white universities in the South—which did not admit any blacks until the 1950s or 1960s”3 the College of William and Mary did not admit an African American student until 1951. Its decision to admit an African American student was not due to the school’s support for integration. Rather this decision was taken to avoid any legal repercussions if the College had done otherwise. Furthermore the College only admitted its first African American student after much deliberation and consultation with the Board of Visitors and the Attorney General.
  • Nominees and Bios

    Nominees and Bios

    Nominees for the Virginia Emancipation Memorial Pre‐Emancipation Period 1. Emanuel Driggus, fl. 1645–1685 Northampton Co. Enslaved man who secured his freedom and that of his family members Derived from DVB entry: http://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/dvb/bio.asp?b=Driggus_Emanuel Emanuel Driggus (fl. 1645–1685), an enslaved man who secured freedom for himself and several members of his family exemplified the possibilities and the limitations that free blacks encountered in seventeenth‐century Virginia. His name appears in the records of Northampton County between 1645 and 1685. He might have been the Emanuel mentioned in 1640 as a runaway. The date and place of his birth are not known, nor are the date and circumstances of his arrival in Virginia. His name, possibly a corruption of a Portuguese surname occasionally spelled Rodriggus or Roddriggues, suggests that he was either from Africa (perhaps Angola) or from one of the Caribbean islands served by Portuguese slave traders. His first name was also sometimes spelled Manuell. Driggus's Iberian name and the aptitude that he displayed maneuvering within the Virginia legal system suggest that he grew up in the ebb and flow of people, goods, and cultures around the Atlantic littoral and that he learned to navigate to his own advantage. 2. James Lafayette, ca. 1748–1830 New Kent County Revolutionary War spy emancipated by the House of Delegates Derived from DVB/ EV entry: http://www.encyclopediavirginia.org/Lafayette_James_ca_1748‐1830 James Lafayette was a spy during the American Revolution (1775–1783). Born a slave about 1748, he was a body servant for his owner, William Armistead, of New Kent County, in the spring of 1781.
  • Biography Bottle Project Due Date: February 3, 2015 Students Will

    Biography Bottle Project Due Date: February 3, 2015 Students Will

    Biography Bottle Project Due Date: February 3, 2015 Students will learn as they celebrate Black History Month in February, by (1) researching facts {biographies/auto‐biographies/non‐fiction text} to write a 3 paragraph essay, in school, and (2) creating a Biography Bottles Statue/Image, at home, that will be displayed in our school library, during the month of February. It is important that all the deadlines listed below are met so that students do not fall behind and miss the due dates. The subject for the bio‐bottle project will be a famous African American that is selected, from a given list, by students and approved by the teacher on January 15th. The reading/research for this project will be done at home and at school. The reading/research should be completed by Wednesday, January 21st. Please have parents sign and return the slips listed below to teachers by Wednesday, January 21st. The completed Biography Bottle Statue/Image is due on Tuesday, February 3rd . Attached to this document is the grading rubric that I will use to for the bio bottle project. Materials needed for the bottle: 1 plastic bottle . For example: Small water or soda bottle 2 liter soda bottle Ketchup bottle Dish soap bottle o Please note the a minimum size should be at least 16 ounces, and the maximum size should be a 2 liter bottle Sand, dirt, or gravel to put in the bottom of your bottle to anchor it Things to decorate your bottle to look like the person you have researched . For example: Paint, yarn, glue, sequins, felt, beads, feathers, colored paper, pipe cleaners, Styrofoam balls, fabric, buttons, clay, googly eyes, etc.
  • Narratives of Interiority: Black Lives in the U.S. Capital, 1919 - 1942

    Narratives of Interiority: Black Lives in the U.S. Capital, 1919 - 1942

    City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 5-2015 Narratives of Interiority: Black Lives in the U.S. Capital, 1919 - 1942 Paula C. Austin Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/843 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] NARRATIVES OF INTERIORITY: BLACK LIVES IN THE U.S. CAPITAL, 1919 – 1942 by PAULA C. AUSTIN A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2015 ©2015 Paula C. Austin All Rights Reserved ii This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in History in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. ________________ ____________________________ Date Herman L. Bennett, Chair of Examining Committee ________________ _____________________________ Date Helena Rosenblatt, Executive Office Gunja SenGupta Clarence Taylor Robert Reid Pharr Michele Mitchell Supervisory Committee THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii Abstract NARRATIVES OF INTERIORITY: BLACK LIVES IN THE U.S. CAPITAL, 1919 – 1942 by PAULA C. AUSTIN Advisor: Professor Herman L. Bennett This dissertation constructs a social and intellectual history of poor and working class African Americans in the interwar period in Washington, D.C. Although the advent of social history shifted scholarly emphasis onto the “ninety-nine percent,” many scholars have framed black history as the story of either the educated, uplifted and accomplished elite, or of a culturally depressed monolithic urban mass in need of the alleviation of structural obstacles to advancement.
  • The NAACP and the Black Freedom Struggle in Baltimore, 1935-1975 Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillm

    The NAACP and the Black Freedom Struggle in Baltimore, 1935-1975 Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillm

    “A Mean City”: The NAACP and the Black Freedom Struggle in Baltimore, 1935-1975 Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By: Thomas Anthony Gass, M.A. Department of History The Ohio State University 2014 Dissertation Committee: Dr. Hasan Kwame Jeffries, Advisor Dr. Kevin Boyle Dr. Curtis Austin 1 Copyright by Thomas Anthony Gass 2014 2 Abstract “A Mean City”: The NAACP and the Black Freedom Struggle in Baltimore, 1935-1975” traces the history and activities of the Baltimore branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) from its revitalization during the Great Depression to the end of the Black Power Movement. The dissertation examines the NAACP’s efforts to eliminate racial discrimination and segregation in a city and state that was “neither North nor South” while carrying out the national directives of the parent body. In doing so, its ideas, tactics, strategies, and methods influenced the growth of the national civil rights movement. ii Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to the Jackson, Mitchell, and Murphy families and the countless number of African Americans and their white allies throughout Baltimore and Maryland that strove to make “The Free State” live up to its moniker. It is also dedicated to family members who have passed on but left their mark on this work and myself. They are my grandparents, Lucious and Mattie Gass, Barbara Johns Powell, William “Billy” Spencer, and Cynthia L. “Bunny” Jones. This victory is theirs as well. iii Acknowledgements This dissertation has certainly been a long time coming.