The NAACP and the Black Freedom Struggle in Baltimore, 1935-1975 Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillm
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“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. Although writing it sometimes seemed like a lonely endeavor, it was comforting to know that there were many people who were with me in thought and spirit. I will never be able to adequately thank them all for their encouragement, sage advice, cheers, critiques, help, and direction, but I will attempt to do so here. If I leave someone out, please charge it to my head and not my heart. First, I have to thank the Gass, Cobbs, ad Spencer families for their love, dedication, commitment, and encouragement. The “village” believed in me even before I entered the Ph.D. program and constantly rooted for me. I definitely have to thank several individuals. My mother, Sandra, has been very encouraging. My two sisters, Stacey and Tiffany, have shown love to their big brother for years and I truly appreciate it. My nieces, Taylor and Tori, inspire me to properly educate the younger generation about African American history and the struggle that still must be fought. My grandparents, Earl and Ethel Spencer, deserve special recognition, always concerned about my health and well being and sending a little “help” every now and then. My father, Tom, may not understand why I have spent so much time in Columbus, but he nonetheless cheers me on. My uncle, Dr. A. Leon Cobbs, has been my rock. The only member of my family until recently to obtain a Ph.D., he has been an extraordinary mentor, having been extremely gracious with his time, support, advice and criticism. I would like to thank another of my uncles, Sam Cobbs, for being my silent cheerleader. iv I could not have gotten through without my scholarly community. My brother, David Leon Reed, set the example. Shout out to the rest of the Morgan Five—Kim Hicks, Zena Duncan and Stephanie Francis. DeReef Jamison and Yao Ahoto also represented. Julia Njemile Goodman Gafney, Carolyn Reed and Kanika Clay were down before this all began and are here until the end. Mark Phillips has been a dedicated friend and another ‘brother’ of mine. Jason Perkins and Robert Bennett III held me down while in the History Department. Chauncey Beaty, Kerra Carson, Dana Blount, Heneryatta Ballah, Noel Voltz, Dawn Miles, Gisele Jeter-Bennett, Liseli Fitzpatrick, Dr. Tanisha Jackson, Tamara Butler, Jessica Roach, Tiffany Halsell, and Melissa Crum get special recognition. Nyron Crawford, Edwin Lee, and Leroy Long made good company (mostly!) during the Bell Fellows study sessions. Elliott Sykes for just being him. Special shout out to Janay Alston, my little sister, and her relatives, Nicole and Eric Young, Stacy Young, and Kasandra McDonald for helping me to relax and unwind—and save my sanity—by getting me out of Columbus to relax and enjoy myself. I have to give love and special thanks to Dr. Leslie Alexander-Austin for the pep talks and sooth sessions. Thanks also to Drs. Walter Rucker, James Moore for his peerless example, and Leonard Moore. Without question, Dr. JoAnn O. Robinson started me on this path by suggesting the topic and for that I am eternally grateful. Drs. Debra Ham and Suzanne Chappelle nurtured it as a master’s thesis. Dr. Rosalyn Terborg-Penn helped to see it through. Thanks to Dr. Prudence Cumberbatch for her vital support. She was the first scholar I met who studied Baltimore and I am glad that she is very willing to share her knowledge and sources with me. I would be remiss if I did not recognize Dr. Rhonda v Williams, a Charm City representative, for her work on her hometown. It is comforting to know that they strongly believe Baltimore is worthy of scholarly inquiry as well. The staff and students of my third home, the Frank W. Hale, Jr. Black Cultural Center, have always been encouraging and I am proud to be a part of the team. Thanks to Larry Williamson, Ron Parker, LaShalle Harvey-Johnson, Lee Smith, and Philip Mayo. My dissertation committee deserves special recognition, so thanks to Drs. Hasan Kwame Jeffries, Kevin Boyle and Curtis Austin for making sure I have a dissertation that is worthy of a scholar. Thanks to Dr. Theresa Delgadillo for representing the Graduate School and taking the time to read and comment on my work. I would also like to thank Dr. Judy Wu and the other participants in The Ohio State University Office of Diversity and Inclusion’s Dissertation Boot Camp in 2012. Thanks to Vice Provost Dr. Valerie Lee, Assistant Vice Provost Dr. James Moore, and the entire ODI staff for having the foresight to have such an event and ability to make it a success. I would be negligent if I did not recognize my fellowmen of Groove Phi Groove Social Fellowship, Inc., especially Jibreel Garner, the sisters of Swing Phi Swing Social Fellowship, Inc., and the rest of the Black/White/Black Dynasty. I have to thank my Bowie State University family for starting me on this path. Thanks to the Good Brothers, Baba Zak A. Kondo, Dr. M. Sammye Miller, and Dr. Mario Fenyo. Thanks to Bowie State University and Morgan State University, two of the best HBCUs, for allowing me to become a better educator. I would like to thank the library staffs of the Library of Congress, the Moorland- Spingarn Research Center, the Soper Library at Morgan State University, and the Maryland Historical Society for their hard work and guidance. I especially want to thank vi Joe Jackson and Patrick Kerwin in the Manuscripts Reading Room at the Library of Congress, who went above and beyond the call of duty in helping me find the materials that I needed. In addition, I would like to thank Dr. Adrianne Cannon, the African American archivist at the Library, for allowing me access to the Clarence and Juanita Mitchell Papers. Clarence Logan was generous with both his time and his resources. Larry Gibson reached out and I am grateful. It goes without saying that any errors of fact and interpretation found within are entirely my own. I just hope that others find this story as exciting and fascinating as I have. vii Vita May 1994 Bowie State University June 2001 Morgan State University December 2013 The Ohio State University Fields of Study Major Field: History Minor Field: African American History Minor Field: Modern American History viii Table of Contents Abstract………………………………………………………………………………….ii Dedication……………………………………………………………………………….iii Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………...iv Vita……………………………………………………………………………………..viii Introduction: Maryland: ‘The Middle State Syndrome’……………………………….....1 Chapter 1: ‘Up South Baltimore’: The Coming of the Color Line in a Border City……25 Chapter 2: “The Whole City’s Talking About the NAACP”: The Revitalization of the Baltimore NAACP and the Making of a Grassroots Organization, 1931-1935…………………………………………………...47 Chapter 3: “We Will Sue Jim Crow Out of Maryland”: The Legal Campaign Against Racial Segregation and Discrimination, 1935-1941………………93 Chapter 4: Beyond the Boundaries: The Struggle for Equal Education in Maryland….141 Chapter 5: “Everyday A Membership Day”: The Baltimore NAACP During the World War II Era………………………………………………………….190 Chapter 6: “We Believe that Baltimore Could Be A Model for the South”: Baltimore and the Road to Brown………………………………………..257 ix Chapter 7: “As Far Back as 1955”: The Baltimore NAACP and the Student Movement, 1955-1965…………………………………………………...336 Chapter 8: Targeting Baltimore: Black Power Comes to the Monument City……….385 Epilogue: Back to the Root of It All…………………………………………………..437 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………..449 x Introduction: Maryland—The Middle State Syndrome Jean Wiley was excited. It seemed almost immediately after completing her master’s degree at the University of Michigan that Tuskegee Institute, the premier black institution in Alabama, came calling, offering her a teaching position in the English Department. It was June 1964, and the timing could not have been better. Things were moving fast in the Deep South. The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was about to flood Mississippi with seasoned, battle-tested field secretaries and white volunteers in an all-out assault against the most terrifying bastion of Jim Crow segregation while also toiling in neighboring Alabama’s Black Belt counties in places like Selma, where they were starting to plant the seeds that local people would use to push not only for social and economic equality but political power as well.