DOCSLIB.ORG

© 2015 Anna Lillian Kurhajec

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
© 2015 Anna Lillian Kurhajec © 2015 Anna Lillian Kurhajec IMPOSSIBLE ALLIES: SNCC, BLACK FREEDOM, AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS LIBERAL ALLIANCE BY ANNA LILLIAN KURHAJEC DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2015 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Sundiata Keita Cha-Jua, Chair Professor David R. Roediger, Director of Research Associate Professor Emeritus Mark H. Leff Associate Professor Clarence E. Lang ABSTRACT On the eve of the fiftieth anniversary of Black Power and amidst a resurgence of national interest in African American grassroots political mobilizations under the Black Lives Matter umbrella, this dissertation argues for a reformulation of how we understand the history of the civil rights movement, Black Power, and their respective, though interrelated, relationships to Black-defined liberation, mainstream liberalism, and radical politics. By analyzing and reframing familiar debates this project pursues a more usable history for ongoing liberation struggles. It first argues that though it was politically valuable to the civil rights establishment to align itself with mainstream white liberals in the national politics, in media, and in the public sphere, this civil rights liberal alliance ultimately de-centered Black-defined interests, visions, and goals from the Black freedom struggle. While grassroots, Black-centered direct action was a key part of the civil rights liberal framework, maintaining strategic alliance with white liberals in positions of power continued to be a movement priority. From this basis this dissertation re-interprets the liberal framework of the mainstream civil rights movement by examining the uneasy relationship between the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the civil rights liberal alliance. SNCC’s political trajectory illustrates these tensions well. They were an organization of young people who were both independent from but highly influenced by existing civil rights organizations. Yet, over the course of SNCC’s organizational life, they eventually eschewed the liberal framework out of which they came. This project examines this trajectory, highlighting their call for Black Power in 1966 to demonstrate the ways in which Black Power represented a reassertion of Black-centered struggle and simultaneously, how that re-assertion was unacceptable within the framework of the civil rights liberal alliance. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my advisor, David Roediger. I would not have completed this project without his wisdom, patience, humor, and guidance. I owe much gratitude to my dissertation chair, Sundiata Keita Cha-Jua. His political passion and shrewd intellect have inspired and challenged me since I first stepped into his class in my second year of graduate school. Though he might be surprised to know it, no one has given me more support in navigating the discipline and profession than Clarence Lang. Not only does his research undergird my work, his commitment to teaching and dedication to community engagement model the kind of academic I aspire to be. Finally, I want to thank and honor the late, great historian, teacher and mentor, Mark Leff. I had the privilege of having Mark on my dissertation committee. Even in the final weeks of his life, he held true to his reputation, asking the most important and most challenging questions with the utmost humility and kindness. He is deeply missed and never forgotten. I would be remiss if I did not thank Antoinette Burton, whose brilliant work, generosity, and guidance helped me through one of the most challenging phases of my writing process. Similarly, I would like to thank members of faculty, past and present, from the department of History at the University of Illinois, especially: Jim Barrett, Kristin Hoganson, Jean Allman, Fanon Che Wilkins, Adrian Burgos, Jr., Betsy Esch, Kathy Oberdeck, Jessica Millward, Shefali Chandra, Kevin Mumford, and Tamara Chaplin. I greatly appreciate research funding from the Department of History at the University of Illinois, the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities, and the Bentley Historical Library at the University of Michigan. I would also like to recognize the continual support from my union, the Graduate Employee’s Organization, throughout my graduate career. Many colleagues and friends have given me invaluable feedback, support, and inspiration during my research and writing process. First, I thank my colleagues and cohort at the University of Illinois. Especially Sarah Frohardt-Lane, Genevieve Clutario, Andy Bruno, Ed Onaci, Julilly Kohler-Hausmann, Kwame Holmes, Brandon Mills, Emily Skidmore, Nathan Chio, Ian Hartman, Kerry Pimblott, Alonzo Ward, Martin Smith, Natalie Havlin, Joel Miyasaki, and Sarah Lazare. I would like to take this opportunity to recognize the students who took my Social iii Movements of the 1960s course at Danville Correctional Center in fall 2009. I learned so much from all of you. Finally, to friends and family who I have not yet mentioned: you have supported me in so many ways. I thank Austin McCoy, Brook Lillard, Elizabeth Sauer, Larry Brent, and James Kilgore for their solidarity, shared struggle, and continued friendship. I would not have made it without some of my oldest and dearest friends, especially Abby and Bill Caperton, Rita Lindahl- Lynch, Sarah May, Mara Schanfield, Brendan Roediger, and Sean McPherson. To my family of origin: Dana, Hannah, David, Bonnie, Neil, Matt, Greg, Marianne, Lamont, Tyler, Deion, Roger, Rosemary, Corwin, and everyone else (especially the little ones) thank you! To my mother, JoAnne Kurhajec, I have no words. You are my greatest confidant, trusted adviser, and dearest friend and now I’ve thrown the paint against the wall! I love you as big as the sky. I must also thank Popeye Blanket Roboris “Bubba” Kraken Kurhajec Livingston Seagull: no one was by my side throughout this process more than you. Our daily walks were what kept me going on many days. I know you, at least as much as me, are grateful for Jarvis Beach and Rogers Park. We will miss them everyday. Finally, to Amy Livingston, with all my heart. Absolutely no one was more integral to the completion of this project than you. You’ve graciously given so much time, energy, labor, and love supporting me in this project. You are brilliant (and the most amazing research assistant in the world). I feel so lucky to have you in my life everyday and can’t wait for all the rest. Thank you, Amy, I love you. To everyone I’ve mentioned and the many I’ve not— you know who you are. I have so much gratitude—I love you all! iv For my Mother v TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………….....…1 CHAPTER ONE: THE CIVIL RIGHTS LIBERAL ALLIANCE………….....................….24 CHAPTER TWO: THE ORIGINS OF NONVIOLENT DIRECT ACTION IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT………………………..…….....…........53 CHAPTER THREE: LIBERALISM AND BLACK HUMANITY IN SNCC’S “GOLDEN ERA”……..……………………………………………90 CHAPTER FOUR: BLACK POWER AND THE MARCH AGAINST FEAR…………...137 CHAPTER FIVE: FRAMING HISTORICAL NARRATIVES OF BLACK POWER AND SNCC.………………………………………………...176 CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………..…………..……..209 BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………..……………………218 vi INTRODUCTION In spite of compounding evidence to the contrary, most popular historical narratives (liberal and conservative) continue to celebrate the classical civil rights movement period (1954- 1965) as a hallmark of American progress. In these narratives, the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act on the heels of the 1964 Civil Rights Act ensured that African Americans were no longer second-class citizens in the United States. Though racist white outliers still existed in backwards and parochial pockets, particularly in the South, the predominant narrative tells us that the lion’s share of what was needed to overcome racial inequality in the United States had been accomplished. Such celebrations ignore the advances in systemic white supremacy and anti-Blackness that have developed in the last half-century, in the wake of, and often in direct response to, the gains of the civil rights movement. The rise of mass incarceration and mass criminalization, for example, which continue to disproportionately impact people of color and Black communities in particular, emerged after the supposed achievement of a post-civil rights racial equality. Mainstream explanations of these trends have relied on narratives of Black pathology, immorality, and individual responsibility. In fact, the legal achievements of the civil rights movement have been mobilized as justification for these narratives: African Americans caught up in the system had no one to blame but themselves. While pathologizing narratives and dehumanizing characterizations of Black people have had a continual presence in American history, they took new form in the post-civil rights era. The angry Black criminal and the undeserving welfare queen shared an inappropriate sense of entitlement and ungratefulness.1 1For more on framing entitlement see: Julilly Kohler-Hausmann, “‘The Crime of Survival’: Fraud Prosecutions, Community Surveillance, and the Original ‘Welfare Queen’,” Journal of 1 These tropes arose in juxtaposition to the image of Black humility, morality, and respectability embodied by the mythic civil rights movement figure. It is not circumstantial that the heroic civil rights leaders we often memorialize were, like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • “A Tremor in the Middle of the Iceberg”: the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Local Voting Rights Activism in Mccomb, Mississippi, 1928-1964
    “A Tremor in the Middle of the Iceberg”: The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Local Voting Rights Activism in McComb, Mississippi, 1928-1964 Alec Ramsay-Smith A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of BACHELOR OF ARTS WITH HONORS DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN April 1, 2016 Advised by Professor Howard Brick For Dana Lynn Ramsay, I would not be here without your love and wisdom, And I miss you more every day. TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... ii Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter One: McComb and the Beginnings of Voter Registration .......................... 10 Chapter Two: SNCC and the 1961 McComb Voter Registration Drive .................. 45 Chapter Three: The Aftermath of the McComb Registration Drive ........................ 78 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 102 Bibliography ................................................................................................................. 119 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I could not have done this without my twin sister Hunter Ramsay-Smith, who has been a constant source of support and would listen to me rant for hours about documents I would find or things I would learn in the course of my research for the McComb registration
    [Show full text]
  • CONTRACT Case Studies in Science Education, Volume I: the Case 658P.; for Related Documents, See SE 026 360, SE 0261 Occasional
    DOCUMENT RESUME E6 166 058 SE 026 707 AUTHOR Stake, Robert E.; And Others TITLE Case Studies in Science Education, Volume I: The Case Reports. INSTITUTION Illinois Univ., Urbana. Center for Instructional - Research and Curriculum Evaluation. SPONS AGENCY National Science Foundation, Washington, D.C. Directorate for Science Education. REPORT NO NSF-SE-78-74 PUB DATE Jan 78 CONTRACT NSF-C-7621134 NOTE 658p.; For related documents, see SE 026 360, SE 0261 708, ED 152 565 and ED 153 875-880; Contains occasional light and broken type AVAILABLE FROM Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 (Stock Number 038-000-00377-1; $7.25) EDRS PRICE MF-$1.16 HC-$35.49 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Case Studies (Education); Curriculum; Educational Research; Elementary Secondail Education; Federal Legislation; Instruction; Instructional Materials; *Mathematics Education; *Science Education; *Social Studies; State Federal Aid; *Teaching Methods" IDENTIFIERS *National Science Foundation ABSTRACT This document presents a collection of field observations, from 11 -sites, submitted as a part of the final report of a project funded by the National Science Foundation to gather data about science, mathematics and social science education in Amerlcad schools. Schools involved a variety of settings: rural-urban, racially diverse, socioeconomically different, and located throughout the United States. Field observers spend 4-15 weeks on site, gathering data. Biographical information on each field observer accompanies his/her case study. (PEB) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can_be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** U.S DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION I. WELFARE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRO- DUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVEDFROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGIN -.
    [Show full text]
  • Black Women, Educational Philosophies, and Community Service, 1865-1965/ Stephanie Y
    University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 1-1-2003 Living legacies : Black women, educational philosophies, and community service, 1865-1965/ Stephanie Y. Evans University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1 Recommended Citation Evans, Stephanie Y., "Living legacies : Black women, educational philosophies, and community service, 1865-1965/" (2003). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 915. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_1/915 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014 by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. M UMASS. DATE DUE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST LIVING LEGACIES: BLACK WOMEN, EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHIES, AND COMMUNITY SERVICE, 1865-1965 A Dissertation Presented by STEPHANIE YVETTE EVANS Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2003 Afro-American Studies © Copyright by Stephanie Yvette Evans 2003 All Rights Reserved BLACK WOMEN, EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOHIES, AND COMMUNITY SERVICE, 1865-1964 A Dissertation Presented by STEPHANIE YVETTE EVANS Approved as to style and content by: Jo Bracey Jr., Chair William Strickland,
    [Show full text]
  • Performative Citizenship in the Civil Rights and Immigrant Rights Movements
    Performative Citizenship in the Civil Rights and Immigrant Rights Movements Kathryn Abrams In August 2013, Maria Teresa Kumar, the executive director of Voto Lat mo, spoke aJongside civil rights leaders at the fiftieth anniversary of the March on Washington. A month earlier, immigrant activists invited the Reverend Al Sharpton to join a press conference outside the federal court building as they celebrated a legal victory over joe Arpaio, the anti-immigrant sheriff of Maricopa County. Undocumented youth orga­ nizing for immigration reform explained their persistence with Marlin Luther King's statement that "the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towardjustice." 1 The civil rights movement remains a potent reminder that politically marginalized groups can shape the Jaw through mobilization and col­ lective action. This has made the movement a crucial source of sym­ bolism for those activists who have come after. But it has also been a source of what sociologist Doug McAdam has called "cultural innova­ uons"2: transformative strategies and tactics that can be embraced and modified by later movements. This chapter examines the legacy of the Civil Rights Act by revisiting the social movement that produced it and comparing that movement to a recent and galvanizing successor, the movement for immigrant rights.3 This movement has not simply used the storied tactics of the civil rights movement; it has modified them 2 A Nation of Widening Opportunities in ways that render them more performative: undocumented activists implement the familiar tactics that enact, in daring and surprising ways, the public belonging to which they aspire.4 This performative dimen­ sion would seem to distinguish the immigrant rights movement, at the level of organizational strategy, from its civil rights counterpart, whose participants were constitutionally acknowledged as citizens.
    [Show full text]
  • DOUG Mcadam CURRENT POSITION
    DOUG McADAM CURRENT POSITION: The Ray Lyman Wilbur Professor of Sociology (with affiliations in American Studies, Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, and the Interdisciplinary Program in Environmental Research) Stanford University Stanford, CA 94305 PRIOR POSITIONS: Fall 2001 – Summer 2005 Director, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford, CA Fall 1998 – Summer 2001 Professor, Department of Sociology, Stanford University Spring 1983 - Summer 1998 Assistant to Full Professor, Department of Sociology, University of Arizona Fall 1979 - Winter 1982 Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, George Mason University EDUCATION: 1973 Occidental College Los Angeles, California B.S., Sociology 1977 State University of New York at Stony Brook Stony Brook, New York M.A., Sociology 1979 State University of New York at Stony Brook Stony Brook, New York Ph.D., Sociology FELLOWSHIPS AND OTHER HONORS: Post Graduate Visiting Scholar, Russell Sage Foundation, 2013-14. DOUG McADAM Page 2 Granted 2013 “Award for Distinguished Scholar,” by University of Wisconsin, Whitewater, March 2013. Named the Ray Lyman Wilbur Professor of Sociology, 2013. Awarded the 2012 Joseph B. and Toby Gittler Prize, Brandeis University, November 2012 Invited to deliver the Gunnar Myrdal Lecture at Stockholm University, May 2012 Invited to deliver the 2010-11 “Williamson Lecture” at Lehigh University, October 2010. Named a Phi Beta Kappa Society Visiting Scholar for 2010-11. Named Visiting Scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation for 2010-11. (Forced to turn down the invitation) Co-director of a 2010 Social Science Research Council pre-dissertation workshop on “Contentious Politics.” Awarded the 2010 Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service Research Prize, given annually to a scholar for their contributions to the study of “civic engagement.” Awarded the John D.
    [Show full text]
  • A Summary of the Contributions of Four Key African American Female Figures of the Civil Rights Movement
    Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Master's Theses Graduate College 12-1994 A Summary of the Contributions of Four Key African American Female Figures of the Civil Rights Movement Michelle Margaret Viera Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses Part of the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Viera, Michelle Margaret, "A Summary of the Contributions of Four Key African American Female Figures of the Civil Rights Movement" (1994). Master's Theses. 3834. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/3834 This Masters Thesis-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A SUMMARY OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF FOUR KEY AFRICAN AMERICAN FEMALE FIGURES OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT by Michelle Margaret Viera A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Department of History Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan December 1994 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My appreciation is extended to several special people; without their support this thesis could not have become a reality. First, I am most grateful to Dr. Henry Davis, chair of my thesis committee, for his encouragement and sus­ tained interest in my scholarship. Second, I would like to thank the other members of the committee, Dr. Benjamin Wilson and Dr. Bruce Haight, profes­ sors at Western Michigan University. I am deeply indebted to Alice Lamar, who spent tireless hours editing and re-typing to ensure this project was completed.
    [Show full text]
  • Women in the Modern Civil Rights Movement
    Women in the Modern Civil Rights Movement Introduction Research Questions Who comes to mind when considering the Modern Civil Rights Movement (MCRM) during 1954 - 1965? Is it one of the big three personalities: Martin Luther to Consider King Jr., Malcolm X, or Rosa Parks? Or perhaps it is John Lewis, Stokely Who were some of the women Carmichael, James Baldwin, Thurgood Marshall, Ralph Abernathy, or Medgar leaders of the Modern Civil Evers. What about the names of Septima Poinsette Clark, Ella Baker, Diane Rights Movement in your local town, city or state? Nash, Daisy Bates, Fannie Lou Hamer, Ruby Bridges, or Claudette Colvin? What makes the two groups different? Why might the first group be more familiar than What were the expected gender the latter? A brief look at one of the most visible events during the MCRM, the roles in 1950s - 1960s America? March on Washington, can help shed light on this question. Did these roles vary in different racial and ethnic communities? How would these gender roles On August 28, 1963, over 250,000 men, women, and children of various classes, effect the MCRM? ethnicities, backgrounds, and religions beliefs journeyed to Washington D.C. to march for civil rights. The goals of the March included a push for a Who were the "Big Six" of the comprehensive civil rights bill, ending segregation in public schools, protecting MCRM? What were their voting rights, and protecting employment discrimination. The March produced one individual views toward women of the most iconic speeches of the MCRM, Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a in the movement? Dream" speech, and helped paved the way for the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and How were the ideas of gender the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
    [Show full text]
  • GEOGRAPHY and SOCIAL MOVEMENTS Comparing
    GEOGRAPHY AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS Social Movements, Protest, and Contention Series Editor: Bert Klandermans, Free University, Amsterdam Associate Editors: Sidney Tarrow, Cornell University Verta A. Taylor, The Ohio State University Ron R. Aminzade, University of Minnesota Volume 12 Byron A. Miller, Geography and Social Movements: Comparing Antinuclear Activism in the Boston Area Volume 11 Mona N. Younis, Liberation and Democratization: The South African and Palestinian National Movements Volume 10 Marco Giugni, Doug McAdam, and Charles Tilly, editors, How Social Movements Matter Volume 9 Cynthia Irvin, Militant Nationalism: Between Movement and Party in Ireland and the Basque Country Volume 8 Raka Ray, Fields of Protest: Women’s Movements in India Volume 7 Michael P. Hanagan, Leslie Page Moch, and Wayne te Brake, editors, Challenging Authority: The Historical Study of Contentious Politics Volume 6 Donatella della Porta and Herbert Reiter, editors, Policing Protest: The Control of Mass Demonstrations in Western Democracies Volume 5 Hanspeter Kriesi, Ruud Koopmans, Jan Willem Duyvendak, and Marco G. Giugni, New Social Movements in Western Europe: A Comparative Analysis Volume 4 Hank Johnston and Bert Klandermans, editors, Social Movements and Culture Volume 3 J. Craig Jenkins and Bert Klandermans, editors, The Politics of Social Protest: Comparative Perspectives on States and Social Movements Volume 2 John Foran, editor, A Century of Revolution: Social Movements in Iran Volume 1 Andrew Szasz, EcoPopulism: Toxic Waste and the Movement for Environmental Justice GEOGRAPHY AND SOCIAL MOVEMENTS Comparing Antinuclear Activism in the Boston Area Byron A. Miller Social Movements, Protest, and Contention Volume 12 University of Minnesota Press Minneapolis • London Portions of this book were previously published in “Collective Action and Rational Choice: Place, Community, and the Limits to Individual Self-Interest,” Economic Geography 68, no.
    [Show full text]
  • Mississippi Freedom School Curricula Materials
    Unit VII: The Movement Purpose: To grasp the significance of direct action and or political action as instruments of social change . Materials: Excerpts on non-violence COFO materials on Freedom Summer Charles Remsberg, "Behind the Cotton Curtain" ( excerptr Southern Regional Council, report on Greenwood Voter Project "Voter Registration Laws in Mississippi" Part lt Freedom Rides and Sit- Ins ~UESTION : What is a Freedom Ride? ANS"IER : A. Freedom Jlide is a special kind of direct action protest a~ed at testing buses, trains and terminal facilities--to see whether or not the seating of people on buses and trains is done according to law, i.e., the Supreme Court ruling of 1260 that segregated seating on interstate carriers and in terminal stations is illegal. The second purpose of a Freedom Rice is to protest segrega­ tion ~here it still exists and to make known to the nation the conditions under which Negroes live in the d.eep South. The third, a.nd overal l purpose o:f the Freedom Ride is to change these conditions. QUESTION: What happens on a Freedom Ride? ANSWER : A gr oup or people--in the case of the Freedom Rides--an integr-ated. group buy interstate bus or train ticket-s. By interstate, we mean going from one state to another . They board the bus or train and sit in an integrated fashion in seats customarily used by whites only. At stations, they use restrooms customarily used by whites only. They sat at lunch counters customarily used by w~ites only and sit in waiting roams customarily reserved for whites.
    [Show full text]
  • Visual Media and the Fate of Nonviolent Social Movement Activism
    University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2012 From Print to Pixel: Visual Media and The Fate of Nonviolent Social Movement Activism Ksenia O. Gorbenko University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Gorbenko, Ksenia O., "From Print to Pixel: Visual Media and The Fate of Nonviolent Social Movement Activism" (2012). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 636. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/636 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/636 For more information, please contact [email protected]. From Print to Pixel: Visual Media and The Fate of Nonviolent Social Movement Activism Abstract In order to be heard or seen, nonviolent social movements (NVSMs) require an audience. News images of nonviolent protests become the means through which awareness of social movements is created. Comparative historical and semiotic analysis of journalistic images demonstrates that violence is a prominent theme within news coverage of nonviolent struggles. Four types of violence within nonviolence are identified: state violence, third-party violence, self-inflicted violence and symbolic violence. The examination of news images of these four types of violence showed the different ways in which challengers and the state contest power in the public domain through the media, in both text and images. Various actors (the state, social movements, journalists, the audience) use news images to historicize and construct their narratives of unfolding events, as well as make transhistorical claims. In this process, they deliberately employ news images to advocate for their causes, align themselves with previous heroes of civil disobedience and play on the popular understandings of good and evil.
    [Show full text]
  • PEGODA-DISSERTATION-2016.Pdf (3.234Mb)
    © Copyright by Andrew Joseph Pegoda December, 2016 “IF YOU DO NOT LIKE THE PAST, CHANGE IT”: THE REEL CIVIL RIGHTS REVOLUTION, HISTORICAL MEMORY, AND THE MAKING OF UTOPIAN PASTS _______________ A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Department of History University of Houston _______________ In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy _______________ By Andrew Joseph Pegoda December, 2016 “IF YOU DO NOT LIKE THE PAST, CHANGE IT”: THE REEL CIVIL RIGHTS REVOLUTION, HISTORICAL MEMORY, AND THE MAKING OF UTOPIAN PASTS ____________________________ Andrew Joseph Pegoda APPROVED: ____________________________ Linda Reed, Ph.D. Committee Chair ____________________________ Nancy Beck Young, Ph.D. ____________________________ Richard Mizelle, Ph.D. ____________________________ Barbara Hales, Ph.D. University of Houston-Clear Lake ____________________________ Steven G. Craig, Ph.D. Interim Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Department of Economics ii “IF YOU DO NOT LIKE THE PAST, CHANGE IT”: THE REEL CIVIL RIGHTS REVOLUTION, HISTORICAL MEMORY, AND THE MAKING OF UTOPIAN PASTS _______________ An Abstract of A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Department of History University of Houston _______________ In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy _______________ By Andrew Joseph Pegoda December, 2016 ABSTRACT Historians have continued to expand the available literature on the Civil Rights Revolution, an unprecedented social movement during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s that aimed to codify basic human and civil rights for individuals racialized as Black, by further developing its cast of characters, challenging its geographical and temporal boundaries, and by comparing it to other social movements both inside and outside of the United States.
    [Show full text]
  • Jeanne Theoharis a Life History of Being Rebellious
    Want to Start a Revolution? Gore, Dayo, Theoharis, Jeanne, Woodard, Komozi Published by NYU Press Gore, Dayo & Theoharis, Jeanne & Woodard, Komozi. Want to Start a Revolution? Radical Women in the Black Freedom Struggle. New York: NYU Press, 2009. Project MUSE., https://muse.jhu.edu/. For additional information about this book https://muse.jhu.edu/book/10942 Access provided by The College Of Wooster (14 Jan 2019 17:21 GMT) 5 “A Life History of Being Rebellious” The Radicalism of Rosa Parks Jeanne Theoharis In all these years . it’s strange . but maybe not . nobody asks . about my life . if I have children . why I moved to Detroit . what I think . about what we tried . to do. Something needs to be said . about Rosa Parks . other than her feet . were tired. Lots of people . on that bus . and many before . and since . had tired feet . lots of people . still do . they just don’t know . where to plant them. Nikki Giovanni, “Harvest for Rosa Parks”1 On October 30, 2005, Rosa Parks became the first woman and second African American to lie in state in the U.S. Capitol. Forty thou- sand Americans—including President and Mrs. Bush—came to pay their respects. Thousands more packed her seven-hour funeral celebration at the Greater Grace Temple of Detroit and waited outside to see a horse- drawn carriage carry Mrs. Parks’s coffin to the cemetery.2 Yet what is com- monly known—and much of what was widely eulogized—about Parks is a troubling distortion of what actually makes her fitting for such a national tribute.
    [Show full text]