S.C.L.C. OPERATION BREADBASKET, FROM ECONOMIC CIVIL RIGHTS TO BLACK ECONOMIC POWER Enrico Beltramini Department of History, Royal Holloway A Thesis Submitted to the University of London for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2013 Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................ 4 Declaration ................................................................................................................. 6 Copyright .................................................................................................................... 6 Acknowledgement ...................................................................................................... 7 On Operation Breadbasket ..................................................................................... 12 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 12 Operation Breadbasket .............................................................................................. 13 Background ............................................................................................................... 18 Historiographical Issues ............................................................................................. 25 Structure and Methodology ........................................................................................ 42 Conclusion................................................................................................................. 51 Chapter One: Civil Rights in the Workplace ....................................................... 54 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 54 African Americans and Job Discrimination .............................................................. 56 Ascent and Decline of Fair Employment ................................................................... 63 Affirmative Action and Rise of Conservative Business ............................................... 86 Preferential Treatment and Black Power ................................................................. 103 Conclusion............................................................................................................... 108 Chapter Two: Breadbasket in Atlanta (1962-66) .............................................. 112 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 112 Origins of Breadbasket ............................................................................................ 114 Breadbasket Begins ................................................................................................. 139 Breadbasket Grows ................................................................................................. 145 Prophetic Religion .................................................................................................... 163 Conclusion............................................................................................................... 173 Chapter Three: Breadbasket in Chicago (1966-72)........................................... 175 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 175 Origins .................................................................................................................... 176 Beginnings in Chicago.............................................................................................. 187 Controversies ........................................................................................................... 203 Breadbasket after King ............................................................................................ 211 Conclusion............................................................................................................... 228 2 Chapter Four: Birth of a Leader .......................................................................... 229 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 229 A Militant Preacher ............................................................................................... 230 From Rights to Power ............................................................................................. 236 King’s Economic Views ........................................................................................... 240 A Moderate Black Power Leader ............................................................................ 247 Conclusion............................................................................................................... 269 Breadbasket: A New History ................................................................................ 270 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 270 Revisiting King and the Struggle for Jobs ................................................................. 271 Reconsidering Breadbasket ...................................................................................... 277 Toward a New History of Breadbasket ................................................................... 286 Potential Further Research ...................................................................................... 299 Conclusion............................................................................................................... 306 Abbreviations .......................................................................................................... 307 Bibliography ............................................................................................................ 308 Manuscript Collections ............................................................................................ 308 Government Reports, Presidential Speeches, Executive Orders ................................. 309 Files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.............................................................. 309 Oral Histories (In Author’s Possession) .................................................................. 309 Video and Audio .................................................................................................... 310 Newspapers and Periodicals..................................................................................... 310 Books ...................................................................................................................... 311 Academic Articles ................................................................................................... 338 Thesis, Working Papers, and Essays ...................................................................... 340 Presentations, Reports, Speeches, and Websites ........................................................ 341 Magazines ............................................................................................................... 342 Notes ........................................................................................................................ 343 3 Abstract Operation Breadbasket was a Southern Christian Leadership Conference project that was founded in 1962, and was dedicated to improving the economic conditions of black communities across the United States. This thesis shows how the economic agenda of the early Operation Breadbasket – to facilitate integration in the workplace – gave way to its later counterpart which embraced a friendlier attitude toward capitalism and was more solicitous of the black middle class. In particular, this thesis identifies the personalities and events responsible for this transformation while pointing to the broader trends in American capitalism that made the advocacy of workplace integration increasingly less important than access to capital and mass consumption. Since there is not a dedicated study on Operation Breadbasket, this thesis begins to fill that gap in historiography. Drawing on archival research and original oral histories collected through interviews with veterans, this thesis reconsiders Jesse Jackson’s historical role in the success of Operation Breadbasket as an empowerment organization enlarging economic opportunities for black workers and entrepreneurs. In particular, it argues that Operation Breadbasket was a remarkable program that contributed to the convergence of the Black Church-driven Civil Rights Movement and the activist-based Black Power struggle in the economic arena. To fully appreciate the transformation of Operation Breadbasket’s 4 activities from a more traditional Civil Rights program pursuing job desegregation to a militant, innovative campaign addressing issues such as black business development, the more recent scholarly work on Black Power and its intersection with the Civil Right Movement has been taken into account. 5 Declaration and Copyright Declaration I declare that this thesis has been composed by myself and that the research reported therein has been conducted by myself unless otherwise indicated. Copyright Copyright of this thesis rests with the Author. The copy of the thesis deposited in the University library becomes the property of the library and will be available for individual or interlibrary loan (and possible microfilming or photocopying in whole