After the 1954 Brown v. Board decision in which the Supreme Court struck down segregation in public schools, the civil rights movement began a new phase. Its leadership shifted from the older generation of teachers to a new generation of preachers. Here in Tallahassee, a bus boycott was waged that forever changed the relationship between blacks and whites in Florida's capital city. Bethel Missionary Pastor C.K. Steele rose to a position of prominence in the Tallahassee black community. Today, Tallahassee's bus plaza is named for Steele.
Segregation in Alabama
· 1955: NAACP secretary Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat for a white person
· Montgomery blacks gathered at several black churches and demanded an organized boycott, formed Montgomery Improvement Association
· Young Martin Luther King Jr. rose to accept the challenge of leading the boycott
Effect of Montgomery boycott
· Blacks all over the country were encouraged to employ civil disobedience
· FAMU students were radicalized, many openly welcomed a confrontation with Jim Crow
· King's oratorical skills made him a star
· C.K. Steele, King's friend in Tallahassee, offered support and encouragement
Segregation in Florida
· 1956 opinion poll shows popularity of segregation:
· 4% wanted immediate desegregation of the state¡¯s universities
· 7% thought desegregation could happen ¡°after a reasonable time¡±
· 21% wanted to delay segregation ¡°as long as possible¡±
· 66% opposed desegregation under any circumstances
FAMU students
· May 25, 1956: confrontation on a Tallahassee city bus
· Wilhelmina Jakes, 26
· Carrie Peterson, 20
· Students were on their way to shop for patterns and material to makes dresses for the upcoming FAMU dance
· Jakes and Peterson sit down in the only available seats, next to a white woman
Max Coggins
· Tallahassee bus driver
· rude, contemptuous, disrespectful
· ordered blacks to stand rather than sit next to a white woman
· role of bus drivers: to enforce segregation ordinances and laws
Civil Disobedience
· Coggins ordered Jakes and Patterson to stand at the back of the bus rather than sit next to the white woman at the front of the bus
· Jakes and Patterson told Coggins they would leave if their money was refunded
· Coggins refused to refund money and again ordered the students to move to the back of the bus
· Jakes and Patterson refuse to move
FAMU girls arrested
· Coggins drives the bus to a corner gas station on South Adams Street and call the police
· Tallahassee police arrive and arrest Jakes and Patterson for "placing themselves in a position to incite a riot."
· Jakes and Patterson were taken to TPD headquarters on Park Avenue, where they are imprisoned
C.K. Steele
· Friend of Martin Luther King
· President of Tallahassee NAACP
· Minister at Bethel Missionary Baptist Church
· Visited Jakes and Paterson, offered the support of the NAACP
Cross burning
· A cross was burned on the lawn of the residence where Jakes and Paterson rented rooms
· Cross burning was a frequent way for pro-segregation whites to threaten blacks
· Jakes and Paterson moved to on-campus housing at FAMU
FAMU student unrest
· Students heard about Jakes/Patterson arrest
· Raucous meeting at Lee Hall
· Student government decided that, in light of Montgomery bus boycott, students had no choice but to boycott
· Signs: "We'll walk. Fight segregation."
Unrest in the black community
· Meeting at Bethel Missionary Baptist
· Long, tense meeting
· Generational divide
· Tactics: Should blacks pursue legal strategy or confrontational strategy
Inter-Civil Council
· Rotation of meeting places
· Planned a local carpool
· Accepted donations
· Religious tone
· Followed Montgomery model
White reaction
· TPD's secret investigation
· Influence of J. Edgar Hoover
· Power of information
· Creative harassment
· Car pool was followed
Segregationist legal strategy
· Jim Crow legislation was not challenged, as it had been in Montgomery
City leaders dropped "inciting a riot" charge
· TPD brought new charges: illegal operation of a car pool
· City government used the city courts to harass and end the ICC car pool
Segregationist media strategy
· "Have conservative releases slanted to show concern for public operation of unsafe and uninspected vehicles that are not paying their proper taxes."
· "Have releases made up showing new lawful conditions under which motor pool vehicles may operate."
Editor Malcolm Johnson
· "Like the child grown up, he [the black man] must learn that he can't have everything he sees when he sees it and he can¡¯t get it merely by stamping his feet and making a commotion. As a mature racial personality, he has an obligation to fix his eyes on the greater goals the food of living, not just the candy."
The trial
· ICC members were brought before City Judge John Rudd
· Testimony on carpool organization
· Testimony on funding sources
· Testimony on "for-hire" transit licences
Court loss creates setback
· ICC's carpool was declared illegal
· Some ICC members returned to the buses
· Without a carpool, boycott becomes more difficult
Steele announces the boycott will continue
· ICC members wait for the Montgomery case to reach Supreme Court
· Weariness of many participants
· Internal disputes threaten existence of ICC
Victory
· Supreme Court rules in favor of Montgomery Improvement Association
· Segregation on public buses is found unconstitutional
· Blacks plan to return to buses
· Rise in racial tension
"Ride the bus" campaign
· ICC members planned to board city buses and sit in the front seats
· Teenage Whites found out about the planned protest and gathered to prevent it
· A large mass of white teenagers gathered at the bus station (the intersection of Park Avenue and Monroe Street) to prevent the event.
1963 march on Washington
· August 23, 1963
· Martin Luther King: "I have a dream."
· King called on young Americans to reject complacency and inaction
