EOTO: Emmett Till

During class today, students presented events throughout history that either advanced or weakened the Civil Rights Movement. One event that stood out to me as particularly impactful is the lynching of Emmett Till. After hearing his story, I believe it’s an important one to explore further and share.

Emmett Till was a young, African American man who grew up in Chicago, Illinois. Upon moving to Mississippi in 1955, he was faced with a deeper level of racism than he used to.

Emmett Till

When Emmett was in his family grocery store, he was accused of catcalling a white woman, Carolyn Bryant, in some way. Stories of what he did range from whistling to flirting with her. However, when Carolyn talked about her interaction with Emmett, she distorted the interaction by saying there was unwanted physical contact.

Days later, Carolyn’s husband, Rob Bryant, and half-brother, J.W. Milam, kidnapped Emmett. They beat him terribly until he was fully mutilated. Once Emmett was only barely hanging on to life, they shot him in the head.

Emmett’s body was found three days later at the bottom of the Tallahatchie River. His corpse was so disfigured that the only way the body was identified was by the ring he wore.

Despite all of the damage to Emmett’s body, his mother still wanted him to have an open casket. She wanted the world to see and hear the story of her son.

Later, a trial was held to determine who murdered Emmett. Many witnesses suggested the names of Bryant and Milam as the killers. It didn’t even take an hour before the jury ruled “not guilty” to the clearly guilty murderers.

Many years later, Carolyn confessed that Emmett never touched, threatened, or harassed her. She exclaimed that what he did was not justifiable for what happened to him.

Sources:

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-death-of-emmett-till

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/emmett-till-murderers-make-magazine-confession

Regents of the University of California v. Bakke

In class today, we held a mock trial of the famous Supreme Court case Regents of the University of California v. Bakke. Students presented arguments representing both sides of the case. I was supporting the University of California. 

Allen Bakke applied for admission into the University of California’s medical school and was rejected – twice! In order to ensure diversity in the program, 16 of the 100 spots were reserved for minority applicants. 

Bakke believed that he was more qualified than the students who received admission through the special minority application process. Bakke deemed that reserving a quota of spaces for minorities violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.

My group, advocating to uphold the quota system, argues that whether we like it or not, there has been a long historical culture of exclusivity in the United States. African American's have a history of discrimination and poverty. Therefore, many African Americans attend inferior schools that innately have a disadvantage in the admissions process. 

In a school historically being all white, introducing a quota for minorities is only a small, incremental step towards equality. Ultimately, by continuing racial quotas in the admission process, we will be able to elevate minorities and finally achieve full equality.

Unfortunately, the Supreme Court did not historically rule in our favor. While SCOTUS agreed that diversity is important, it cannot be the only factor in a quote system. Factors other than race must be considered. This supports affirmative action, allowing race (among other factors) to be considered during the admission process. 

For further information on Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, please watch the video below:

Sources: 

https://www.oyez.org/cases/1979/76-811 

https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/204166687.pdf

https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/438/265

Popular Constitutionalism and Non-Judicial Precedent

In class today, we read Dean Smith’s academic paper, “The Real Story Behind the Nation's First Shield Law: Maryland, 1894–1897”. Two judicial concepts outlined in the paper are popular constitutionalism and non-judicial precedent. 

Dean Smith, Author of The Real Story Behind the Nation's First Shield Law

Popular constitutionalism is the idea that a national dialogue happening beyond the courts may change the meaning of the US Constitution. This goes along with the idea that the Constitution is a living, breathing document as it can be seen with an "interpretive view" (Smith). 

Non-judicial precedent takes popular constitutionalism a step further as the national dialogue leads to a statute that precedes the Supreme Court decision. These typically happen during a social movement to make a change at a government level. Non-judicial precedents "can remain operable outside court-made law" (Smith).

The March on Washington

In class today, we watched a short film discussing the March on Washington. Amidst the civil rights movement in the 1960s, many peaceful protests were held to spread awareness of the cause.

While many of the protests held by civil rights activists were peaceful, much spasmodic violence broke out against them. At one-point attack dogs were released which shocked everyone. 

A. Philip Randolph was the first leader to have a loud voice preaching mass action. He sent a message to Bayard Rustin reading, “rather than keep this a southern black movement, we need to organize a march on Washington that would make it a national movement”. This paved the way for the organization of the March on Washington. 

Famous civil rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr, began formulating support for the march. He called for a nonviolent, peaceful march on Washington by the hundreds of thousands. 

MLK, Rustin, and Randolph were invited into the White House to meet with President John F Kennedy regarding plans for the march. JFK was reluctant at first because any potential violence had the potential of halting any progression of civil rights. However, when JFK witnessed how stubborn MLK, Rustin, and Randolph were, he joined the force. 

JFK was told that the civil rights movement was infiltrated by communists, specifically Stanley Levison. They used this as justification for wiretapping conversations between Leviton and MLK, but there was never any resulting proof of Communism. 

Organizers of the March worked extremely long days, almost 18 hours, leading up to the big day!

The night before the March, anticipation was intense in the city. No one knew what was going to happen. 

During the March, about 250,000 people were attending from all across America. During peak hours of the day, about 100 busses were showing up every hour. That is almost two busses a minute! 

Many speeches and artists performed during the March. Joan Baez’s song, “We Shall Overcome” brought the entire crowd together. 

For further reading, consider the following articles:

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/march-on-washington 

https://www.naacp.org/marchonwashington/ 

Klansville U.S.A.

In class today we watched Callie Wiser’s short film, Klansville U.S.A. The film discussed the rise of the Klu Klux Klan (KKK) following the American Civil War.  

The KKK was made up of frustrated, poor white folks who were against the integration of blacks and whites. They were the main force for white Americans to counter the NAACP for black Americans. 

The KKK was originally formed as a club where they would mainly pull pranks on the black community. However, when newly freed slaves began to give off a petrified reaction, the Klan got more intense. They began performing despicable acts such as throwing ppl off bridges and hanging people from trees. 

While what the KKK was doing was innately racist, they would have never admitted to being racist. The Klan saw themselves as heroically standing up for the oppressed white people in the south. Ultimately, they just wanted blacks to “stay in their place” away from whites. 

Leaders of the KKK were overtly racist, which made the members of the Klan feel less racist in comparison.  Klan membership reached 4 million supporters during the height of the movement. Public officials were even elected into office by the power of the Klan. 

It was never very socially acceptable to openly support the KKK which is part of the reason they wore masks. However, the Klan would march on public sidewalks to show the community that they have nothing to hide and demonstrate that they are real genuine community members. While the walks were generally peaceful, other citizens had to move out of the Klan’s way which demonstrated the dominance that the KKK had in public spaces. 

Plessy v Ferguson: Justice Harlan's Dissent

In response to the infamous Plessy v Ferguson supreme court case, Justice John Marshall Harlen wrote his dissent. This is a written document expressing disagreement with the majority’s ruling. 

In Justice Harlan’s dissent, he explained that everyone has a fundamental right to take action when they deem an action made by the government as wrong. Therefore, this is a valid case that should be considered carefully. 

Justice Harlan also notes that in practice, segregation laws are clearly meant to exclude blacks from services meant for whites. Not the other way around. Furthermore, whites may see themselves as superior, however, that is not supported in writing in the law. Thus, it would infringe on personal liberty to enforce segregation based on skin color alone. 

In all, Justice Harlan says that we can’t praise freedom as a country when not everyone is given equal rights. I believe this is a very strong argument and probably ahead of its time. 

I think Justice Harlan’s dissent was very important to share as it helped spread awareness and grow the popularity of integration. Today, his ideas would be embraced as we move forward to an even more inclusive society. 

EOTO: Lincoln & Johnson

In class today, students presented on Presidents Lincoln and Johnson and some of their successes.

During Lincoln’s presidency, he founded the Freedman’s Bureau. This acted as a relief for former slaves and southerners after rejoining the union. The bureau was able to support the poor southerners by providing many houses and schools.

Lincoln was assassinated in April of 1865 by John Wilkes Booth. However, Booth did have other plans to harm Lincoln prior to his assassination. While he never went through with it, Booth actually planned to kidnap the President. 

Lincoln was notoriously assassinated during a play in Ford’s theater. It was noted that the audience originally believed Lincolns death was actually part of the play. 

The Freedman’s Bureau began to lose support after Lincoln’s death. Former confederates gained more seats in Congress, striking down the bureau. 

Andrew Johnson took over the presidency after Lincoln’s assassination. He made a lot of changes during his time in office. As mentioned before, he allowed over 60 former confederates to hold a position in the government. They ended up creating a divide in the government. 

Congress impeached Johnson, but by one vote he was not removed from office. 

The Harlem Renaissance

The Harlem Renaissance was an immense development of African American culture from around 1919 to the early 1930s. The large growth in art, literature, and music marked the beginning of a cultural revolution. 

The Harlem Movement was a smaller facet of The New Negro Movement. This marked a new generation of African Americans as they were two generations out of slavery and beginning to claim social and political rights. 

The Great Migration

Large numbers of African Americans moved to the north and west during the great migration. Large urban cities, such as Harlem, New York, were common destinations. 

Harlem, New York

Writers such as Langston Hughes, James Weldon Johnson, and Zora Neale Hurston arose during the Harlem Renaissance. Hughes and Johnson’s poems are extremely popular to this day. Hurston’s famous novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God, is a keen representation of life during the Harlem Renaissance. I read it just last year! 

         

New styles of visual arts developed during this era as well. Aaron Douglas used simple lines and shapes to depict ordinary life. Another painter, Palmer Hayden focused more on emotion. This allowed him to express a struggle for freedom while also creating a sense of pride. 

                        

Midsummer Night In Harlem, Palmer C. Hayden, 1936

                          

                    

Aspiration, Aaron Douglas, 1963

Musicians such as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington created bold black music that was unheard of before their time. This paved the way for blues and jazz clubs for communities to gather. 

This movement shattered stereotypes, increased visibility, and uplifted African Americans. Historically, blacks had been defined as without rights, without culture, and without a history of achievement. However, the Harlem Renaissance set the stage for racial equality as all races would come together to celebrate African American artists. 

Further Videos to Watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErzMrs0e8_c 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moP6isEwDW8 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gboEyrj02g 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHsaxqcZ08k 

Additional Sources:

https://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/harlem-renaissance 

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/james-weldon-johnson 

https://deyoung.famsf.org/deyoung/announcements/see-aaron-douglass-aspiration-de-young-galleries 

Brown v Board of Education

Our class hosted a mock trial today simulating the famous Supreme Court case, Brown v Board of Education. This case argued the constitutionality of the “separate but equal” precedent set by Plessy v Ferguson.

Read more about the arguments made in Plessy v Ferguson here!

Brown claimed that school segregation violates the “equal protection clause” under the 14^th Amendment. Students in our class arguing on behalf of Brown presented that the separate but equal law is arbitrary and capricious, meaning unpredictable and inconsistent. Another student presented the idea that separate but equal is simply a legal fiction. This law may be fair on paper, but it is not fair when applied in reality. Furthermore, it was noted that if African Americans have less educational resources, then the economy will ultimately be damaged for society as a whole. 

The education system argued to uphold the separate but equal law. Students arguing on behalf of the board of education explained that the idea of separate facilities for blacks and whites is embedded in American history and culture. It is not “our way” to force these two populations to integrate. This can be seen at the extreme when practicing religion. Moreover, forcing integration would be a drastic change in our culture, and people prefer an incremental change.  It was also argued that this issue should not be addressed at the federal level, it is a state’s rights issue. Each state should set aside emotion over logic and recognize that such a change would have a large strain on both communities if integration was enforced. 

In the end, Brown won his case, striking down the stare decisis of Plessy v Ferguson and finally integrating schools. 

Sources:

https://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1955/347us483 

https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=87

https://www.thirteen.org/wnet/supremecourt/rights/landmark_brown.html

Plessy v Ferguson

The landmark case Plessy v Ferguson is famous for creating the idea of “separate but equal” regarding the constitutionality of a law segregating train cars. 

In the 1890s, a Louisiana law required blacks and whites to ride in separate train cars and would be subject to arrest if not compliant with the law. Homer Plessy – a man who appears white but is 1/8 black – attempted to take a seat in an all-white train car, violating the law.

After his arrest, Plessy argued that the segregation law violates both the 13th Amendment and the 14th Amendment. The 13th Amendment banned slavery. The 14th Amendment guaranteed everyone equal protection of the laws. 

In 1896, Homer Plessy lost his case in the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) because even though there are separate facilities, they are equal. It was not until the infamous 1954 case Brown v Board of Education that this was overturned. SCOTUS stated that “separate but equal” is inherently unequal. 

In class, we argued a mock trial on the case Plessy v Ferguson. I was tasked to debate on behalf of Ferguson. My argument is stated below. 

I argue that the segregation law does not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, nor does it violate the 13th Amendment, banning slavery.

First, I would like to point out the fact that both blacks and whites were given equal facilities under the law. There are perfectly fine train cars meant specifically for blacks. This is done because it is clear that races prefer remaining segregated. 

As a result of this, if one race is deemed inferior, that is not at the fault of the law. The act preaches equality. Therefore, the only reason to believe blacks are inferior is because that is how blacks are choosing to interpret their own race. It is not the job of the law or even within the power of the law to force the races to mix.

Furthermore, equality under the 14th amendment protects political and civil rights, such as voting. It is not meant to protect social rights, such as preferring a specific train car. 

The 13th Amendment is not applicable in this case as Plessy did not experience a form of slavery or involuntary servitude. 

In conclusion, segregation does not in itself constitute unlawful discrimination.

For further information on Plessy v Ferguson check out this YouTube video!

        Sources: 

- https://www.thirteen.org/wnet/supremecourt/antebellum/landmark_plessy.html#:~:text=John%20H.,Thirteenth%20Amendment%2C%20which%20banned%20slavery 

-  https://www.oyez.org/cases/1850-1900/163us537 

-  https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/163/537 

The Reconstruction Era

For class today, we were assigned a video on the reconstruction era.

Interestingly enough, when the union won the civil war, they viewed it as a victory of morality, whereas the confederacy only considered the win to be over gun power. This made reunifying the nation, restoring order to the south, and giving blacks proper equality all the more challenging.

After the civil war ended and slavery was outlawed, it would be foolish to think that former slaves would be able to immediately begin a “normal” life. Those who were raised in a culture where the African American race is inferior, would not suddenly wake up one day and see them as equals.

Furthermore, former slaves suddenly had no money and no form of income. They were basically forced to work for minimal pay as these were the only jobs willing to hire.

Beyond the workforce, former slaves had a difficult time protecting their political and civil rights. Some states implemented 'Jim Crow' laws which enforced racial to keep African Americans from voting. White supremacist groups were also formed, such as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), which sought violence as a means to strip African Americans of their rights and dignity.

Segregation

The KKK

The government passed three laws to attempt to protect these rights:

-       13th Amendment (passed in 1865): outlawed slavery

-       14th Amendment (passed in 1868): reaffirmed equal protection of the laws to all citizens and granted citizenship to everyone born in the US

-       15th Amendment (passed in 1870): protected the suffrage of citizens regardless of race

The reconstruction era is critical to our nation’s history. Without it, the 14th amendment, as critical as it is, may never have been passed.

State v. Mann

In class, we held a mock trial debating the facts of the famous Supreme Court case State v. Mann. A team of students argued on behalf of either the state of North Carolina or John Mann. They discussed the trial through arguments based on religion, economics, history, ethics, norms, customs, traditions, law, and emotional appeal.

In the state of North Carolina during 1829, a slave named Lydia was hired out to John Mann of Chowan County. When Lydia attempted to rebel, she was whipped by Mann and ultimately shot in the back. While she was not killed, she was severely wounded resulting in a $10 fine (approximately $280 today) issued by the state for assault and battery. Mann believed the fine was unjust as slaves have no rights of their own, and therefore appealed the fine. Ultimately, Mann won his case and the $10 were returned to him. This set the precedent that slaveowners have absolute authority over their slaves and could therefore inflict pain on them.

Constantly throughout history, we see criminal law come second to property law. Historically, property laws were used as a tactic to further the protection of slavery. However, in the modern-day, these laws are necessary to protect our freedom. John Locke states that “life, liberty, and property” are our natural rights that should never be infringed upon.

Bleeding Kansas: A Mini Civil War

It all began with the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 which allowed slavery to spread in western territories through the adoption of an idea called “popular sovereignty”. When it became time for a state to enter the United States, citizens of the state can vote based on whether or not they want the state to condone slavery.

Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854

The settlers of Kansas overall did not want slavery in their state. However, people who lived in the surrounding states, such as Missouri, would cross the border and vote to rig the election to allow slavery. These people were called border ruffians. At the time, there were only about 1,500 settlers in Kansas, and over 6,000 votes were counted!

The border ruffians were successful, and Kansas entered the US as a pro-slavery state with a pro-slavery government in Lecompton. Settlers of Kansas were not happy with their government, yet they had no power because only pro-slavery officials could be elected into office! Therefore, the citizens of Kansas decided to make their own government in Topeka.

On May 21, 1856, violence erupted when pro-slavery settlers began to destroy anti-slavery towns such as Topeka.

This violence spread to surrounding areas such as Washington DC. Charles Sumner, a senator from Massachusetts, gave a speech saying how pro-slavery settlers were destroying Kansas. This caused Preston Brooks, of South Carolina, to beat Sumner near death with a cane on the floor of the US Senate.

Charles Sumner being caned by Preston Brooks

On May 24th, 1856, an abolitionist from Ohio by the name of John Brown had traveled to Kansas with his sons to encourage the violence. He murdered five pro-slavery settlers.

John Brown

While no one is sure how many people died during Bleeding Kansas, it is assumed to be approximately 55 deaths.

Finally, in January of 1861, Kansas was admitted into the union as a free state.

Bleeding Kansas lead to the division of the country and began the formation of the Republican Party to abolish slavery. 

Learn more about Bleeding Kansas by watching this educational video: