#802 Evolution of the courts, the NAACP, and Emmett Till

Goals:

• Today we will explore:
  • The turn of federal courts (and particularly Southern judges) against segregation laws;
  • The rise of the NAACP and black legal organizations in reaction to this judicial shift; and
  • How Southern white politicians, unable to use the courts, turned back to racialized politics and violence.

Background:

• Decided by the Supreme Court in 1944, Smith v. Allwright was one of the NAACP’s first major legal victories in the fight to dismantle segregation.
• ​Context and arguments:
  • The NAACP, led by their chief counsel Thurgood Marshall, argued on the behalf Houston dentist Lonnie Smith. Smith was a black man who had attempted to vote in the Democratic primary elections in Texas, and been turned away on the grounds of a 1923 Democratic party rule that required all primary voters to be white.
  • Up until this point, the courts had upheld exclusion of on-white voters in primaries with the 1935 case Grovey v. Townsend. Grovey held that political parties were technically private entities, and that accordingly they could set their own rules without required adherence to federal  law (in this case the 14th and 15th amendment).
  • In Smith however, the court reversed its Grovey decision and declared the primary discrimination unconstitutional.
• ​Significance:
  • ​​One historian called Smith v. Allwright “the groundwork for the more significant Brown v. Board of Education” case.
  • But the case also provoked backlash from pro-segregationists in the South. No longer able to depend on the federal courts to support segregation, a number of white southerners turned to intensely racialized politics and violence. We will examine both the NAACP legal victory and one example of the anti-black violence that captured the national attention, even as the NAACP won court cases.

Timeline:

• With a partner, review the Library of Congress history of the NAACP Timeline (first three pages of the PDF). Then discuss the following questions based on both the timeline and Marshall memorandum you read for homework.
  • What strategies does the NAACP employ over time to advocate for equality and expansion of civil rights?
  • What kinds of challenges did the NAACP encounter over its history? In the Smith v. Allwright case in particular?
  • How might the ruling in Smith have changed segregation politics in the country? Where might the ruling have fallen short in instituting racial equality?

Documentary: Eyes on the Prize:

• Now, watch this clip (7:28-about 23:45) from PBS’ documentary series Eyes on the Prize. Note: there are several graphic images in this documentary, specifically in its coverage of the murder of Emmett Till. If anyone would like to step out when the footage of his funeral begins they are welcome to do so.)

Discussion:

• In what ways did the Smith ruling (and later the Brown case which we will discuss in greater detail tomorrow) fall short of changing the Jim Crow status quo in the South?
• How does culture change? Do federal laws and rulings have limitations in the degree of change they can affect? If so, how else can a movement or activist group promote change?