Equal But Seperate is Not Equal
by Seperate schools and facilities for African Americans was never an eqality.
In 1957 Florida Governor Thomas Leroy Collins became known nationally as a “spokesman of the New South” for his open-minded attitude towards integration. He became the chairman of the Southern Governors Conference in spite of the fact that some members disagree with his ideas on education, reapportionment, and integration.
In 1967 Thurgood Marshal became the first African American Supreme Court Justice. By working through the courts he fought the Jim Crow laws. He was the monumental figure that ended legal racism.
In the 1970’s Alabama governor George Wallace’s administration was marked with many racial demonstrations in Birmingham and Montgomery, desegregation of schools in Macon County, his dramatic “stand in the school house door” and the nationally publicized fire hose and police dog incidents of Birmingham. Furthermore, during this administration, Wallace in 1964, entered the presidential primaries, in 1972 an assignation attempt was made on his life this left him in a wheel chair. In 1978 he started planning to again run for governor of Alabama this time he called African American civil rights leaders and constituents to apologize for his former behavior. In 1982 he again won the race for governor with a surprising amount of African American votes he then appointed a record number of African Americans to government positions and established the Wallace Coalition he also addressed a southern Christian leadership conference and admitted that his past stance on racism was wrong.
I do believe the decision made by the Warren Supreme Court in Brown vs. Board of Education did in fact begin a long overdue process in reforming and bettering the equality for African Americans however we here in the southhave a very long way to go racial prejudice is still a very real part of society here. We must each remember that although this issue has been fought for over 100 years we have made remarkable improvement with President Obama as an example we must continue to push forward in the fight for equal rights.
References
Plessy vs. Ferguson, Judgment, Decided May 18, 1886; Records of the Supreme Court of the United States; Record Group 267; Plessy v. Ferguson, 163, #15248, National Archives
Moritz, C. S. (2009, August 3). Alabama Governors.Retrieved May 3, 2010, from Alabama Department of Archives and History: http://www.archives.Alabama.gov/govs_list/g_wallac.html
Arkansas History and Culture: http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.Orval Eugene Faubus (1910–1994).(2009, October 10). Retrieved May 3, 2010, from The encyclopedia of aspx?entryID=102
Wagy, Thomas. A South to Save: The Administration of Governor LeRoy Collins of Florida(1980). Retrieved May 3, 2010, from http://www.leoncountyfl.gov/library/library-admin/more_col
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