An episode of The Alabama Experience documentary series
This program is appropriate for classes studying government, politics, race relations, and Alabama history. It would be especially useful for classes studying the Civil rights era.
LENGTH: 26:40. You may view this program in two shorter segments by stopping the tape when you see the graphic Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded by a coalition of black and white citizens in 1909 in Springfield, Illinois. The NAACP has been a powerful fighter for the Civil Rights of African Americans. Today, the NAACP is the largest and most influential Civil Rights organization in the country.
In 1947, W.C. Patton became the third executive director of the Alabama state branches of the NAACP. After the U.S. Supreme Court's historic Brown v. Board of Education decision, the University of Alabama was the first institution ordered to desegregate. In 1956 Autherine Lucy, aided by the NAACP, became the first black ever admitted to the University. Lucy was expelled due to the unrest that occurred on campus. The NAACP's decision to assist Lucy and its continuing push for Civil Rights caused serious problems between the NAACP and the state of Alabama. Four months after Autherine Lucy attempted to desegregate the University of Alabama, the state filed a petition to prohibit Patton and the NAACP from operating in Alabama. The state's petition set the stage for an eight year court battle -- a case that would go before the U.S. Supreme Court three times.
Before watching the program, ask your students to look for the answers to these questions as they view the videotape and to be prepared to discuss their answers after viewing.
1. Why was the NAACP founded?
(The group was formed by black and white leaders appalled by the gruesome lynchings in the South.)
2. In 1947, only 6,000 African Americans were registered voters in Alabama. Why? (Often violence and economic reprisals discouraged them from voting.)
3. Why is the U.S. Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision so important? (This landmark decision eliminated the doctrine of "separate but equal" in educational facilities and opportunities. Most communities in the South maintained a dual school system -- one for whites and another for African Americans. Often schools for African Americans were inferior.)
4. Who is Autherine Lucy? (She is the first African American to attend the University of Alabama. In 1955, after the Supreme Court's Brown decision, the NAACP challenged the University of Alabama's refusal to admit African Americans. The Court ordered the University to admit Lucy in the spring semester of 1956. She was eventually expelled due to unrest on campus.)
5. Why was the NAACP banned from operating in Alabama? (The organization aided Rosa Parks during the Montgomery bus boycott, and the group supported Autherine Lucy's attempt to enter the University of Alabama.)
6. Did Alabama's ban against the NAACP stop the push for Civil Rights in the State? (No. Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth formed the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights.)
7. What role did W.C. Patton play in the Civil rights movement? (Patton was a major advocate for full voting rights, he was the third executive director of the Alabama State branches of the NAACP, and he was the NAACP's national voter education director.)
Garrow, David J. Protest at Selma: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Voting Rights Acts
of 1965. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1978.
King, Martin Luther, Jr. Why We Can't Wait. New York: Harper and Row, 1963.
Kluger, Richard. Simple Justice: The History of Brown v. Board of Education and Black America's Struggle for Equality. New York: Vintage Books, 1975.
Produced by Dwight Cammeron at The University of Alabama Center for Public Television & Radio.
For additional information about using these materials in your classroom, call Alabama Public Television Educational Services, 1-800-239-5233.
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