Civil Rights in Twilight

Civil Rights in Twilight: The End of the Civil Rights Movement Era in 1973 Author(s): Christopher Paul Lehman
Source: Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 36, No. 3 (Jan., 2006), pp. 415-428 Published by: Sage Publications, Inc. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40035018 . Accessed: 06/03/2014 04:36
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CIVIL RIGHTS IN TWILIGHT The End of the Civil Rights Movement Era in 1973
CHRISTOPHER PAULLEHMAN
St. Cloud State University
Despite inattention given to the civil rightsmovementin 1973, it was very muchalivethen.The majorgroupsof the movementstill existed.In addition, anticivilrightsgroupsfundedby MississippiandAlabamataxpayers continued to spy on movementparticipants. However,both the movementand its opposition did not effectively adjust to federally imposed desegregation undertheCivilRightsAct andtheVotingRightsAct. Theirsimultaneous disin 1973 effectivelyended the civil rightsmovementera. integration Keywords: Alabama;Mississippi;civil disobedience;civil rightsmovement;desegregation
In 1973, several people publicly reflected on the history of the African Americancivil rights movement. That year happenedto of some of the more memorableevents markthe 10th anniversary of the movement. GovernorWilliam Wallerof Mississippi dedicated June 12, 1973 as MedgarEvers Day in memory of the civil rights leader, slain on that date in 1963. In August 1973, author Alice Walkerwrote an essay for TheNew York TimesMagazineon her thoughts of the 10 years since the March on Washington.In "StayingHome in Mississippi,"she recalledherinvolvementin the demonstration and noted progressmade in Mississippi's race relations since then (Walker,1973). Many of these observersreferredto the movement as dead in 1973. Tobe sure,the medialost interestin it in the 1970s. Reporters insteadcovereddomestic strifeconcerningU.S. militaryparticipation in the Vietnamconflict, and women received media exposure
JOURNALOF BLACKSTUDIES, Vol. 36 No. 3, January2006 415-428 DOI: 10.1177/0021934705280412 2006 Sage Publications
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thathad once belonged to the movementby demonstrating for the cause of equalrightsaccordingto gender.Then,in 1973, the Waterwar became dominantnews stogate scandaland the Arab-Israeli ries. As a result, they pushed African Americanconcerns further away from the frontpages. Despite the inattention, the civil rights movement was not dead but rathervery much alive in 1973. The majorgroups of the - the National Association for the Advancement of movement Colored People (NAACP), the Congress of Racial Equality,the SouthernChristianLeadershipConference (SCLC), and the Student Nonviolent CoordinatingCommittee(SNCC)- still existed. In addition,organizedresistanceto the movement,especially the FBI and groups sponsoredby anti-integration state governments, remainedin operation.However,both the movementandits opposition sufferedfromexternalandinternal problemsfor years.These issues came to a destructiveand fatal peak in 1973, effectively ending the civil rights movementera. The Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission (MSSC)- a stateagency createdin 1956 to preservesegregationin the wake of the Supreme Court's ruling of school segregationas unconstitu- was a shell of itself in tional in Brown v. Board of Education 1973. Membersof the governor'sadministration, state legislators, and private citizens composed MSSC membership.They hired to spy on civil rightsactivistsandsupporters of deseginvestigators regation(Katagiri,2001, pp. 6, 7). AfterCongressendedlegal segregationwith the Civil Rights Act andthe VotingRightsAct in the mid-1960s, the days of the MSSC were numbered.As domestic opposition to U.S. combat in Vietnamincreased,the commission expanded its surveillanceto include militant Blacks and antiwar activists.However,these nemeses to the grouphad little to do with its original purpose of protecting the sovereignty of the state of Mississippi (Dittmer,1998, pp. 177, 185). More important,the MSSC no longer had the supportof its - the governor.In 1971, when most powerful ex-officio member Waller the attorneywho tried for a conviction of Byron de la - ran for governor,one of his Beckwith for the murderof Evers was to shut down the MSSC. After winning the election, promises
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he failed in his first attemptto close it in 1972. Nevertheless,from his inauguration onward,the commission was on borrowedtime. He did as little as possible for the agency;for example,he madethe theofficestaff to it andretained obligatory gubernatorial appointments no meetings. of African Americans butattended Also,his appointments to the agency'shistoric to government offices showedhis opposition defenseof segregation 2001, pp. 221, 222). (Katagiri, Despite the governor'sreluctance,the organizationstill found plentyof workto do the following year.As the United Statesended its militaryinvolvementin the Vietnamconflict in early 1973, the agency kept investigatorsfocused on suspectedBlack militants.In March, investigatorMack Mohead acquireddata on the "Negro of the town of Clarksdale,saying thatthe leadersthere leadership" suspended protests while waiting for a federal court to decide whether to readmitthree suspended African American students. The commission also policed the pan-African group Republic of New Africa (RNA), which plannedto celebrateMarch 30 and 31, 1973, as SolidarityDay and offered "workshops,spiritualralfor the event. InvestigatorE. C. lies, and other demonstrations" the RNA plannedto "createa warned the MSSC that Fortenberry new coalition of militants"from the participants(MSSC, 1973a, pp. 1-2). the year, state politiciansdebatedaboutthe usefulThroughout ness of the MSSC. In March, the legislature overwhelmingly approveda bill to fundthe agency for an additionalyear.Morethan 3 times the numberof state representatives voting againstthe bill in state senate wereno matchfor the and the 3 the it, nays supported 48 ayes. However,on April 17, afterthe legislaturehad adjourned for the year, Wallervetoed the bill. In his veto statement,he said thatthe commissionprovided"norealindispensableservicesto the people of this state."He claimed that the state highway patrolor attorneygeneralcould performthe laborof the MSSC's investigators("FundsVetoed,"1973, p. 28). Indeed,when the agency agreed to meet after the funding lapsed, the membersrequestedthat the attorneygeneral'soffice coordinatethe meeting. Still, they fumed overnot only the veto butalso Waller'stimingof it (Katagiri,2001, pp. 224-226).
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The agency made the most of the possibilities of its salvation. With 1 monthremainingbefore the funding cutoff, the groupmet twice to discuss its options for survival.In the meeting of June 7, Attorney General A. F. Summer noted that the terminationof did not meanthatthe commissionno longerexisted. appropriations Moreover,if the 1974 session of the legislaturewere to override Waller'sveto, then funding would resume (MSSC, 1973b, p. 5). Hanging onto this hope, the commissioners met on June 22- 8 - to take measures to put the days before the office shutdown agency on hold for 6 monthsuntilthe legislatureconvenedin January 1974. The MSSC resolved to place its investigators"on loan" with anotherdepartment. The membersplaced their recordswith Mississippi secretaryof state Heber Ladner.They agreed to pay renton the office throughJanuary andallow otherstateagencies to use the space upon requestin the meantime.They also scheduled one finalmeetingin November,althoughthey wouldhavelost their money by then (MSSC, 1973c, pp. 2-3). After nearly 5 months, the MSSC did not remainunited in its fight againstthe veto. Only five membersattendedthe meeting of November9, 1973: citizen membersDan Martinand H. Ted Lambert, state lawmakers Tommy Home and Chester Butler, and MSSC directorWebb Burke. Even the additionof the substitutes for the lieutenantgovernorand attorneygeneralbarely made half the membership. Moreover,the two substitutesabstainedfromvoting on the passedmotionfor the MSSC to askthe statelegislatureto overrideGovernor Waller'sveto, thusresultingin 5 of the 13 membersvotingto save the agency.All agreed,however,thatWallerwas no longer a productivemember.They moved to poll the absent members about petitioning the legislature, but they did not list Walleramongthe absent.Afterall, by issuing his veto, he hadmade clear his stance on the commission (State of Mississippi Official Records of the AttorneyGeneral, 1973, p. 1). The November meeting hardly caused a stir. The commission usually answered questions from reportersafter meetings. However,the local newspapersdid not even mentiona Novembermeetnews by this time. It was ing. Tobe sure,the MSSC was unattractive a powerless agency stubbornlyseeking money to do politically
Lehman/ CIVIL RIGHTSIN TWILIGHT 4 19
obsolete work,andeven the majorityof its membersdemonstrated that it was not worth saving by their absence from the meeting. the legislatureallowed the MSSC to Upon convening in January, remain dead, ending with barely a fraction of the fanfare of its creation. The AlabamaStateSovereigntyCommission(ALSC), created7 yearsafterthe MSSC, sharedMississippi's distastefor integration. State governorGeorge Wallace had called for the creationof the in agency in 1963. At the time, he faced civil rightsdemonstrations threats to at the of Alaand segregation University Birmingham bama. State officials fashioned the state's commission after the MSSC; the ALSC also spied on civil rights workers and other alleged subversives.The directorsof both agencies contactedeach otherthroughthe 1960s. Still, their enthusiasmcould not prevent the ALSC from the effects of federally imposed desegregation (MSSC, 1964). Despite the ALSC's misfortunes,Wallaceremaineda loyal supporterof his creation.In 1971, he proposedthe biennialappropriation of $65,000 per yearfor the commission, andthe Alabamalegislaturepassedit. Integration broughtuponthe stateby federallaws did not diminish the importanceof the ALSC to Wallace. When making anotherbiennial requestfor the agency in 1973, he asked for even morefunds thanbefore. He sought $68,000 for fiscal year 1974 and $72,000 for 1975 (Holmes, 1973). The otherbranchesof Alabama'sgovernment,however,found no reason to keep funding the sovereignty commission. In mid1973, the legislatorsvoted to cut off the funding.They did not tryto hold onto it as desperatelyas the Mississippi legislators did the MSSC. Then again, the ALSC had become a legal liability by the early 1970s. The agency constantly defended itself in court on charges of civil rights violations. Unfortunatelyfor the commission, the plaintiffsusually won (Holmes, 1974). Wallacedid not protestthe fundingcutoff. His resolve to let the ALSC die representeda political shift in his handling of racial issues. He thenbeganto reachout to his AfricanAmericanconstituents, realizing that he would need their votes for reelection in 1974. In November 1973, he crownedthe Universityof Alabama's
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first AfricanAmericanto win the homecomingqueen title, and he spoke to a gatheringof Black politicians, who warmly received him. Not only was the stategovernmentwilling to end the oppression of AfricanAmericansat the handsof the ALSC, butalso many AfricanAmericanswere readyto move beyondthe state'ssegregationist past. In this new racialclimate,the ALSC harbored no illusions about a likely resurrection butrathersaw the fundingcutoff as the end of the agency.The ALSC, like the MSSC, still existedby law butwithout funding as of September30. However,the ALSC's prospects for restoration of funds were even bleakerthanthose of the MSSC. Alabama'scommission could only have survivedif legislatorshad - a very called a special session to restorethe money to the group faintprospect,consideringthatthey had eliminatedthe appropriation in the firstplace. Therefore,with 11 days remainingbeforethe scheduledremovalof funds, the agency met one last time to shut down. The members resolved to fire their employees instead of placing them on loan. They voted to terminaterentalpaymentsfor office space (ALSC, 1973b, pp. 4-5). JackWinfield,executivesecretaryof the ALSC, agreedto resignandthencontractanemployee to performthe necessaryclericalworkto close the commission;by December 4, the group had paid out all outstanding bills and canceled its contracts(ALSC, 1973a). ALSC employee MarthaWitt Smith, one of few segregationist women holding significantpoliticalpowerin the 1960s and 1970s, had more difficulty adjustingto the state's move away from resistance to integration.She had served as the commission's voting consultantfor several years, traveling to boards of registrarsall over the state to advise the members on how to registerAfrican Americansand college studentsto vote. In 1964, the ALSC hired herto writethe interpretive oralandwrittenquestionsfor the state's voter registration test (Thornton,2002, p. 684). When the legislaturecanceledALSC funds, she lobbiedthe body to draftandpass a law creatinga "votingconsultant" position underthe office of the governor,andshe campaignedto fill the proposedoffice. However, the bill died in the state house of representatives (Holmes, 1973).
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With her unemployment imminent upon the closing of the ALSC, she made a desperate appeal at the final meeting of the herfor the expense agency.She askedthe commissionto reimburse of her lobbying for the bill. Instead,the membersmade very clear that as far as they were concerned, her time and the time of the did not want to repay ALSC had passed. Winfield, in particular, had requestedthat Smith. He statedthat Wallace'sadministration the ALSC not supportthe bill and had tried to persuadeSmith to cease lobbying. Winfield also had asked Smith to stop, but she refused. The ALSC membersunanimouslyagreed with Winfield andturneddown herrequestfor money (ALSC, 1973b, p. 6). After the commissionpaid her for the last time on October26, 1973, her long careerwith the ALSC was over (ALSC, 1973a). The groups of the civil rights movementrarelyexhibitedunity butmadefew attemptsto do so by 1973. The NAACPused the legal system to bring about changes in race relations. In contrast,the SCLC and SNCC advocated civil disobedience, which meant breakinga law, but on the basis of its innate immorality.These groupsoccasionally workedtogether;in 1966, the SCLC, SNCC, and the Congressof Racial EqualitymarchedthroughMississippi to encourageAfricanAmericansto take advantageof the recently passed Voting Rights Act by registeringto vote. However, as the movementwon victories such as the VotingRightsAct butlost key members due to violence, it struggled to make new goals and programs. The SNCC, the organizationthat revitalizedthe movementvia directactionprotestssuch as sit-ins in 1960, lost membersoverthe years,evolving in ways thatdid not inspireloyalty among the participants.Boycotts in the late 1950s withdrewpeople from participating in the economy, and resistanceto the activists was high. In contrast,the sit-insplacedthe studentsin the businessesandforced the owners to confrontopponentsof segregationface to face. The facilities inspireda wave new tacticandits success atdesegregating of direct-actiondemonstrationsnationwide. SNCC soon formed and immediately became a divided group. Its members either favoredsit-insbecauseof immediateresults(i.e., the desegregation
422 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES / JANUARY 2006
of a lunch counter)or voterregistration drives,workingtowardthe Americans. SNCC of for African long-term goal voting rights in the mid-1960s, of activists. But both effectively organized types the group made changes such as the creationof the controversial slogan "Blackpower"and the removalof White members.Later, when SNCC disavowednonviolentprotestas a tactic and changed in its name from "Nonviolent" in 1969, almost the TV to "National" all of the originalmembershad left. None remainedin 1973. Still, the new membersmanagedto keep SNCC afloat. Frances Beal led SNCC's most successful faction of the 1970s: the Third WorldWomen'sAlliance. Servingas a meansto fight not only racism but also sexism, the group filled a significant void, for both White feminists and the Black civil rights movement frequently neglected to discuss the specific concerns of women of color. SNCC also startedsuch businesses as a coffee shop and a bookstore. The FBI monitored the group but, with several SNCC branchesfolding throughthe 1970s, largelyrestrictedsurveillance to the nationalofficers in New York(Carson, 1981, p. 296). Throughout 1973, SNCC suffered heavy mortal blows. The Three ThirdWorldWomen'sAlliance split from SNCC in January. monthslater,the nationaloffice in New Yorkclosed. By November, the group had stopped publishing its newsletter"due to a lack of writingtalent,"accordingto the FBI report.On November24, the organizationheld its nationalconferencein Tulsa,Oklahoma,and decided to drop the acronym "SNCC" entirely and tentatively renameitself the Revolutionary DemocraticParty.By this time, the in was San Antonio, Texas,but its memgroup'sstrongestchapter bers did not even attendthe conference.Noting SNCC's inactivity and disintegration, the FBI closed its investigationof the groupon December 11 (U.S. FBI, 1973, pp. 6, 8, 21). The SCLC survived 1973 but not withoutexperiencingtrauma. Afteryearsof setbackswith the groupin the aftermath of the killing of SCLC presidentMartinLuther King, Jr., successor Reverend RalphAbernathy resignedfromthe presidencyin July.He returned the next monthafterSCLC officers had begged him to do so. Still, he had to revampthe groupin ways thatnot only reflectedthe loss of King and the resignationsof prominentmembersJesse Jackson
Lehman/ CIVIL RIGHTSIN TWILIGHT 423
andJamesBevel but also drewupon the strengthsof the remaining members.That fall, SCLC kept busy by calling for the impeachmentof PresidentRichardNixon andfor the amnestyof draftdodgers of the Vietnamconflict. Still, the grouplost focus by takingon so many issues. Then,the SugarBowl controversycame along. The Mid-Winter Sports Association (MWSA), which facilitatedthe New Orleans bowl game, had been an all-Whiteorganizationsince its inception in 1934. Local African American activists began pressuringthe groupto desegregatein 1971. Then on November29, 1973, an ad hoc committeeconsisting of local membersof the NAACP,SCLC, and the A. Philip RandolphInstitutegave a press conference,callactions"if the MWSA did not bring in African ing for "disruptive Americanmembersand hire AfricanAmericansfor clerical work and ticket selling. Committee attorney Al Chambliss warned, "There'sa very good possibilitytherewon't be a SugarBowl, if, in fact, the variouscommunityorganizationsand the people demonstratetheirconcern"(Lewis, 1973, p. 6). In manyways, the ad hoc committeebehavedlike the civil rights movement had in the 1960s. The members revealed in the press conference that they would consider using the direct action technique of sit-ins. The tactic had served the movement well in the 1960s, andby 1973, activistsfor othercauses such as oppositionto U.S. combatin Vietnamor women's liberationhadco-optedthe sitof thatyear,the committeeheld in. Also, on the day afterChristmas a mass meeting on the boycott at St. Raymond'sCatholic Church hall. Mass meetings in churches had historically served as the andothersto involve meansfor ministersto rallytheirparishioners themselves in civil rights activism;in the mid-1950s, participants in the bus boycott in Montgomery,Alabamaorganizedand developed strategiesen masse atchurch("RightsGroup,"1973,p. 46). However,not all the SugarBowl protestactivitywas traditional. some changesin strategy The ad hoc committeealso demonstrated since the peakyearsof the movementin the early 1960s. Forexample, the groupmaintainedSCLC'spolicy since 1968 of refusingto promise nonviolence on the part of the demonstrators(Peake, 1987, p. 245). Also, the members did not have illusions of a
"beloved community" of Black and White MWSA members; whetherthe racialgroupsfavoredone anotherwas irrelevant. Even the issue of integrationitself matteredlittle to the committee.Participant Larry Jones flatly stated that the committee concerned itself with the goal of more money insteadof integration.To him, the issue of all-White MWSA membershipconnected with the absence of teams from historicallyBlack colleges and universities in the bowl game via money."SugarBowl participants will receive somewhere in the neighborhoodof $570,000 apiece,"he noted. "Black colleges could use some of that money" ("Civil Rights Group,"1973, p. 4). The civil rights movement in New Orleans attractednational attentionbut on a limited scale. For the first time in 20 years, the victoriousteam of the SugarBowl would become the nationalcolteamslege football team champion;the first- and third-ranked - were the University of Alabama and Notre Dame, respectively scheduledto play.Sportsreporters nationwidetreatedthe evolution of the ad hoc committee's campaignlike a soap opera;they kept readersin suspenseas to whetherthe SugarBowl would takeplace. andthe MiddleEast However,the storydid not displaceWatergate on the frontpages of newspapers.Instead,it remainedconfinedto the sportssections. Even with supportfrom the national office of the SCLC, the SugarBowl campaigndid not significantlybenefit. National officers seemedunsureas to the goals of the local activists.SCLCvicepresidentDr. BernardLee vaguely reassuredthe crowdat the mass has assuredme thathe is well readyto meetingthat"Dr.Abernathy come to New Orleansto do whateverthe ad hoc committeedeems necessaryto get our fair shareof whateverthe pie is."He proposed to have nationalofficers confer with the MWSA and picket ABC for broadcastingthe Sugar Bowl on television (Murphy, 1973, p. 1). In addition,the nationalSCLCdid not take any initiative,but rathertook its cues from the local leaders.It was a far cry from 10 whenDr.KingandothernationalSCLCleadersmoved yearsearlier, into Birmingham,Alabamaand organizedmasses for a series of of thecity resulted, butlocal activistsbalked marches; desegregation
Lehman/ CIVILRIGHTSIN TWILIGHT 425
at the aggressiveness of the campaign and the SCLC's use of minorsfor demonstrations (Thornton,2002, p. 297). The lack of supportfrom studentsshowed that the civil rights movementhad indeed lost its ability to mobilize the masses. Professional adultsranthe SugarBowl campaign,thusgiving students little say in its operation.Also, the MWSA did not appointstudents to its membership. Therefore,they did not standto directlybenefit from the boycott. The playersof both teams appearingin the bowl in the protestactivities.One playerinitially optednot to participate declared,"Myfirstobligationis to my team. I believe a personcan take care of his own problemsfirst, his own individually,those in his immediateenvironmentand then try to take care of those in otherplaces."But he then admittedignoranceof the details of the boycott ("PlayersShun,"1973, p. 36). More significantwas the voluntaryabsenceof the homecoming queenof the Universityof Alabamafromthe boycott.TerryPoints, the school's first African American queen, arguably would not have attended the school if not for the movement. Ironically, at the school 10 years Wallace,who hadtriedto preventintegration crowned Points. when asked a for the New Still, earlier, by reporter aboutthe achievementsof the movement, OrleansTimes-Picayune she saw them as relative: "Of course the race relations have improved,butthen, we [the stateof Alabama]were neveras bad as anyoneelse. Some things took longer to change thanothers."Also ironic was her opposition to the boycott because of opportunities "Theplayershavea future for the athletesvia school desegregation. to look forwardto, and a bowl game is very importantto their she reasoned."Boycottingthe SugarBowl would be hurtcareers," ing them,andI don't thinkthe Ad Hoc Committeeshouldput them in thatposition"(Davis, 1973, p. 6: 3). in the boycott partly symbolThe lack of studentparticipation ized a majorshift in studentactivity in 1973. With the end of the andU.S. troopsleaving Vietnam2 months militarydraftin January later,antiwaractivism sharplydeclined on campuses nationwide. to some colleges ReserveOfficerTrainingCorps(ROTC)returned anduniversitiesthathad bannedthem a few years earlier.Students
426 JOURNALOF BLACK STUDIES / JANUARY 2006
returnedto traditionalactivities such as pledging fraternitiesand sororities.Many reportersnoted the trend of students'prioritization of academics over activism that fall semester. In October, newspaper columnist William Rusher (1973, p. 2: 2) declared, "TheYouthRevolutionis over." Severalpeoplejoined the studentsin opposingthe boycott.Civil rights leaders in New Orleanspublicly criticizedthe ad hoc committee for its stubbornness."Thecommitteehad won its point but when it got down to the nittygritty,they did not exercisethe reason I would like to see exercised,"said one local activist. In addition, one of the new Black MWSA members downplayed the importance of the continuedcampaign,revealingthat those joining the group merely receive a lifetime right to buy tickets to the Sugar Bowl. He sighed, "Ina way, the whole thing is ridiculous"("Civil Rights Group,"1973, p. 4). Even the SCLC and membersof the ad hoc committeebacked off of the protest at the last minute. On New Year's eve, hours before the game started,Lee announcedthatthe MWSA had written a promise to implementan affirmativeaction programgiving the organization 30%AfricanAmericanmembership by 1975. Satisfied that the MWSA had acted in good faith, he withdrewthe SCLC from the demonstration. Thirtymarchersstill picketed the - farfewerthanthe activistshadexpected. eventatTulaneStadium Miffedthatothercommitteememberswere absent,marcher Johnny from New Orleans,defiJackson, Jr., a Louisiana representative antly stated,"Ourpurposeis not to disrupt, just to visually display thatall is not well." Notre Dame andAlabamaplayed in the Sugar Bowl thatnightwithout Voiced," 1974,p. 7: 1). ("Protest interruption Thus, the last nationallypublicized event coordinatedby more thanone of the "old guard"civil rights movementgroups uncerewithinminutes. moniouslyconcludedas the year 1974 approached The commissions and the movementfed off each otherto survive. The formerjustified their existence by noting the presence of the latter.Likewise, the movementlived to combat the segregationist policies thatthe commissionsdefended.Both sides lost momentum the early 1970s due to fundingproblemsandthe inabilthroughout
Lehman / CIVIL RIGHTS IN TWILIGHT
427
ity to revampthemselvesin the wake of civil rightsvictories.Their simultaneouscollapses in 1973 were no mere coincidences.
REFERENCES
AlabamaState SovereigntyCommission.(1973a). Accountspayable general ledger.Montof Archivesand History. gomery: AlabamaDepartment AlabamaState SovereigntyCommission.(1973b, September19). Minutesof the meetingof the Alabama State Sovereignty Commission.Montgomery:Alabama Departmentof Archivesand History. Carson,C. (1981). In struggle: SNCC and the Black awakeningof the 1960s. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UniversityPress. moresugarfrombowl. ( 1973, December17). TheNew Orleans Civil rightsgroupdemanding Times-Picayune, p. 4: 4. Davis, J. M. ( 1973, December3 1). Alabamaqueenadvises Blacks to play in sugar.TheNew Orleans Times-Picayune, p. 6: 3. the media,and J. (1998). Dixie 's dirtysecret: Thetruestoryof how the government, Dittmer, antiwarmovement.Armonk, the mob conspiredto combatintegrationand the Vietnam NY: M. E. Sharpe. Fundsvetoed for Mississippi boardthatfought civil rights.(1973, April 22). TheNew York Times,p. 28. Holmes, R. (1973, October4). Sovereigntycommission is no more,butchief still on state's Advertiser. Availablefrom www.montgomeryadvertiser.com payroll.Montgomery Holmes, R. (1974, October27). State sovereigntycommission could be revived.Montgomery Advertiser.Availablefrom www.montgomeryadvertiser.com Katagiri,Y. (2001). TheMississippiState SovereigntyCommission:Civil rightsand states' rights.Jackson:UniversityPress of Mississippl. - Blacks. The New Orleans TimesLewis, D. (1973, November 30). Sugar Bowl in peril 6. Picayune, p. MississippiStateSovereigntyCommission.( 1973a, March28). Minutesof themeetingof the Jackson:MississippiDepartment of Archives Commission. MississippiStateSovereignty and History. Commission.( 1973b,June7). Minutesof themeetingof theMisMississippiStateSovereignty of Archivesand Commission. Jackson:MississippiDepartment sissippiStateSovereignty History. MississippiState SovereigntyCommission.(1973c, June 22). Minutesof the meetingof the Jackson:MississippiDepartment of Archives Commission. MississippiStateSovereignty and History. J. D. ( 1973, December27). Unit may block gates to bowl. TheNew Orleans TimesMurphy, Picayune, p. 1. Peake,T. R. ( 1987). Keepingthedreamalive: A historyof the SouthernChristianLeadership from King to the nineteen-eighties.New York:PeterLang. Conference Playersshun boycottrequest.(1973, December 27). TheHartfordCourant,p. 36.
Protestvoiced despite Black leaders'remarks.(1974, January1). TheNew Orleans TimesPicayune, p. 7. Times,p. 46. Rights groupsthreatenSugarBowl (1973, November30). TheNew York Rusher,W. (1973, October 20). The youth revolution:It never really happened.St. Paul Pioneer-Dispatch,p. 2: 2. State of Mississippl. Mississippi State SovereigntyCommission(MSSC) (1964, April 24). Letterfrom Hon. Eli Howell to Hon. Erie Johnston.Jackson,MS: Mississippi Department of Archivesand History. Stateof MississippiOfficial Recordsof the AttorneyGeneral.(1973, November9). Minutes of the meeting of the Mississippi State SovereigntyCommission.Jackson:Mississippi of Archivesand History. Department J. M. (2002). Dividing lines: Municipalpolitics and the strugglefor civil rightsin Thornton, Montgomery, Birmingham,and Selma.Tuscaloosa:Universityof AlabamaPress. U.S. FederalBureauof Investigation. (1973, December 11). Reporton the StudentNational CoordinatingCommittee. PrintingOffice. Washington,DC: Government TimesMagazine, A. ( 1973, August 26). Stayinghome in Mississippl. TheNew York Walker, pp. 9, 58, 60, 62.
studiesfrom the ChristopherP. Lehman received his doctorate in Afro-American Universityof MassachusettsatAmherstin 2002. He published "TheNew BlackAniin AnimatedCarmatedImages of 1946: Black Charactersand Social Commentary toons" in the summer2001 issue of the Journal of PopularFilm andTelevision.He is under contract with the Universityof MassachusettsPress to complete a book on in Americananimated AfricanAmericanrepresentation films. He currentlyworksas an assistantprofessorof the EthnicStudiesDepartment at Saint CloudState University in SaintCloud,Minnesota.He givesfrequentpublicspeecheson thesubjectof the historyof Saint Cloud'sAfricanAmericancommunity.

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Civil Rights in Twilight: The End of the Civil Rights Movement Era in 1973 Author(s): Christopher Paul Lehman

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