Heros in the Civil Rights - William Fremd High School

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Student Handout • • What did Marshall do for the NAACP? • What was the Brown v. Board 0/ Education case? • How many Supreme Court cases did Marshall win and lose? • What did the president of the United States appoint him to do in 1967? Throughout his life, Thurgood Marshall faced threats of death and violence from southern whites who opposed his fight for racial equality. One such incident occurred in 1946, several months after Marshall had won the acquittal of 24 out of 25 black defendants in a case involving interracial violence. One night in 1946, Marshall was driving to Nashville, Tennessee, with two other NAACP lawyers, Z. Alexander Looby and Maurice Weaver. As they passed through Columbia, Tennessee, a group of eight white city police, state troopers, and sheriffs followed and stopped Marshall's car, telling the lawyers they had a warrant to search the car for illegal alcohol. The officers conducted the search and found nothing. They let the three men go, but stopped them again one mile down the road. This time, the police grabbed Marshall, accused him of driving intoxicated, and told the other two lawyers to leave. The police drove Marshall toward the Duck River, where members of the Ku Klux Klan were waiting with a noose to lynch him. However, Looby and Weaver gathered a group of armed black residents and followed the police car. The police were thus forced to drive instead to the local magistrate's office in town, where Marshall blew his breath forcefully into the official's face to prove his sobriety. Despite several more threats to his life, Marshall's success in winning civil rights cases continued to grow. From 1967 to 1991, he served faithfully on the Supreme Court. During his tenure, he presided over hundreds of court cases, and sought to make the Constitution a truly "living document" to support justice for all races. • What happened to Marshall as he was driving to Nashville? • What prevented him from being lynched? • What did Marshall do between 1967 and 1991? © Teachers' Curriculum Institute USH-12-5, Activity 2.3, Page 20
I nformation on James Meredith Student Handout • James Meredith's individual acts of courage brought him great admiration during the civil rights movement. Meredith was born in 1933 and grew up in the impoverished and segregated (racially separate) town of Kosciusko, Mississippi. There he experienced many 'forms of segregation and inequality, from the local restaurant where food was served over different counters for whites and blacks, to segregated schools. Meredith was angered by segregation and determined to take action to try to change it. However, rather than seeking a leadership position in an organized civil rights group, he took individual action to combat discrimination. • Where did James Meredith grow up? • What acts of discrimination did he face? In 1961, Meredith decided to become the first black to enroll at the University of Mississippi. He attempted to register in the fall, but was met by hostile white mobs of more than 2,000 people. It was only after 18 months of legal delays and riots that Meredith, with the protection of federal troops, won his suit and began his college career. During the 1950s, Meredith developed a successful career as a U.S. Air Force officer. During the 1960s, he earned a law degree from Columbia University, and he ran for Congress in 1972. However, Meredith chose active participation in the black freedom struggle over a life of comfort and security. Over and over again, he risked his life to achieve justice and equality for African Americans. • What did Meredith do in 1961? • What happened when he tried to register for classes at the University of Mississippi? • How long did it take before he was able to attend the university? Why did it take this long? One incident in particular demonstrates James Meredith's incredible strength and courage. On June 5, 1966, Meredith set off alone to march 200 miles from Memphis, Tennessee, to r-- Jackson, Mississippi. He was determined to cross most of the state of Mississippi to prove that white southern dominance was passing and that blacks could now vote and walk in public without fear of racial violence. Others involved in the civil rights movement opposed © Teachers' Curriculum Institute USH-12-5, Activity 2.3, Page 21
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