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campaign, and in December 1961 the Interstate Commerce
Commission issued a ban on racial segregation and
discrimination during interstate travel. A contributing
factor to the government's role in imposing desegregation
was its international image as a beacon of 'democracy and
freedom' in the midst of the Cold War, an image badly
tarnished by racist segregation laws and civil rights protests
in the South.
As with the student sit-in movement, the SCLC
became involved in the Freedom Rides but again did not
play a central role. In fact, the SCLC was still in decline
despite its voter registration work. It lacked a coherent
strategy to mobilize a mass base from which to organize.
Despite this, it was able to capitalize on the student
and CORE campaigns, and by 1961 had raised some
$200,000, mostly from northern whites. King's high profile,
and that of the SCLC's, made it seem as if they were the
guiding force behind the 1960-61
movements, and they were able to reap
the financial benefits of this false
perception.
School Desegregation, 1962
In September 1962, James
Meredith, a Black US air force
veteran, began a campaign to enrol at
the University of Mississippi, a
notoriously racist institution. Racist
whites, including the state governor,
mobilized to oppose his enrolment and
the larger issue of school
desegregation.
As Meredith attempted several times to enrol,
mobs of angry Whites gathered to prevent him entering
school grounds. On a final attempt, several thousand
Whites rioted and opened fire on police; some 200 people
were injured. In the fighting, two people (including a
French journalist) were killed.
In response, President Kennedy deployed US Army
units to restore control and Meredith began attending
classes. The military build-up reached some 24,000 troops.
The next year, in 1963, Kennedy again deployed military
forces to impose school desegregation in Alabama.
Defeat in Albany, 1961-62
Having been sidelined during the 1960-61 student
campaigns, although still maintaining a high profile as a
perceived leader of the movement, King and the SCLC
embarked on their first real effort at grassroots organizing
after the Montgomery campaign, this time in Albany,
Georgia.
The campaign was initiated by two local SNCC
Freedom Ride bus burns in Alabama, 1961.
workers, who had started with a voter registration drive but
soon expanded their plans to a mass protest movement
against segregation. They encountered hostility from the
local NAACP chapter, but considerable support from the
NAACP Youth Council, which had been established in
1961. They also received support from students at Albany
State College.
The two organizers convinced six Black
organizations in the city to form a coalition, the Albany
Movement, established at a meeting on November 17,
1961.
“[I]ts leadership comprised half a dozen preachers
and numerous businessmen and professionals—a doctor, a
dentist, a realtor, and the only black lawyer in southwest
Georgia.”
(To Redeem the Soul of America, p. 86)
The goals of the movement were
fair employment, an end to police
brutality, and desegregation of train,
bus, and municipal facilities. The
Movement organized a negotiating
committee and planned protests and
mass arrests.
On November 22, five Blacks
were arrested at the Albany bus
terminal, part of the Movement's
plan to begin the campaign. At their
trial five days later, some 600
protesters marched to city hall on a
'prayer pilgrimage.' There were no
arrests, however.
Then, on December 10, a group of
Freedom Riders arrived in Albany and were arrested. Two
days later at their trial, 265 Blacks were arrested during a
protest. The next day, over 200 more were arrested.
On December 15, King and SCLC officials arrived
in Albany, invited by the Movement president. During a
speech, King announced he would lead a march the next
day.
The following day, King led some 250 protesters to
city hall, and most were arrested after ignoring an order to
disperse. King refused to pay bail, and his arrest and
imprisonment attracted widespread publicity.
Ella Baker, now an adviser to SNCC and a bitter
critic of the SCLC and King, moved to counter the
perception that the SCLC was leading the Albany
campaign. At a December 17 Movement press conference,
speakers denied the SCLC was in anyway involved in the
organizing.
The Movement had also reached a settlement with
the city that included the release of all prisoners,
compliance with the federal decision banning segregated
interstate travel facilities, a committee of city and
movement members to continue negotiations, and a thirtyday
moratorium on protests.
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