Source of book: Audiobook from the library.
While our audiobook selections have primarily been fiction,
there are exceptions. This book is one of them.
When most of us think of the Civil Rights Movement, two
names are usually the first to come to mind: Martin Luther King Jr., and Rosa
Parks. And to be sure, both of them are deserving of honor. They played crucial
roles in the struggle, and acquitted themselves well.
But throughout history, there are names that are unjustly
forgotten, or even unjustly maligned, who are also important and inspiring.
Fortunately, for some of them at least, history eventually recognizes their
contributions.
One of those unjustly neglected heroes is Claudette Colvin.
This book tells her story.
The Montgomery Bus
Boycott was one of the key events of the Civil Rights Movement, and one
that had long term repercussions. It formed a rallying point for the movement,
brought Martin Luther King Jr. to leadership, and resulted in one of the most
important court cases of the 1950s. Without the boycott, it is unlikely we
would have seen the Civil Rights Act a decade later.
But this event is usually told in a way that misses much of
the history. We all learn (okay, those of you who actually studied the Civil Rights Movement in school - A
Beka pretended it didn’t happen…) that the boycott was sparked when Rosa
Parks refused to move to the back of the bus in deference to a white person.
That is a half-truth at best.
Again, no disrespect to Rosa Parks, who took her life in her
hands by her actions and is justly remembered as a hero. But she was a
carefully selected protester, and her act a carefully planned stunt. And it
wasn’t even the first act of protest.
Rather, about nine months before Rosa Parks refused to move,
a 15 year old girl named Claudette Colvin did the same thing - and was likewise
arrested and prosecuted. It was her act - done spontaneously on her own
initiative - that inspired the plan to have a boycott and a specific trigger -
Rosa Parks.
Let that sink in a moment. A 15 year old girl - a mere child
- decided on her own to take on the system. She refused to yield her seat (on a
technicality which the court later recognized), and was dragged off the bus by
policemen, jailed, and prosecuted. Think of the courage that took. She had no
guarantee that anyone would support her. And, in fact, after some initial
support, she was largely abandoned and forgotten.
Claudette Colvin, one year before she protested.
It isn’t that hard to understand why, given the times she
lived in. She got pregnant about four months after the incident, by an older
married (but separated) man, thus ruining her reputation. She was also young,
and although intelligent and a good student, lacked the gravitas to be a good
figurehead for a movement.
In contrast, Rosa Parks was thoroughly respectable, middle
class, middle aged, and lighter skinned. I am sad to have to add the last, and,
again, none of this was Rosa Parks’
fault. That she was an outstanding embodiment of the evil done by segregation
is to her credit in every way, and her dignity and decency helped defuse the
stereotypes that were wielded in an attempt to stop desegregation.
However, Colvin’s brave act gave the idea to the community
leaders in Montgomery.
Segregated buses would be the issue, and a suitable protester - a rallying
point - would be chosen. Rosa Parks, already active in the NAACP and well known,
was the obvious choice. And Colvin was pushed aside.
After Parks’ arrest, the boycott started. Simultaneously
with this, the NAACP along with attorney Fred Gray - who defended both Colvin
and Parks - filed a federal lawsuit challenging segregation. This case, Browder v. Gayle,
is one of those cases that lawyers and law students know, but most laypersons
do not. In fact, while the boycott drew national media attention, it was in
fact the legal case which actually ended bus segregation throughout the United States.
Claudette Colvin was a star witness in the case, and Gray would later say that
she was crucial in convincing two of the three judge panel in favor of
desegregation.
This book is interesting in part because the author spent
considerable time talking with Colvin after her retirement from a career as a
nurse’s aide. The book is full of direct quotes from Colvin about the events,
about her feelings and experiences. Thus, it can be said to be truly her story, not just a story about her.
I will confess that much of the information in this book was
new to me, even though I do care about history, and have read quite a bit about
the era. I knew that Rosa Parks wasn’t the first, but I didn’t know much about
the others. And yes, there was more than one - at least two teenage girls came
first. I am glad my kids got to hear this one.
I had a few thoughts about this book and the history behind
it.
First is this: I think it is vital to understand that the
lie that the past was better is one of the most pernicious falsehoods in our
political and religious discourse in this country. No, it was not better. It
was, in fact, horrible for many people. That is why it is so obvious that “Make
America Great Again” is nothing less than a call for a return to white
supremacy. That is why it is appealing in the first place. We can go back to
the past when “women and negroes knew their place.” That is the meaning of
MAGA.
The second, related point is that this isn’t ancient history.
These events took
place during my parents’ lifetime.
We as a nation are so not over the Civil Rights Movement.
Rather, there are many - including an entire political party these days - who
are actively fighting against the victories that non-whites have won over the
last 65 years. It is certainly no excuse
to say this, but it is key to remember that my parents’ generation - the Baby
Boomers - grew up when it was normal to
tell blacks that they had to be humiliated so that whites would maintain
superiority. I hasten to add that my parents don’t think this way, and
certainly didn’t raise me that way. But too many white Boomers seem to have
this belief that things were so much better back before MLK. It is surreal to
me - growing up in the 1980s in California
- just how recently segregation was the literal law of the land.
Third observation is that the courts have always played a
crucial role in human rights. I really understand these days why the Right in the
US
hates the court system for the most
part. It has served as a bulwark against racist laws from the 1950s on. Some
important names came into the story in a collateral way. Earl Warren was
perhaps the most influential person to come out of Bakersfield, although conservative whites in
our town aren’t all that proud, sad to say. Thurgood Marshall argued for the
winning side in Brown v. Board of
Education, and was later appointed to the Supreme Court as the first
African American justice. These are big names, and justifiably so.
But I want to mention two others. I noted Fred Gray above.
When he defended Colvin, he was fresh out of law school, and thrown into the
fire. This story - and a bit of research on him - was enough to convince me
that he belongs in the gallery of badass attorneys in history. The book quotes
from the transcript of the oral arguments and witness examination, and Gray was
fantastic.
I also need to mention Judge Frank Johnson. A young judge
(younger than me!) at the time of the trial in Browder v. Gayle, he went on to preside over a number of major
civil rights cases in the Alabama
district of the Federal Court. As Bill Moyers put it much later, he “altered
forever the face of the South.” One could argue that he was as important as
Lincoln himself in establishing the human rights of African Americans.
Three things bear mentioning here. First, Johnson received
numerous death threats, had a cross burned on his lawn, and had his mother’s
house firebombed. Opposing the Ku Klux Klan had real consequences back then,
and he did the right thing anyway. Second, in what has to be one of the most
infuriating (to me), if entirely common, events, Johnson received a letter
essentially telling him he had better repent for elevating blacks to the level
of whites, or he would burn in hell. Which is, alas, pretty much the position
of the Religious Right these days when you challenge their racism. Third,
Johnson was a Republican. Seriously, back in the not-that-distant past, the GOP
was actually the party of integration. By the time Jimmy Carter nominated him
to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, that had been completely changed by
Nixon’s Southern Strategy and the rise of the Religious Right. Sad and
frustrating that things have changed.
On that note, something else really struck me. Here is the
admonition of MLK during the boycott:
“If you have weapons, take them home;
if you do not have them, please do not seek to get them. We cannot solve this
problem through retaliatory violence. We must meet violence with nonviolence.
Remember the words of Jesus: "He who lives by the sword will perish by the
sword". We must love our white brothers, no matter what they do to us. We
must make them know that we love them. Jesus still cries out in words that echo
across the centuries: "Love your enemies; bless them that curse you; pray
for them that despitefully use you". This is what we must live by. We must
meet hate with love. Remember, if I am stopped, this movement will not stop,
because God is with the movement. Go home with this glowing faith and this
radiant assurance.”
In contrast to this, the White Citizens’ Council and the KKK
committed numerous acts of violence against those involved. Even the mayor of Montgomery openly called
for violence in response.
I cannot help but notice that The Toupee Who Shall Not Be
Named continues (as he has since the beginning of his campaign) to take plays
out of the KKK playbook, and has essentially threatened violence if his party
is voted out in the next election. This is pretty parallel to the “if we lose,
the blacks will rule Montgomery,”
so whites should take up arms. It is the same thing, in a new era...nearly 70
years later. In what is surely not a coincidence, he is also vilifying peaceful
protest against injustice. Things haven’t really changed that much.
One final thought on this book. Today’s teens seem to
understand that we live in an era in which they
will need to take action, because their parents’ generation is too cowardly (or
compromised) to do it. The students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school get
it. And they have paid for their courage with death threats from the white
nationalists who fear that gun control will deprive them of their defense
against the black “animals” they fear. Like the white librarian who spoke up
against desegregation and received death threats for her trouble (she later
committed suicide, alas), the warriors for justice and human decency these days
will face consequences from the forces of evil - as they always have. But that
doesn’t change the fact that even children can make a difference in the fight
against evil. Claudette Colvin, inspired by an active sense that what she
suffered was injustice, took action against it. While she didn’t receive
recognition until just a few years ago, she deserves the credit for inspiring a
revolution.
This book is thoroughly outstanding. My kids loved it - they
have a strong sense of justice, and have been raised - as I was - to understand
the ugly truth of our nation’s history. And ghastly present White Nationalist
moment. Stories are powerful. This one humanizes the humiliation that African
Americans suffered under Jim Crow. And, let us not forget - this isn’t ancient history. Many today
are alive who participated in this event. Claudette Colvin is still with us.
Fred Gray is still alive. Many of those who spit in the faces of the African
Americans seeking equality still live. Perhaps some have changed, but many
probably cling to their hate. Many of those who were forced to give way to
whites on the bus still can tell their stories. Let us listen with empathy and
with a renewed commitment to justice.
***
One more note that I couldn’t figure out where to put in the
post. I am white. I married a white woman. (Hey, I fell madly in love with
her...what can I say?) I have white kids. So, I kind of have this dilemma. On
the one hand, our history is pretty awful. People of my color have done horrid
things. My personal ancestors came over after the Civil War, and haven’t been
rich, so I don’t have personal stuff
to be ashamed of, but we have definitely benefited
from racist systems in the United
States.
But I don’t want my kids to just feel bad - that isn’t
productive. What I want is for them to see examples of whites who did the right
thing. The Quakers who sheltered those escaping from slavery. The abolitionists.
The men and women who stood up against Jim Crow - and often paid the price.
(That many of these were lawyers, judges, and Christian ministers makes me
proud.) The men and women today who join in protesting police brutality,
discrimination, and hate. Those who don’t just stay silent when others make
racist jokes, or air their hate. Those who speak up, come along side the
oppressed, and who fight for justice.
I want my children to see these good examples and to emulate
them.
Books like this also remind us that doing right has
consequences. While we haven’t suffered the firebombing and death threats of
the past, we have lost friends over our commitment to speak out against racial
hatred and the political parties and candidates that fan those evil flames.
This is to be expected. Those who threatened Civil Rights leaders, black and
white, were convinced god was on their side. A god that somehow believed
segregation and white supremacy was good, and human rights were evil. That god
is still widely worshipped today, in white Evangelical churches across our
nation. We
lost our connection to that community over our refusal to bow to that idol.
Thus is the price of refusing to sell one’s soul. My prayer is that we see a
better world as a result.
***
Some related reading that I highly recommend:
Remembering
Jim Crow (oral history)
The Price for their Pound of Flesh by
Daina Ramey Berry
The
Slaves’ War by Andrew Ward
The
Other Slavery by Andres Resendez
Kindred
by Octavia Butler
Invisible
Man by Ralph Ellison
The
Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. DuBois
Homegoing
by Yaa Gyasi
The
Fire This Time, edited by Jesmyn Ward
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