Integration Is For Everybody: A Challenge to Our Democracy

By Izona J. Burgess

AHTC Summer Institute 2010

The Civil Rights Movement

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was a time of enlightenment, and it was a time of darkness.” Those words, paraphrased from the Charles Dickens’ novel, A Tale of Two Cities, could best describe our AHTC 2010 Summer Institute, The Civil Rights Movement, or a tale of Two Americas. As an AHTC participant since 2006, I anticipated this Institute more than any other in recent memory, and it did not disappoint. Also, as an African-American who lived during this time period in history, it was an opportunity to stand back and reflect upon those events and the impact upon me both personally and professionally.

Our opening speaker, Dr. Patricia Sullivan, author of the book, Lift Every Voice and Sing: The NAACP and the Making of the Civil Rights Movement, could not have been more relevant as she referenced the most recent, and current case of racial uneasiness in America, Shirley Sherrod. She then went on to cite the work of her book on the NAACP calling it a “mirror on America.” Although that struck me as an interesting observation, it wasn’t until she concluded with the statement that “Integration is for everybody” that the real groundwork was laid. She went on to explain the reason for this as a challenge to our democratic way of life. We are a nation of laws and in order to have a “more perfect union,” we cannot simply choose which laws we will, or will not, obey. And, with that conclusion, each and every speaker intersected with the narrative of our opening speaker, and thus was laid the groundwork for the power of this Institute.

In her book Dr. Sullivan says that:

“by the time the NAACP was formed (1910), white supremacy had triumphed in the South, home to nearly 90 percent of black Americans. Over the previous twenty years southern states enacted a series of laws that effectively stripped blacks of citizenship rights and segregated all phases of public life. The legal underpinnings for a racial caste system earned the endorsement of the U.S. Supreme Court with the Plessy v. Ferguson ruling in 1896. Mass terror and violence were essential to establishing and maintaining the new racial order.”

What does this say about our nation if its citizens are allowed to usurp the very laws upon which this nation was founded? It is a challenge to democracy everywhere and this makes it both a black and a white problem. For many, the idea of integration is often thought of as a burden that African Americans must carry and thus the task of making that a reality is often left to this segment of the population, along with its white sympathizers.

Dr. Sullivan also cites William English Walling, a young socialist with southern roots who reported on “The Race War in the North,” referring to the Springfield, Illinois (home of Abraham Lincoln) riot in the summer of 1908. “For him, the events in Springfield signaled a nation standing at the precipice,” as all of the whites he interviewed, except one spoke callously about the deaths of eight black people and scores more who were injured. According to the report, two elderly black men were lynched and it took nearly four thousand troops over two days to finally quell the riot. In fact, over two thousand blacks fled the city following the riot. This is even more startling when one thinks of the beginning of the modern Civil Rights era as not beginning until almost 50 years after this incident! Dr. Sullivan really highlights the NAACP as being crucial to the beginning of this movement.

Ilyasah Shabazz, the daughter of Malcolm X and our keynote speaker on the second day, spoke of the importance of teaching the Civil Rights Movement to help students to have a more purpose-driven life and that we should stir our children to be social activists. But, the point that most resonated with me was that the accurate teaching of history eliminates feelings of inferiority as well as superiority. Combining this thought with my feelings on integration, the document that I chose to examine and share with my students centers on the desegregation of the Urbana Schools. I decided to analyze the document dated July 27, 1966 from the Courier newspaper which announces, “Urbana Schools To Be Integrated.” I chose this for several reasons. As a presenter during this Institute, I also centered my presentation on the impact integration played in my life as a child growing up in Chicago during this time period. My experience with integration begins in 1962 as a fifth grader and I’m fascinated to see that Urbana begins this process in 1966, a full 12 years after the Brown v. Board decision. I also chose this document because I think that the 5^th graders who study the Civil Rights Movement would be fascinated to find out that not only was there discussion surrounding this issue, but many of the participants, or their family members, are still in our community. One of the questions that I would want to explore with my students is how integrating the schools will be accomplished? From reading the article, one can see that the burden of integrating the schools is left to the black students, who are being bussed from Hayes, as well as the students from University Housing, who seem to have no choice in the matter.

To further illustrate this point, the newspaper from the August 19, 1966 Courier edition, “New Hays GS Parents Hear Busing Plans,” these sentiments are voiced, directly, by the Orchard Downs parents. In reading the article, there are many inferences to be made as to the tension in the room and the feelings on the part of both the white and black parents. But, what is most striking to me is the thinking that the blacks will benefit most from this arrangement. Emphasizing my theme that Integration is for Everybody, the question of who is responsible for integrating the schools would be raised. Hopefully, a discussion around this issue could help to dispel the notion of inferiority vs. superiority.

This is where I would share with my 5^th grade students books from authors who wrote about this time period. One of the most recent is a book by Patricia McKissack entitled A Friendship for Today which tells the story of an African American girl named Rosemary who integrates a school and the struggles she faced in the late 1950s and 60s. I would want my students to begin to wrestle with the questions surrounding the pros and cons of integration in the 1960s and why we are still struggling with so many racial problems, today. At the beginning of my paper, I stated that the Civil Rights Movement was both the best and worst of times because we saw the best that humanity has to offer in the shared struggle of both blacks and whites. At the same time, we saw the worst of humanity as visual images captured the absolute horror of that period on the part of ones who were resistant to change. I would want my students, both black and white, to examine who they think was right. Do we follow the law, or do we simply take the law into our own hands when we run up against something that we don’t like? These are questions and issues that can be applied to other aspects of the classroom, including one’s responsibility as a student with both rights and responsibilities. I would want to ask my students where they stand on the issue of Civil Rights. What if other types of discrimination are raised—hair color, eye color, weight, income, etc.? The Civil Rights Movement was fought using the law as its weapon and it helped to knock down all types of discrimination and thus benefited everyone.

In reading aloud the book by Patricia McKissack, one of the things I would like for my students to see is what was going on in other areas of the country as it relates to civil rights for blacks. As Urbana was wrestling with integrating the schools in 1966, I was marching with my family and Dr. King on Soldier Field fighting for an end to other types of discrimination in Chicago. Also, the Black Power Movement was in full swing. What impact do you think this had upon Urbana’s decision to begin to desegregate schools?

And, finally, I would want my students to examine the impact of integration upon us as a society and their own lives. Using a t-chart and a list of questions surrounding integration generated by a class discussion, I would seek to conduct a survey and summarize the results of that survey to share with the class. Using this as a springboard, we would then work toward our movement to make our class a better place for the remainder of the school year. Yes, integration is for everybody, and everybody can make a difference! To sum up Dr. Preston Williams’ address during our Summer Institute: “Teachers are at the front: If we don’t do it, who will?” We can be that one more voice that makes a difference and makes the world a better place. Let’s hope that what each of the participants took away will make a difference in classrooms during the 2010 school year. I know it will in my classroom as lots of lesson plans on this era will be shared!