Both the Murrell and Bonastia articles brought up some interesting points about the Prince Edward County school closings and the actions taken by both sides.  The Murrell article discusses the general feeling of civic spirit throughout the county previous to the Brown decision.  The citizens of the county were proud of the positive relationship between blacks and whites within their community and appreciated that civic spirit was needed to make a community develop and progress.  The county had a reputation for being one of few places in the South where both races worked together to make the community a better place.  What is interesting is that, after the Brown decision, white leaders used this portrait of the community against the black citizens in order to gather support from other community members.  Even though the Brown decision came down from the Supreme Court, white leaders of Prince Edward County blamed the African Americans within the community for disturbing the peaceful balance that had been maintained.

The media also played a significant role in the aftermath of the Brown decision in Prince Edward County.  Murrell describes The Herald, the local newspaper, as a hub of communication for community members to voice their civic concerns.  The Herald became a “key link between segregationist leaders and white residents.”  It was interesting to read about media being such an important instrument for molding public opinion because we have talked about the power of social media numerous times in out class discussions but mostly related to current events.  The way The Herald was described in the article, however, sounded very similar to how we see social media being used to rally support for civic issues today.

One thing I found very interesting about the Bonastia article was the idea that “no single tactic or combination of tactics promised optimal outcomes for social movement organizations.”  The article presented the question of whether the NAACPs heavy emphasis on legal mobilization prolonged the educational stalemate in Prince Edward County.  Some residents of the county were ambivalent about civil disobedience believing that protesting would bring too much trouble and would only increase tensions within the community.  Others believed the school shutdowns would not have lasted as long if protests had started immediately after the schools were closed.  Towards the end of the article, Bonastia maintains that “without question the addition of direct action to the tactical repertoire of groups fighting for civil rights furthered the cause.”  In fact, direct action did lead to African Americans winning certain concessions from the white elites as well as convincing others that they could contribute personally to the fight against racial inequality.

 In light of these arguments, do you agree that the NAACPs focus on litigation discouraged citizens of Prince Edward County from taking direct action and if so, did this help to prolong the school closings?

Laura Bailey