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.\u00a0 The Murrell article discusses the general feeling of civic spirit throughout the county previous to the Brown decision.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n
The media also played a significant role in the aftermath of the Brown decision in Prince Edward County.\u00a0 Murrell describes The Herald, the local newspaper, as a hub of communication for community members to voice their civic concerns.\u00a0 The Herald became a \u201ckey link between segregationist leaders and white residents.\u201d\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n
One thing I found very interesting about the Bonastia article was the idea that \u201cno single tactic or combination of tactics promised optimal outcomes for social movement organizations.\u201d\u00a0 The article presented the question of whether the NAACPs heavy emphasis on legal mobilization prolonged the educational stalemate in Prince Edward County.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Others believed the school shutdowns would not have lasted as long if protests had started immediately after the schools were closed.\u00a0 Towards the end of the article, Bonastia maintains that \u201cwithout question the addition of direct action to the tactical repertoire of groups fighting for civil rights furthered the cause.\u201d\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n
\u00a0In 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?<\/p>\n
Laura Bailey<\/p>\n
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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.\u00a0 The Murrell article discusses the general feeling of civic spirit throughout the county previous to … Continue reading