They Said it was Their Freedom to Discriminate…
In 1966, it was almost 350 years after the introduction of slavery in our country and 100 years after the end of the Civil War. Rights were a touchy subject for both black and white Americans. People were scared for their families and for themselves, it was a dangerous time to be alive then. Riots, protests, murder, and discrimination was taking place especially in places in the South like Mississippi and Alamba. Organizations like the Ku Klux Klan made several attempts to stop the movement through violence, fear, and murder. Black African Americans started to be segregated to the northern ghettos and uprising started to occur. People didn’t take one breath for granted and fought with everything they had for their freedom.
Through reading the letters written to Congressman Bizz Johnson, I realized that the public was truly split upon the idea of the Civil Rights Movement. Most of my letters were written by women, but there was also a few written by men. Interestingly enough the responses to these letters by Bizz Johnson were dull and generic.
One of the letters was written by Tony Thornberry, who was a teacher in Jackson, Mississippi. He explained respectfully to Congressman Johnson that he did not think it was right that the Civil Rights movement was making students suffer from violence. Thornberry then went on to say that a young man named “Samuel Young was recently murdered and that Federal Marshalls should be there to defend the people”. Being a student I can see where Thornberry is coming from because one of the most important things is feeling safe at school.
Another letter that I read was from a young woman named Virginia Burris. The letters were pretty equally split upon the views of civil rights, Burris was not in support of it. She told the Congressman that the civil rights movement caused the realization of the race barrier and there is now prejudice because of it; when in fact the fight for civil rights began long before the government took action. Thr most powerful and offensive thing she said was, “I cherish my freedom to choose; if you will, the freedom to discriminate”.
The Civil Rights Movement was an era that brought people together to fight for what they believe in, it had powerful leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X. Many opposed them and tried everything they could to tear them down but they rose above to create a better life for future generations. These letters written to Bizz Johnson were an influential piece of the history at this time, they reflect the public’s views on one of the most important times in history.
*all references are made from the Bizz Johnson collection at CSU Channel Islands
