Justice Harlan's Dissent in Plessy v. Ferguson

 Justice Harlan's Dissent

Image of Justice John Marshall Harlan

On May 18, 1896, the court case Plessy v. Ferguson was decided with a 7-1 leading on the side of John H. Ferguson. Though the case had a lead on Ferguson's side, the one judge who voted for Homer A. Plessy's side was Justice John Marshall Harlan. He had voted on the side of civil liberties, believing that "all citizens are equal before the law."

The case of Plessy v. Ferguson was a civil rights case on whether or not Homer A. Plessy, a man who is 1/8ths black, should be allowed to sit in the segregated white section of the train car. At the time, this was a controversial case, as it was an argument about the rights of black citizens. Making this a landmark case.

There was a single judge who voted in favor of the more controversial side. That judge being Justice John Harlan. His family had been slaveholders, so he was familiar with black slavery and civil rights arguments. He did have a half-brother who was mixed raced named Robert James Harlan. Some believe that his brother Robert may have been an influential factor in his final decision of the case.

Some of Justice Harlan's arguments included how the state could separate the races but only if the facilities used were equal. Another idea he brought forward was that the constitution was color-blind and that the United States had no official written class system. His arguments were heard but not considered. Leading to the side of Homer Plessy being lost to a 7-1 majority.

The case of Plessy v. Ferguson was not the only case that Justice John Harlan had a dissenting opinion on. He had also dissented in another civil liberties case called Giles v. Harris. A case that argued that black citizens should be able to register to vote. Justice Harlan had the dissenting opinion on the side of civil liberties here as well. The case eventually being overturned as the 14th Amendment didn't back the final decision.

So, to finish, Justice John Marshall Harlan was a person of the Civil Rights movement who was in a position of power, being a Supreme Court judge. His arguments supported civil rights and brought attention to the issues even when they did not get through to the courts closed mindset about segregation.

Sources:

John Marshall Harlan - Wikipedia

Plessy v. Ferguson - Wikipedia

Why Did Harlan Dissent In Plessy V Ferguson? - QuestionAnswer.io

Giles v. Harris - Wikipedia

In the Heat of the Night (Review)

 In the Heat of the Night

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On Wednesday, November 2nd, 2022, my Talking About Freedom class met up in the Extraordinaire Theatre to watch the movie "In the Heat of the Night." Released in 1967, it is a film that portrayed race relations in the south very well.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Out of the three that we had watched, this would happen to be my favorite. I love mysteries and following along to see who the culprit is. So, watching this movie was very fun and entertaining.

Not only was it entertaining, but it also accurately depicted racism in southern towns. At the start of the film, we witnessed racism directed toward the main character already. Sidney Poitier played the main character, Detective Virgil Tibbs. Virgil Tibbs is a homicide expert from the north. He was heading home on the late train when he was stopped by a local police officer for being a "suspicious person." He was brought into the station, which is when we found out that he himself is an officer from the north who had been in Mississippi to visit his mother. He then experienced multiple accounts of racism directed at him. Those instances throughout the film ranging from not being served at a restaurant to being attacked.

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The movie showed how Virgil Tibbs struggled to prove himself to the members of the towns police force. He continuously had to make an effort the show that he could solve the crime. He even believed that if he didn't solve the mystery of the murder, he wouldn't be able to show everybody how good of a detective he was.

Eventually, towards the end of the film, he was able to earn the respect of the towns chief officer, Bill Gillespie (played by Rod Steiger), though only through trial and error while figuring out the case. We witnessed when the officers tried to take control of the case multiple times, thinking they had solved it, jumping in to take credit and lead of the case. Virgil Tibbs had tried to show how he was better in these types of situations. Taking back control and showing what actually needed to be done to the less experienced officers. In the end, both Gillespie and Tibbs realized that in order to solve the case, they would have to work together.

Overall, the film was attention-grabbing for me and didn't hold back on the depictions of racism in southern towns. It fits the description of being a drama and mystery, perfectly showcasing how Virgil Tibbs would've been treated at the time and still including the mystery as a key focus.

Source:

In the Heat of the Night (1967) - IMDb

The Other Groups Presentation (EOTO)

 EOTO: Civil Rights Era

Martin Luther King Jr. in the Civil Rights March in Alabama During March of 1965

On November 7th, 2022, my Talking About Freedom class held Mock Trials and EOTO presentations. I was a part of the Mock Trial group. So, this is a blogpost about the information that I learned from the EOTO groups presentation.

The KKK

The KKK was founded in 1865 and it expanded by 1870 in the South. The KKK was the Souths way of resisting the Republican Party's reconstruction era.

Lynching

Lynching is a form of violence where you cause harm without trial beforehand. It is a form of execution.

16th Street Baptist Church Bombing

On Sunday, September 15th, 1963, four young girls died by a bombing during church. The attack was done by the KKK. This was not the first time a bombing has happened in the city of Birmingham during this time. This had caused the city to be nicknamed "Bombingham."

3 Civil Rights Workers

On June 21st, 1964, three workers were tortured before being murdered by the KKK. The three workers had fought for civil rights.

The Lynching of Emmett Till

Emmett Till was a 14-year-old black child from Chicago. He had been visiting Mississippi and had gone into a candy store. There he was accused of flirting with a white woman. He was promptly lynched then murdered by the woman's husband and the husband's brother. At Emmett Till's funeral, Emmett's mother wanted an open casket so those watching could witness how terrible the hate crime was.

Edmund Pettus Bridge

This event was a civil rights march that had been a peaceful protest that turrned violent. It was televised, so those who were watching began realizing the issues.

The Assassination of Medgar Evers

Medgar Evers was a Civil Rights leader between the 1950s and 1960s. He had joined the NAACP in 1951 and was a broadcaster of the Civil Rights protests. On June 12th, 1963, he was assassinated by Byron de la Beckwith, who eventually went to prison for his crime in 1994.

The March on Washington on August 28th, 1963

The Civil Rights Act of 1964

Although the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments had been passed, states still had Jim Crow laws and required literary tests to keep the country segregated. So, JFK had eventually been convinced to create the Civil Rights Act to protect the rights of black Americans.

Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks had wanted to sit down on the bus instead of stand. She had been sitting in the "correct" segregated section of the bus and had been asked to stand so a white man could sit. She denied him before she was promptly arrested for not giving up her seat. She had said that she was tired. This has often been misinterpreted as her being tired from work, though in actuality, she meant that she was tired of how she had been treated because of Jim Crow/segregation laws.

The Creation and Rise of the NAACP

The NAACP was founded in New York City during February of 1909. It was created as a response to the 1908 Springfield riot in Illinois. By 1919, the NAACP had nearly 100,000 members. They were a crucial player in the Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s and 1960s.

The March on Washington

On August 28th, 1963, 200,000 people went to the US capital to protest segregation and the mistreatment of black people by the United States. Speakers took the podium to speak. One of those speakers being Martin Luther King Jr., who had his famous "I Have A Dream" speech. At the march, many security precautions were taken as people thought that the event would turn violent. Thus leading to President John F. Kennedy threatening to revoke the Civil Rights Act of 1964 if things had turned sour. Luckily, the march stayed peaceful and didn't have any rambunctious groups.

The Voting Rights Act of 1965

This act reinforced the 15th Amendment for black men to vote. The event that led up to it becoming a law was Bloody Sunday.

The United Negro College Fund (UNCF)

This organization provided financial support for black Americans and created better futures for them. The organization has worked with 37 historically black colleges.

Mock Trial: Brown vs. Board of Education

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Writing from the perspective of the Board of Education (Economically)

The Brown vs. Board of Education case is seen as a debate over segregation in the aftermath of Plessy vs. Ferguson, based around whether or not black children should be allowed to study in black schools. Though it could also be seen as a debate around economics. Economically it is better to have separate schools as it increases production for school supplies and increases the number of schools built.

To elaborate, if every student went to a single school, then all of the money would go to a single place. Though if there were multiple schools, the money would be brought to different places, promoting the spread of money to different locations.

Having more than one school would also increase production in the materials used to make schools and materials in school. For instance, if a school had purchased a certain amount of furniture and supplies for their classrooms, having two schools would double that spending. Even more so for the school itself. If a certain number of materials were purchased so the school could be built, then having multiple schools would increase the supply and spending of those building materials.

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Not only would having multiple schools increase the amount of money put out into the economy, but it would also increase jobs. On a smaller scale, it would give more work to those who would build the schools. They would have more jobs to take on so more workers could be hired. The wages of the other workers could also be raised, increasing the money put out for those in construction.

Having segregated schools would also provide more jobs for teachers and educators. Whereas when one teacher would be hired at one school, there would also be another hired at the second school. Not only that, but it would also provide jobs for black educators. They would be able to have jobs in education where they would not get that type of opportunity in white schools.

To finish, having separate and segregated schools would help the economy more than destroy it. It would increase employment and create more jobs. It would also increase production of goods and services. So, economically, there is no problem with splitting schools by race.

Sources:

Brown v. Board of Education - Wikipedia

Band of Angels (Review)

 Band of Angels

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On Wednesday, September 28th, 2022, my Talking About Freedom class had another movie day. We had completed our mock trial and our EOTO presentation on that Monday before. And to celebrate a job well done, our professor brought us to the Extraordinaire Theatre to watch the movie "Band of Angels".

What I noticed about race relations in the movie was that black people were treated as property. It did a great job of depicting how black people were treated in the south. We were shown slaves being sold and how they were required to stand in different areas on boats away from white people. We also saw how Yvonne De Carlo's character, Amantha Starr, was treated. Even though she was still part white, she was still discriminated against for being partly black. We were also told Clark Gable's character, Hamish Bonds, past of being a slave trader. How he had worked with people who would seek out villages to take people in to be sold as slaves. It had helped me realize how things were in the south from the perspective of the characters. I had seen how people were treated based upon race.

New Orleans had been an international gateway into America. There were many different types of people who lived there. This means that many black people lived here, either willingly or unwillingly. Some as slaves and some as freed people. And the fact that European nations had already outlawed slavery by 1860, definitely affected the United States' feelings on whether slavery should continue.

In the film, the idea of "freedom" was brought up often. Each character had their own definition and reasons for wanting freedom. For example, Amantha Starr wanted freedom from half of herself. She didn't want to be labeled at all as black. Due to her being partly black, she was taken from her home and sold into slavery, she didn't want that. She wanted to live a "white life". Hamish Bond wanted freedom from his past. He had made mistakes that he wanted to repent for. Lastly, Sidney Poitier's character, Rau-Ru, wanted freedom from Hamish. Since his childhood, he had relied on him because he saved his life. He no longer wanted to protect him and feel as if he owed him something. In the end, all three characters never accomplished that freedom. Amantha learned that she didn't need to escape from part of herself, Hamish learned that his past was now a part of him and all he could do was move forward, and Rau-Ru helped Hamish in the end as he relearned that Hamish was like his family.

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Compared to Gone with the Wind, I think I prefer this film. I like it because the movie focused a bit more on the perspective of black people during the time. This is good because the discussion of enslaved black people was the focus during the time. We got to see that perspective and learned more about the impacts. Band of Angels discussed the depiction of race in the south a bit better than Gone with the Wind did, as we saw not only the perspective of Rau-Ru, but the lead character Amantha was depicted as partly black. The black characters had more of a character and development in the end. They weren't just there as support for the white characters. Freedom for each character was also depicted. That was a good route to go on the filmmaker's part. By doing so in that perspective, we learned more about the characters and their feelings.

To finish, the film was great. The depiction of the time seemed more accurate than Gone with the Wind, which is a factor that I liked. And character building throughout the film was visible; you could definitely see each of their developments which was great.

Work Cited:

Band of Angels (Film: 1957)

The Other Groups Presentation (Mock Trial: Plessy v. Ferguson)

 Mock Trial: Plessy v. Ferguson

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The case, which happened in 1896, was an argument around whether Homer Plessy should've been allowed to sit in the whites only section on a railcar. The case was focused on in Louisiana and followed a man named Homer Plessy who was 1/8 African American. Although he was 7/8 black, the argument of him sitting in the white are of a railcar was discussed.

Support of Plessy:

If the customer of the rail ticket is able to purchase the ticket, why does their race have an input in the matter. Even so, black people's lives intertwined with whites. In the end, segregation makes no sense as there were many black people who were still involved with white people's lives.

Support if Ferguson:

An argument against Plessy would probably be that he violated the law as he is shown to be 1/8 black. Also, from a religious standpoint, there is nothing that states how segregation is unjust or just. To add, the segregation between races had been beneficial to black people as they had started their own business and the economy had grown. It even showed how black people were able to thrive on their own (an example being Black Wallstreet).

EOTO: The Freedmen's Bureau

The Freedmen's Bureau

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During the Reconstruction Era, the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were developed. For the EOTO presentations, I was assigned the Freedmen's Bureau, also previously known as "the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands." This group had been around during the Reconstruction Era, the time when the three amendments were created and added to the US Constitution.

Some background of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments explain why this time period was so important. Not only were they influential amendments that helped freed black people, but they were also Amendments that were beneficial to white people as well. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery, which had been the start of the creation of the next two Amendments. The 14th Amendment was the citizenship Amendment and it provided three clauses/freedoms. Those being: The privileges or immunities clause, the due process clause, and the equal protection clause. Lastly, the 15th Amendment which had granted black men with the right to vote. These amendments positively affected the US Constitution and the nation as a whole.

Established on March 3rd, 1865, by Congress, the Freedmen's Bureau's purpose was to help former black slaves and poor whites in the southern portion of the country with the aftermath of the Civil War. It had provided people with food, housing, and medical aid. They had even established schools and provided legal assistance for anyone who needed it.

The bureau was originally intended to be a temporary agency that lasted throughout the time of the civil war plus one year after. Congress placed it under the direction of the war department as it assisted with events regarding the war. Also, the majority of original employees for the bureau were Civil War soldiers. The agency had been organized in districts covering 11 former rebel states. Some of those states included Maryland, Kentucky, West Virginia, Washington DC, etc.

Even though the bureau's intention was to help the south, they were struggling with keeping the group together, as they were struggling with funding and volunteers. The struggle was also due to the politics of race and reconstruction. The organization had failed to protect black people long-term.

Eventually in the summer of 1872, the Freedmen's Bureau was dismantled, primarily to pressure from white southerners.

Work Cited:

https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/freedmens-bureau