Rights and Misconceptions

Many of the United States’ toughest critics have bashed the nation’s education system, pointing toward low test scores and graduation rates as evidence of a failed school system. But when asked if they can name any Supreme Court case, even some of the nation’s dullest minds can stumble through the iconic phrase Brown v. Board of Education. Especially for reformed southern communities, this landmark case marks one of this nation’s proudest moments in which Chief Justice Earl Warren and ten other judicial pioneers unanimously overturned a president that legalized segregation on the grounds of separate but equal. While most Americans recognize the importance of the monumental decision, some of the nation’s brightest lack a true understanding as to how little this federal case influenced the daily lives of Southern communities. Specifically, when looking at the way Memphians implemented integration within their own school system, one will clearly see a divide amongst the federal government and certain localities, a divide caused by Southern indignation and stagnation.

            Anyone who has familiarized themselves with Southern history should be well aware of the white backlash that resulted from the Brown v. Board. History books all across America expose young students to images of soldiers marching through the streets of places like Little Rock, Arkansas, men following the orders of then President Dwight Eisenhower. But not all white Americans took to the streets in protest. No, instead many members of white communities employed less visible tactics taking advantage of strategies that quietly subverted new federal regulations. In Memphis, these subtle changes affected one of this nation’s most important and sacred institutions, elections.

            As noted by Jesse Turner in a hearing before the United States Commission on Civil Rights that was held in June of 1962, white Memphians reacted to Brown v. Board not with voices but with votes, changing the way in which the city elected members of the Memphis Board of Education. Specifically, white Memphians altered the ways in which votes were counted, using a model that is commonly referred to as the block voting system. Although this style of democracy didn't hinder African-Americans as much as the literacy tests or the poll fees that were seen during the era of Jim Crow, the block voting allowed whites to control the voting process as long as they had more voters show up on election day, squashing the voices of a black minority.

            This system was not only quiet, it was also extremely effective at preventing Brown v. Board from altering Memphis schools. With an all-white school board, integration was put on hold for eight years. By constantly relocating district lines and by ignoring the Negro voice, segregationists made it to 1962 before the state court instructed Memphis to integrate schools. This is why voting rights were so important to African-Americans. The power to vote is the power to speak, the power to shape the world we live in and that power is just as important today as it was in 1962. Although the sixties and seventies have come and gone, the fight for civil rights continues as certain organizations have made a number of attempts to prevent minorities from voicing their opinions.  Events like the 2008 Supreme Court decision upholding voter ID laws in Indiana demonstrate that we must push forward and continue to combat those who wish to strip Americans of their civil liberties because although the sixties are gone, racism is still alive.