While Conservative Democrats and Conservative Republicans each planned for their political futures in 1951, the civil rights struggle in America continued and extended across the sea.
NAACPlawyer Thurgood Marshallspent time in 1951 investigating the unjust treatment of Black GIs in Korea and produced a report citing each injustice[1]. In his findings, Marshall pointed out that the court-martial convicted 32 Black men for violating the 75th Article of War-Misconduct before the enemy, but only two white GIs were convicted[2]. The white GIs received sentences of 3 and 5 years. However, of the Black GIs, one was sentenced to death, 15 to life imprisonment, one to 50 years, and 15 received 5 to 25 years.
In Marshall’s interviews with enlisted men from multiple companies and batteries, he reported that the main complaint among Black soldiers was that they had inefficient white officers and white officers who resented having to work with Black troops. Marshall’s report resulted in the Army dismissing charges against several GIs[3].
Several now-infamous civil rights cases happened in 1951.
The retrial of the Trenton Sixhappened in 1951, with the NAACPand the Civil Rights Congress both sending in a team of lawyers to defend them. The Supreme Court granted the new trial because the judge violated the defendants’ Constitutional rights. The judge wouldn’t permit defense attorneys to question policies conserving the fingerprints on the murder weapon. The Trenton Sixwere six young Black men indicted for the murder of an elderly white shopkeeper in 1948. Initially, the young men were convicted and sentenced to death by an all-white jury in 1948[4]. Four of the six were acquitted, and the other two received life sentences[5].
The Supreme Court overturned the Groveland Fourcase in April 1951. A 17-year-old white girl falsely accused four Black men of raping her in 1949. The Groveland girl had named the four young men to police: Charles Greenlee, Walter Irvin, Samuel Shepherd, and Ernest Thomas. Initially, the Sheriff arrested three young men, but as reports of the incident got out around the local white community, a mob formed.
The lynch mob had stormed into the jail to take the men away. Sheriff Willis McCalltold them that he had moved the men. Unsatisfied with the Sheriff’s answer, the white mob rioted. They took over the streets, shouting threats and firing guns. They burned several houses in the Black community down as Black residents fled[6]. That evening, Ernest Thomas died after being shot over 400 times. Sheriff McCallwas at the scene with the lynch mob when the shooting happened[7].
The police drove two of the men, Irvin and Shepherd, to a secluded spot and ordered them out of the car. They were 22 years old at the time. The third young man, Charles Greenlee, was only 16. Police beat both men with fists and clubs and kicked them while on the ground. As the cops beat the men, they repeatedly asked if they picked up a white girl. They later returned the men to the jail, handcuffed them to overhead pipes, and severely beat them again[8]. In 1949, the courts convicted all three. Irvin and Shepherd received a death sentence. Greenlee was sentenced to life in prison since he was a minor[9]. The FBI later indicted the officers who beat the young men[10].
The Florida NAACPSecretary at the time, Harry T. Moore, viciously fought for justice for the young men. Moore wrote to every newspaper[11]. And, at the same time, Moore also registered over 100,000 Black Floridians to vote[12].
During the trial, Sheriff McCallshot both Walter Irvin and Samuel Shephard. Shephard died from his gunshot wounds. Irvin survived and told a deputy sheriff that the shooting attack was unprovoked. McCall disputed that the two men had tried to escape[13].
The judge barred Thurgood Marshalland Jack Greenberg, NAACPattorneys, from defending the two remaining defendants, Walter Irvin and Charles Greenlee. Judge TrumanFutch said the attorneys could not participate because the Florida NAACPhad already stirred up trouble in the community[14], referring to Harry T. Moore.
Many Black Floridians praised Moore in 1951 for helping rebuild a strong NAACPpresence in Florida[15] and putting more Black men in law enforcement in several counties in Florida[16]. Then, he went on a crusade against Sheriff McCall[17].
Six weeks before his murder, Harry T. Moorehad called for the suspension of Sheriff McCallfor the shooting of the two Groveland defendants.
On December 25, 1951, a bomb detonated at Harry T. Moore’s house, killing both him and his wife, Mims[18]. Moore became the Civil Rights Movement’s first martyr[19]. No one knows if the reason for the bomb was due to his involvement in the Groveland Case or because he had registered 100,000 Black people to vote. Despite numerous reopening of the case, the murder of Harry T. Mooreand his wife remains unsolved[20].
The brutal fight for civil rights had yet to come as the world entered 1952, an election year and the second session of the 82nd Congress. The murder of Moore dominated the news and NAACPspeaking engagements for months.
In early January 1952, Walter White, the Executive Secretary of the NAACP, urged President Trumanto speak against race hate and requested him to open a federal investigation into the multiple incidents of racial terror in Florida[21].
Florida Governor Fuller Warrenaccused Walter Whiteof “trying to stir up strife in Florida.” In a prepared statement, he said to the press, “This hired hate-monger has poured purchased wrath upon Florida because one of its good colored citizens was murdered by a cowardly assassin[22].”
A repetitive moment in history is when Black Americans ask for civil rights or equal rights, and racist white Americans accuse them of being troublemakers or race-baiting. It happened in 1951, and it happened in 2021.
Congressman Jacob Javits, a Liberal Republican from New York, announced the week Congress returned that he would introduce sweeping civil rights bills. He said “the recent racial disturbances in Florida” had convinced him that Congress “must reach a showdown on civil rights.” The Florida bombings, including the one that murdered Moore and his wife, prompted him to file those bills[23].
In the two months before the Moore bombing, a Black housing project in Miami, Carver Village, was bombed twice[24]. In the weeks leading up to the Moore bombing, another attack happened at a Hebrew School in Miami[25].
Congressman Javitswasn’t the only elected official who spoke out against the wave of racial violence in Florida. Senator Alexander Smith, a Republican from New Jersey, said in a Senate floor speech, “Prompt action must be taken to prevent a recurrence of the wave of violence which took place recently in the state of Florida[26].”
Aside from Congressman Javitsand Senator Howard Smith, both Northern Republicans, no other Congress members publicly spoke out against or denounced Florida’s racial violence. However, President Trumandid finally condemn the bombing of Harry T. Moore’s home almost a year later[27].
Several legislatures addressed the bombing on the House or Senate floor and in letters written to the FBI or investigators[28]. Those legislatures included:
Congressman Chester E. Holifield(D-CA)
Congressman Sidney A. Fine(D-NY)
Congressman Joseph Bryson(D-SC)
Congressman Isidore Dollinger(D-NY)
Congressman Hugh Addonizio(D-NJ)
Congressman Charles Howell(D-NJ)
Congressman Franklin RooseveltJR (D-NY)
Congressman Millet Hand(R-NJ)
Senator Edward Martin(R-PA)
Senator Hubert Humphrey(D-MN)
There has never been a study linking the George Smatherscampaign, which was focused on racial hatred, to the wave of racial violence in Florida the year following his election.
In the second session, the Dixiecrat-Republican Coalition maintained control of Congress[29]. In Truman’s 1952 State-of-the-Union Address, he called for bipartisanship, saying, “We have a great responsibility to conduct our political fights in a manner that does not harm the national interest.”
1952 was two decades before Dick Nixonwould sweep the South, yet the solid South was far from reliable. Southerners intensely disliked Trumanbecause of his civil rights aspirations and would celebrate his departure. At the time, many Southerners held the 1952 Republican ideology of self-governance and lower taxes but were unwilling to vote against the Democratic Party in the voting booth. Whether that was out of habit or the racial issue, the Southern voting bloc was still reliable for the Conservative Democrats.
In 1952, the Lost Cause was a prevalent belief in the South. Many Southerners saw the Civil War as the War of Northern Aggression and held on to hate towards Abraham Lincoln and the Party of Lincoln. The Republicans would have to embrace Conservatism fully if they wanted to win Southern votes. Conservatives needed the Dixiecrat-Republican Coalition in the 82nd Legislature to allow them to keep control.
Just as in the first session, civil rights were also doomed in the second session. Congressman Hugh Mitchell, a liberal Democrat from Washington, wrote an open letter in the newspaper, blaming the failure to pass civil rights legislation on the Dixiecrat-Republican Coalition[30].
In the House, Congressman Jacob Javitsintroduced a bill to ban poll taxes, make lynching a federal crime, and end discrimination in employment[31]. However, his legislation never made it to the House floor.
Meanwhile, in the Senate, Hubert Humphrey, a Liberal Democrat from Minnesota, declared that he would not retreat even one inch from the Democratic platform he helped draft in 1948. In the second session, Senator Humphreybecame the leading proponent of civil rights legislation and refused any compromises on the Democratic Civil Rights Plank. Humphreyintroduced several civil rights bills in the Senate, which led to a heated battle between him and Senate Majority Leader Ernest McFarland[32].
McFarlanddidn’t believe passing all of Humphrey’s legislation was possible. So, he urged him to focus on only one measure. Humphreytold McFarlandthat he was willing to concentrate on one bill but wasn’t ready to make deals to water the bills down. By the end of June 1952, Humphreywas able to push the FEPCbill to the Senate floor[33]. However, as expected, the Dixiecrat-Republican Coalition blocked it[34].
The second session of the 82nd Congress was nearly as regressive as the first session. The Coalition slashed Truman’s budget once more[35], ignored his calls for new taxes[36], and blocked more of Truman’s nominations[37].
The Dixiecrat-Republican Coalition grew out of a shared and equal hatred of President Truman, and they managed to crush his last term in office.
Share
[1] Arizona Sun, “NAACPLawyer Makes Report on Negro Troops,” (March 2, 1951)
[2] The Voice, Marshall Verifies Unjust Treatment to GIs in Korea,” (March 1, 1951)
[3] Jackson Advocate, “4 Court Martialed GIs Exonerated by the Army,” (February 24, 1951)
[4] The Detroit Tribune, “Illness of Defendant Delays Trenton Trial,” (April 14, 1951)
[5] The Voice, “Four Freed, 2 Sentenced to Life in Trenton Case,” (June 21, 1951)
[6] The Miami Times, “A Dark Spot,” (July 23, 1949)
[7] The Miami Times, “Jury Probes Groveland Rape Suspect Slaying,” (July 30, 1949)
[8] PBS: Freedom Never Dies: The Harry T. MooreStory
[9] Jackson Advocate, “New Trial Sought Groveland Victims,” (March 4, 1950)
[10] Jackson Advocate, “FBI Seeks to Indict State Officers in Groveland Abuse,” (April 15, 1950)
[11] The Miami Times, “FL NAACPSec Answers Lake County Editor on Groveland Case,” (September 2, 1950)
[12] PBS: Freedom Never Dies: The Harry T. MooreStory
[13] Jackson Advocate, “Florida Negro Saya Sheriff Had No Reason for Shooting,” (November 17, 1951)
[14] The Detroit Tribune, “Attorney General Weighing Move to Cite FL Sheriff,” (December 15, 1951)
[15] The Miami Times, “NAACPBeing Rebuilt in FL,” (September 8, 1951)
[16] The Miami Times, “Brevard County Gets Deputy,” (November 17, 1951)
[17] The Miami Times, “NAACPAsks Suspension of Lake Sheriff,” (November 17, 1951)
[18] Associated Press, “Florida Negro Leader in NAACPKilled by Bomb Blast at Home,” Evening Star, (December 26, 1951)
[19] PBS: Freedom Never Dies: The Harry T. MooreStory
[20] Francine Uenuma, “The Unsolved Murder of Civil Rights Activist Harry Moore,” Smithsonian Magazine, (February 26, 2020)
[21] The Northwest Enterprise, “TrumanUrged to Act and Speak Against Race Hate,” (January 4, 1952)
[22] Associated Press, “Fuller Warren Asserts White Stir Strife in Florida Bombings,” (December 30, 1951)
[23] Jackson Advocate, “Florida Bombing Calls for Civil Rights Law,” (January 12, 1948)
[24] The Miami Times, “Second Explosion Rocks Carver Village,” (December 1, 951)
[25] The Southern Jewish Weekly, “Latest Miami Dynamite Blast Damages Hebrew School,” (December 7, 1951)
[26] Jackson Advocate, “US Senator Calls for Action in Florida Violence,” (March 8, 1952)
[27] Associated Press, “Text of Truman’s Speech in Harlem Tracing Party Program on Civil Rights,” Evening Star, (October 12, 1952)
[28] Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 82nd Congress, Second Session
[29] Evening Star, “A Year’s Work Faces Congress in the Next Six Months,” (January 6, 1952)
[30] The Northwest Enterprise, “Civil Rights Doomed,” (January 25, 1952)
[31] The Daily Express, “Will Seek Civil Rights,” (January 10, 1952)
[32] Jackson Advocate, “Civil Rights Still Political Football,” (May 31, 1952)
[33] Associated Press, “FEPCBack Under New Name, Due to Stir Senate This Week,” Evening Star, (June 23, 1952)
[34] Jackson Advocate, “Senator MorseCharges Republican Party with Defeat of FEPC, Hits Taft,” (July 5, 1952)
[35] The Daily Record, “Congress Will Slash TrumanBudget Sum,” (January 22, 1952)
[36] Evening Star, “Calls for New Taxes Falls on Deaf Ears in Both Houses,” (January 17, 1952)
[37] Lowell Mellett, “Senator Kerr Wins Another Fight,” Evening Star, (February 12, 1952)
