White Citizens' Council
Encyclopedia
The White Citizens' Council (WCC) was an American
white supremacist
organization formed on July 11, 1954. After 1956, it was known as the Citizens' Councils of America. With about 60,000 members, mostly in the South
, the group was well known for its opposition to racial integration
during the 1950s and 1960s, when it retaliated with economic boycotts and other strong intimidation against black activists, including depriving them of jobs.
By the 1970s, following passage of federal civil rights legislation in the mid-1960s and stronger enforcement of rights by the federal government, the influence of the WCC had waned considerably. The successor organization to the White Citizens' Council is the Council of Conservative Citizens
, founded in 1985.
following the 1954-1955 US Supreme Court ruling in Brown vs. Board of Education that school segregation was unconstitutional. Others say that it originated in Indianola, Mississippi
. The leader was Robert B. Patterson of Indianola. He was a plantation
manager and the former captain of the Mississippi State University
football team. Additional chapters soon appeared in other communities.
Patterson and his followers formed the WCC in part to respond to increased activism by the Regional Council of Negro Leadership
(RCNL), a grassroots
civil rights organization organized by T. R. M. Howard
of the all-black town Mound Bayou, Mississippi
in 1951. Mound Bayou was 40 miles from Indianola. Although as an adult Patterson opposed such groups, in boyhood in Clarksdale, Mississippi
, he had been friends with Aaron Henry
, later an official in the RCNL and the future head of the Mississippi NAACP
.
Within a few months, the WCC had attracted members, and new chapters developed beyond Mississippi in the rest of the Deep South. It often had the support of the leading citizens of many communities, including business, civic and sometimes religious leaders.
, the WCC met openly and was seen as "pursuing the agenda of the Klan with the demeanor of the Rotary Club." The group eschewed the use of violence
, instead using economic and political tactics against activists. But, the historian Charles Payne
notes, "Despite the official disclaimers, violence often followed in the wake of Council intimidation campaigns." Occasionally some Councils directly incited violence. For instance, in Montgomery, Alabama
, during the Montgomery Bus Boycott
, a mimeographed flyer containing the following was distributed at a large Council meeting in the Garrett Coliseum
:
The Citizens' Councils used economic tactics against African American
s they considered as supportive of desegregation and voting rights
, or for belonging to the NAACP; the tactics included "calling in" their mortgages, denying loans and business credit, and boycotting black-owned businesses. In some cities, the Councils published lists of names of NAACP supporters and signers of anti-segregation petitions in local newspapers in order to encourage economic retaliation. For instance, in Yazoo City, Mississippi
in 1955, the Citizens' Council arranged for the names of 53 signers of a petition for school integration to appear in a local paper, and soon afterward, the petitioners lost their jobs and had their credit cut off. As Charles Payne puts it, the Councils operated by "unleashing a wave of economic reprisals against anyone, Black or white, seen as a threat to the status quo." Medgar Evers
' first work for the NAACP on a national level involved interviewing Mississippians who had been intimidated by the Citizens' Councils and preparing affadavits for use as evidence against the Councils if necessary.
funded the Citizens' Councils, in some years providing as much as $50,000. This state agency also shared information it had collected through investigation and surveillance of integration activists with the Councils. For example, Dr. M. Ney Williams was both a director of the Citizens' Council and an advisor to governor Ross Barnett
of Mississippi. Barnett was a member of the Council, as was Jackson] mayor Allen C. Thompson
. In 1955, in the midst of the bus boycott, all three members of the Montgomery, Alabama city commission announced on television that they had joined the Citizens' Council.
Numan Bartley wrote, "In Louisiana the Citizens' Council organization began as (and to a large extent remained) a projection of the Joint Legislative Committee to Maintain Segregation." In Louisiana, leaders of the original Citizens' Council included State Senator and gubernatorial candidate William Rainach, future U.S. Representative
Joe D. Waggonner, Jr.
, the publisher Ned Touchstone
, and Judge
Leander Perez
, considered the political boss
of Plaquemines
and St. Bernard
parishes south of New Orleans. On July 16, 1956, "under pressure from the White Citizens Councils," the Louisiana State Legislature
passed an amendment to the Louisiana Constitution
mandating racial segregation in nearly every aspect of public life. The bill was signed into law by governor Earl Long
on 16 July 1956 and went into effect on 15 October, 1956. The amendment read, in part:
" continue to operate today.
By the 1970s, as white Southerners' attitudes toward desegregation began to change following federal civil rights legislation in the 1960s and enforcement of integration and voting rights, the influence of the WCCs began to wane. A few such groups still exist, including the Council of Conservative Citizens
, founded by former White Citizens' Council members.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
white supremacist
White supremacy
White supremacy is the belief, and promotion of the belief, that white people are superior to people of other racial backgrounds. The term is sometimes used specifically to describe a political ideology that advocates the social and political dominance by whites.White supremacy, as with racial...
organization formed on July 11, 1954. After 1956, it was known as the Citizens' Councils of America. With about 60,000 members, mostly in the South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
, the group was well known for its opposition to racial integration
Racial integration
Racial integration, or simply integration includes desegregation . In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws on diverse traditions, rather than merely...
during the 1950s and 1960s, when it retaliated with economic boycotts and other strong intimidation against black activists, including depriving them of jobs.
By the 1970s, following passage of federal civil rights legislation in the mid-1960s and stronger enforcement of rights by the federal government, the influence of the WCC had waned considerably. The successor organization to the White Citizens' Council is the Council of Conservative Citizens
Council of Conservative Citizens
The Council of Conservative Citizens is an American political organization that supports a large variety of conservative and paleoconservative causes in addition to white nationalism, and white separatism...
, founded in 1985.
History
Some sources claim that the White Citizens' Council originated in Greenwood, MississippiGreenwood, Mississippi
Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, United States, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta approximately 96 miles north of Jackson, Mississippi, and 130 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. The population was 15,205 at the 2010 census. It is the...
following the 1954-1955 US Supreme Court ruling in Brown vs. Board of Education that school segregation was unconstitutional. Others say that it originated in Indianola, Mississippi
Indianola, Mississippi
Indianola is a city in Sunflower County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 12,066 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Sunflower County.-History:...
. The leader was Robert B. Patterson of Indianola. He was a plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
manager and the former captain of the Mississippi State University
Mississippi State University
The Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science commonly known as Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States, partially in the town of Starkville and partially in an unincorporated area...
football team. Additional chapters soon appeared in other communities.
Patterson and his followers formed the WCC in part to respond to increased activism by the Regional Council of Negro Leadership
Regional Council of Negro Leadership
The Regional Council of Negro Leadership was a society in Mississippi founded by T. R. M. Howard in 1951 to promote a program of civil rights, self-help, and business ownership...
(RCNL), a grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
civil rights organization organized by T. R. M. Howard
T. R. M. Howard
Theodore Roosevelt Mason Howard was an American civil rights leader, fraternal organization leader, entrepreneur and surgeon...
of the all-black town Mound Bayou, Mississippi
Mound Bayou, Mississippi
Mound Bayou is a city in Bolivar County, Mississippi. The population was 2,102 at the 2000 census. It is notable for having been founded as an independent black community in 1887 by former slaves led by Isaiah Montgomery. By percentage, its 98.4 percent African-American majority population is one...
in 1951. Mound Bayou was 40 miles from Indianola. Although as an adult Patterson opposed such groups, in boyhood in Clarksdale, Mississippi
Clarksdale, Mississippi
Clarksdale is a city in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 20,645 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Coahoma County....
, he had been friends with Aaron Henry
Aaron Henry
Aaron Henry was an American civil rights leader, politician, and head of the Mississippi branch of the NAACP. He was one of the founders of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party which tried to seat their delegation at the 1964 Democratic National Convention.-Early life:Henry was born in Dublin,...
, later an official in the RCNL and the future head of the Mississippi NAACP
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
.
Within a few months, the WCC had attracted members, and new chapters developed beyond Mississippi in the rest of the Deep South. It often had the support of the leading citizens of many communities, including business, civic and sometimes religious leaders.
Economic retaliation and violence
Unlike the Ku Klux KlanKu Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
, the WCC met openly and was seen as "pursuing the agenda of the Klan with the demeanor of the Rotary Club." The group eschewed the use of violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
, instead using economic and political tactics against activists. But, the historian Charles Payne
Charles M. Payne
Charles M. Payne, Jr. is an American academic whose areas of study include civil rights activism, urban education reform, social inequality, and modern African-American history. He is currently the Chief Education Officer for Chicago Public Schools and was previously the Frank P...
notes, "Despite the official disclaimers, violence often followed in the wake of Council intimidation campaigns." Occasionally some Councils directly incited violence. For instance, in Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...
, during the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a political and social protest campaign that started in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, USA, intended to oppose the city's policy of racial segregation on its public transit system. Many important figures in the civil rights movement were involved in the boycott,...
, a mimeographed flyer containing the following was distributed at a large Council meeting in the Garrett Coliseum
Garrett Coliseum
The Garrett Coliseum is an 13,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Montgomery, Alabama, USA. The arena is the centerpiece of the Alabama Agricultural Center, home to the Alabama National Fair. It was built in 1951 and named after W.W. Garrett, the first chairman of the Alabama Agricultural Board. The...
:
When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary to abolish the Negro race, proper methods should be used. Among these are guns, bows and arrows, sling shots and knives. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all whites are created equal with certain rights; among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of dead niggers.
The Citizens' Councils used economic tactics against African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
s they considered as supportive of desegregation and voting rights
Voting rights in the United States
The issue of voting rights in the United States has been contentious throughout the country's history. Eligibility to vote in the U.S. is determined by both Federal and state law. Currently, only citizens can vote in U.S. elections . Who is a citizen is governed on a national basis by Federal law...
, or for belonging to the NAACP; the tactics included "calling in" their mortgages, denying loans and business credit, and boycotting black-owned businesses. In some cities, the Councils published lists of names of NAACP supporters and signers of anti-segregation petitions in local newspapers in order to encourage economic retaliation. For instance, in Yazoo City, Mississippi
Yazoo City, Mississippi
Yazoo City is a city in Yazoo County, Mississippi, United States. It was named after the Yazoo River, which, in turn was named by the French explorer Robert La Salle. It is the county seat of Yazoo County and the principal city of the Yazoo City Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of the...
in 1955, the Citizens' Council arranged for the names of 53 signers of a petition for school integration to appear in a local paper, and soon afterward, the petitioners lost their jobs and had their credit cut off. As Charles Payne puts it, the Councils operated by "unleashing a wave of economic reprisals against anyone, Black or white, seen as a threat to the status quo." Medgar Evers
Medgar Evers
Medgar Wiley Evers was an African American civil rights activist from Mississippi involved in efforts to overturn segregation at the University of Mississippi...
' first work for the NAACP on a national level involved interviewing Mississippians who had been intimidated by the Citizens' Councils and preparing affadavits for use as evidence against the Councils if necessary.
Political influence
Many state and local politicians were members of the Councils, which at least in some states, gave the organization immense influence over state legislatures. In Mississippi, the State Sovereignty CommissionMississippi State Sovereignty Commission
The Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission was a state agency directed by the governor of Mississippi that existed from 1956 to 1977, also known as the Sov-Com...
funded the Citizens' Councils, in some years providing as much as $50,000. This state agency also shared information it had collected through investigation and surveillance of integration activists with the Councils. For example, Dr. M. Ney Williams was both a director of the Citizens' Council and an advisor to governor Ross Barnett
Ross Barnett
Ross Robert Barnett was the governor of Mississippi from 1960 to 1964. He was a States' Rights Democrat.- Early life :...
of Mississippi. Barnett was a member of the Council, as was Jackson] mayor Allen C. Thompson
Allen C. Thompson
Allen Cavett Thompson was the mayor of Jackson, Mississippi for 20 years.-Family and childhood:Thompson was born to Allen and Mattie Thompson. His father was an attorney, city prosecutor and city judge prior to his death in 1916.-Post-secondary education:Upon graduating from Central High School,...
. In 1955, in the midst of the bus boycott, all three members of the Montgomery, Alabama city commission announced on television that they had joined the Citizens' Council.
Numan Bartley wrote, "In Louisiana the Citizens' Council organization began as (and to a large extent remained) a projection of the Joint Legislative Committee to Maintain Segregation." In Louisiana, leaders of the original Citizens' Council included State Senator and gubernatorial candidate William Rainach, future U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
Joe D. Waggonner, Jr.
Joe Waggonner
Joseph David Waggonner, Jr. , better known as Joe D. Waggonner, was a Democratic U.S. Representative from Bossier Parish who represented the old 4th Congressional District of northwest Louisiana from December 1961 until January 1979. He was also a confidant of Republican U.S...
, the publisher Ned Touchstone
Ned Touchstone
Ned O'Neal Touchstone was a newspaper publisher who was a leader of the [Conservative Right-Wing Movement]] in Louisiana politics during the 1960s...
, and Judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
Leander Perez
Leander Perez
Leander Henry Perez, Sr. , was the Democratic political boss of Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes in southeastern Louisiana during the middle third of the 20th century. Officially, he served as a district judge, later as district attorney, and as president of the Plaquemines Parish Commission...
, considered the political boss
Political boss
A boss, in politics, is a person who wields the power over a particular political region or constituency. Bosses may dictate voting patterns, control appointments, and wield considerable influence in other political processes. They do not necessarily hold public office themselves...
of Plaquemines
Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana
Plaquemines Parish is the parish with the most combined land and water area in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Pointe à la Hache...
and St. Bernard
St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana
St. Bernard Parish is a parish located southeast of New Orleans in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Chalmette, the largest city in the parish. As of 2000, its population was 67,229. It has been ranked the fastest-growing county in the United States from 2007 to 2008 by the U.S....
parishes south of New Orleans. On July 16, 1956, "under pressure from the White Citizens Councils," the Louisiana State Legislature
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
passed an amendment to the Louisiana Constitution
Louisiana Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Louisiana is the cornerstone of Louisiana state law ensuring the rights of individuals, describing the distribution and power of state officials and local government, establishes the state and city civil service systems, creates and defines the operation of a state...
mandating racial segregation in nearly every aspect of public life. The bill was signed into law by governor Earl Long
Earl Long
Earl Kemp Long was an American politician and the 45th Governor of Louisiana for three non-consecutive terms. Long termed himself the "last of the red hot poppas" of politics, referring to his stump-speaking skills...
on 16 July 1956 and went into effect on 15 October, 1956. The amendment read, in part:
An Act to prohibit all interracial dancing, social functions, entertainments, athletic training, games, sports, or contests and other such activities; to provide for separate seating and other facilities for white and negroes [lower case in original]... That all persons, firms, and corporations are prohibited from sponsoring, arranging, participating in or permitting on premises under their control... such activities involving personal and social contact in which the participants are members of the white and negro races... That white persons are prohibited from sitting in or using any part of seating arrangements and sanitary or other facilities set apart for members of the negro race. That negro persons are prohibited from sitting in or using any part of seating arrangements and sanitary or other facilities set apart for white persons.
School segregation and the demise of the councils
The White Citizens' Council in Mississippi prevented school integration until 1964. As school desegregation increased, in some communities the WCC sponsored "council schools," private institutions set up for white children. Many of these private "segregation academiesSegregation academies
Segregation academies are private schools started in the United States during the 1950s, '60s, and 70s as a way for white parents to avoid the desegregation of public schools as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Brown v...
" continue to operate today.
By the 1970s, as white Southerners' attitudes toward desegregation began to change following federal civil rights legislation in the 1960s and enforcement of integration and voting rights, the influence of the WCCs began to wane. A few such groups still exist, including the Council of Conservative Citizens
Council of Conservative Citizens
The Council of Conservative Citizens is an American political organization that supports a large variety of conservative and paleoconservative causes in addition to white nationalism, and white separatism...
, founded by former White Citizens' Council members.
See also
- American Civil Rights Movement (1896–1954)
- American Civil Rights Movement (1955–1968)
- Timeline of the American Civil Rights MovementTimeline of the American Civil Rights MovementThis is a timeline of African-American Civil Rights Movement.-Pre-17th century:1565*unknown – The colony of St...
External links
- The Citizens' Council - Historical resource website by Edward Sebesta, with digitized copies of the full run of The Citizens Council newspaper, 1955–1961. Originally a publication of the Mississippi Citizens' Council, the monthly publication became the official paper of the Citizens' Councils of America in October 1956.
- Available in PDF from Internet Archive.
- "Civil Rights Documentation Project", University of Southern Mississippi
- Dr. John Dittmer, "'Barbour is an Unreconstructed Southerner': Prof. John Dittmer on Mississippi Governor’s Praise of White Citizens’ Councils", 22 December 2010 video report by Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...
- "Schwerner, Chaney, and Goodman: The Struggle for Justice", American Bar Association