White Citizens’ Councils

Large crowd gathered at the Arkansas State Capitol protesting the integration of Central High School, with signs reading "Race mixing is Communism" and "Stop the race mixing," Little Rock, Arkansas.

Credit: Library of Congress

Essential Question:

How did individuals and groups resist the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education?


 

 

Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Education, White Citizens’ Councils (WCC) formed throughout the South to oppose integration. They used a variety of tactics to prevent Black students from gaining access to integrated schools. These tactics included violence, intimidation, and social pressure. In 1956, Martin Luther King, Jr. described his feelings about the WCC: “It is an indictment on America and democracy that these ungodly and unethical and un-Christian and un-American councils have been able to exist all of these months without a modicum of criticism from the federal government.”

Historian David Halberstam also described the WCC in 1956: “...the single thread connecting all the Councils… is the determination not just to oppose integration in the public schools but to stop or at least postpone it. In most of the Deep South, where hostility to integration is nearly universal, it is this militancy and dedication that make the Council member stand out.” The WCC was composed mostly of middle and upper-class White citizens, who used their political and economic influence to prevent lawmakers from enforcing school integration.

What were some of the tactics used by people who opposed the Civil Rights Movement? This PBS LearningMedia clip, White Resistance, gives a brief explanation.

Think about the following question as you play the video:

  • How did their actions impact the lives of African Americans?


 

 

Prince Edward County Public Schools

In response to the Brown decision, Prince Edward County Public Schools in Virginia decided to close its public schools rather than integrate them. The schools closed from 1950 through 1964. This action was part of the “Massive Resistance” that took place against federal mandates to desegregate schools.

Read the excerpt to learn more about how the closings impacted students.

 

  • How did Black families find ways to continue educating their children during the closure?
  • Why were rural, farming African American families more negatively impacted by the school closures?
  • To what degree were White students impacted by the closures?