On May 17 1954, the United States Supreme Court passed the historic Brown v. Board of Education decision, which began the process of desegregating American schools and ultimately served as a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement. The case was successfully argued and won by Thurgood Marshall, who later became the first Black Supreme Court […]
By Tom Price and Jo Ann McClellan
In February 1946, community leaders and business owners Julius Blair and James Morton with veterans just returning from World War II, challenged the racial order in Columbia, Tennessee by taking a stand against a threat of violence. More than 100 African Americans were arrested, jailed, and charged with various crimes, including attempted murder. Dubbed the “Columbia Race Riot”, some historians believe this event “jump started” the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
Almost immediately, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was contacted and a team was sent from Nashville, Chattanooga, and New York.