Lecture 13. The Road to Brown and Little Rock

American History: From Emancipation to the Present (AFAM 162)

In this lecture, Professor Holloway presents an overview of the civil rights events that took place between the end of World War II and Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. A critical survey of the histories behind such famous events as the desegregation of the Armed Forces, the formation of the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE), the elimination of the all-white primary, and the Supreme Court's Brown decision demonstrate how complicated the story of the civil rights movement is. Professor Holloway canvasses events on the high political stage as well as in the legal arena to understand the fundamental shift, taking place in the country on racial issues. An examination of civil rights organizing practices and legal strategies in the 1940s, in particular, helps provide a framework for re-periodizing the movement.

Warning: This lecture contains graphic content and/or adult language that some users may find disturbing.

00:00 - Chapter 1. A Tallying of the State of Segregation in 1951
02:51 - Chapter 2. Melba Beals' Memoir: Warriors Don't Cry
07:57 - Chapter 3. The Fair Employment Practices Committee
09:32 - Chapter 4. The March on Washington Movement and the Congress on Racial Equality
17:13 - Chapter 5. Politics in the 1940s: A Period of Transition and War
28:29 - Chapter 6. Legal Transformations in the 1940s: Brown v. Board of Education

Complete course materials are available at the Yale Online website: online.yale.edu


This course was recorded in Spring 2010.