The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 106, July 2002 - April, 2003 Page: 433
675 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
The Wiley-Bishop Student Movement
convinced the vanguard of the group that store managers had violated
their Fourteenth Amendment rights to equal protection; their final tri-
umph would be sought in court.
At a joint mass meeting the week prior to the sit-ins, movement lead-
ers elected to boycott Marshall's segregated Paramount Theater.
Manager W. L. Gelling acknowledged a sharp decline in business even
before demonstrations began. By Sunday, April 3, this method had been
formally adopted as the next phase of the campaign. Dallas NAACP field
secretary Clarence Laws had answered the demonstrators' earlier appeal
for assistance and arrived in Marshall early Saturday morning to help
process bonds. On Sunday, Laws informed the leaders of the NAACP's
eagerness to work with the movement. In an afternoon meeting Laws
schooled the students in the art of boycott, instructing them to avoid dis-
criminatory businesses; to involve churches, fraternities, clubs, and other
organizations; and to distribute leaflets and other literature to galvanize
local African American support. At an assembly of black community
adult leaders and the students that night, Laws's recommendations
gained official acceptance. The Rev. Joseph Cox, pastor of Ebenezer
Methodist Church, and Prof. A. P. Watson of Wiley later notified the
field secretary that the group further adopted a resolution to demand
augmented African American employment in Marshall businesses in
conjunction with the goal of desegregated lunch counters.42
On Monday morning, April 4, Marshall merchants called their own
meeting to discuss the students' boycott plans. Several organizers indi-
cated the assembly would map out a retaliatory plan against the stu-
dents, stressing that boycotts could work two ways. Other merchants,
particularly those with larger credit-oriented businesses, tended to dis-
miss the revengeful notion. On Monday afternoon District Attorney
Charles Allen met with organizers of the meeting and convinced them
to postpone it in the interest of a return to normalcy.3 The fact that the
Marshall merchants meeting never transpired signaled the inefficacy of
the movement's boycott. Without the utmost support and participation
of community blacks-such as in the Montgomery bus boycott-the
movement, comprised of students with little spending power, failed to
impair Marshall's downtown business sector.
While neither college administration directly punished students who
participated in the demonstrations, many faculty were not so fortunate. At
Bishop College, Doxie Wilkerson became the only casualty of the sit-ins.
", Undated Supplementary Report on Sit-in Demonstrations at Marshall, Texas, reel 22,
NAACP Papers.
4 Austzn Amencan-Statesman, Apr. 4, 1 960; Dallas Mornng News, Apr. 4, 1960; Marshall News
Messenger, Apr. 5, 196o2003
433
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 106, July 2002 - April, 2003, periodical, 2003; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101223/m1/501/: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.