Georgia Historical Society
"Two, Four, Six, Eight, We Don't Want to Integrate": White Student Attitudes Toward the
University of Georgia's Desegregation
Author(s): Robert Cohen
Reviewed work(s):
Source: The Georgia Historical Quarterly, Vol. 80, No. 3, HIGHER EDUCATION IN GEORGIA
(FALL 1996), pp. 616-645
Published by: Georgia Historical Society
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40583493 .
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"Two,Four,Six,Eight,We Don't Wantto
Towardthe
WhiteStudentAttitudes
Integrate":
ofGeorgia'sDesegregation
University
ByRobert Cohen
rioton
January13, 1961,twodaysaftera segregationist
ofGeorgia,NBC "Today"show
thecampusoftheUniversity
audiencethathe
toldhisnationaltelevision
hostDavidGarroway
hadembracedraconcerned"thatcollegestudents
was"especially
he stated,
cial violence."Iftheyhad been ignorant,
untutored,"
this
understand
could
action,
whytheydeployed
probably
"you
buttheyarenotan ignorant
educated,
group.They'reintelligent,
and theytookan actionthatevenan ignorant
savagecouldunderstandanyplace in theworld:brutalmob rule.And theywon.In
and thepursuit
Butwespeakofdemocracy,
thiscountry.
freedom,
ofhappiness."1
EvenbeforetheincidentthatsparkedGarroway's
comments,
ofGeorgia,
theUniversity
thewholeworldseemedtobe watching
Courtjudge WilliamA. Bootle
whereon January
6, U.S. District
stuof
the
admission
ordered
Georgia'sfirstAfrican-American
Hunter.Print,radio,and
dents,HamiltonHolmesand Charlayne
Athens
the
television
campusto see howstubesieged
journalists
oftheiruniversity.
dentswouldreacttotheintegration
Optimistic
in theAthens
werereprinted
comments
Banner-Herald,
15,1961.
January
'Garroway's
of
ofsocialscienceeducationandadjunctprofessor
MR.COHENisassociateprofessor
ofGeorgia.
attheUniversity
history
The GeorgiaHistorical Quarterly
Vol. LXXX,No. 3,Fall 1996
StudentAttitudesToward Desegregation
617
suchas columnist
observers,
RalphMcGilloftheAtlantaConstituwould"savethehonorof
voicedhope thatGeorgiastudents
tion,
theSouthandwarmtheheartsofgoodpeopleeverywhere"
bywelThis
was
also
exfirst
black
classmates.
sentiment
their
coming
for
UGA's
more
columnists
one
of
the
progressive
pressedby
whourgedhisclassmates
to
theRedandBlack,
studentnewspaper,
treatHolmesand Hunterwith"theproperrespecttheydeserve,"
"showtherestoftheUnitedStatesthatwein Georgia
and thereby
arethetrueleadersofthenewSouth."EvenHamiltonHolmesiniaboutGeorgiastudents,
tellinga retiallyvoicedsomeoptimism
to
violence."2
won't
turn
"I
faith
that
have
that
they
porter
of
The Georgiastudentbodyquicklyproveditselfunworthy
on the
studentdemonstration
The first
suchhope and optimism.
Athenscampuscame on Fridayevening,
6,
January onlya few
his
issued
Bootle
hoursafter
order;it showed
integration
Judge
student
of
the
thatat leasta vocalminority
bodyhad no
Georgia
in buildinga newSouth,choosinginsteadto defendthe
interest
traditions.
Thatnighta crowdof
old South- anditssegregationist
some 150 to 200 studentsgatheredby the historicarchwayenof Hamilton
tranceto thecampusand hunga blackfacedeffigy
withchorusesof
Holmes.The students"serenadedthe effigy
[fraterDixie,"and sang"There'llneverbe a niggerin the
nity]house," whose variousnames theyinserted.They also
Later
chanted"Two,four,six,eight,we don'twantto integrate."
in
cross
front
a
foot
to
burn
fifteen
thatnightstudents
high
sought
of the home of UGA presidentO. C. Aderhold,but werepreventedfromdoingso bycampusofficials.3
These initialsegregationist
protestspaled in comparisonto
whicheruptedoutsideofCenter-Myers,
theviolentdemonstration
fivenightslateron theeveningof
Hunter'sdormitory,
Charlayne
hoursafterHunterand Holmesat11,lessthanthirteen
January
tended theirfirstclasses on campus.Hoistinga "NiggerGo
Home" banner,a "howling,
cursingmob,"numberingbetween
Rioterssetfiresin the
on
"laid
500and 2,000
siege" Center-Myers.
*AtlantaConstitution,
of Georgia Red and Black,January5,
January11, 1961; University
1961; Columbus
ledger,January11, 1961.
^AtlantaConstitution,
January10, 1961; Red and
January7, 1961; AthensBanner-Herald,
*
Black,January10, 1961.
618
Georgia Historical Quarterly
of Georgia camWhen CharlayneHunterand HamiltonHolmes set footon the University
pus onJanuary9, 1961 (picturedabove) , theyand otherobserversacrossthe statewereoptimisticthattheywould be treatedwithcivility
by theirfellowstudents."I have faiththey
won't turnto violence,"Holmes told a reporterthe day before the riot.Photograph
from
WorldWidePhotos.
threwbricksand othermissilesat
woods near Hunter'sdormitory,
at reporters,and
the dormwindows,tossedrocksand firecrackers
scuffledwithpolice. It tookwell overan hour forpolice and campus officialsto restoreorder.Fire hoses and teargas were needed
to disperse the angrymob- whose fistsinjured a police officer
and Dean ofMen WilliamTäte,and whoserockshurta studentinand shattereddozens of windowsin Hunter's
side Center-Myers
Also
shattered
was UGA's reputation,since the riotwas
dormitory.
and
time
news.The nationalmedia denounced
front-page prime
StudentAttitudesToward Desegregation
619
The adand ignoramuses.4
thestudentriotersas bullies,racists,
on campuscompoundedthedamageto theuniverministration
tothemob-suspending
byappearingtocapitulate
sity's
reputation
ratherthan
Hunterand Holmes,allegedly"fortheirownsafety,"
Hunter'sforcedand tearful
The imageofCharlayne
therioters.
exitfromthecampusin thewakeoftheriotand herownsuspension,capturedin newsphotospublishedfromcoastto coast,was
or liveddown.5
notone thatwouldsoonbe forgotten
timethatwhitecollegestudents
Thiswasnotthefirst
captured
to
violent
resistance
thenationalspotlight
desegregation
through
ofhighereducationin theDeep South.Fiveyearsbeforethecrisis
at theUniversity
ofAlabamahad rioted
inAthens,
whitestudents
AfriwhenAutherine
Lucysoughtto becometheircampus'first
student.
ThousandsofAlabamastudents,
can-American
joined by
formeda rovingracistmob,whichthreatened
outsiders,
Lucy's
1956.6Studroveheroffthecampusin February
lifeand literally
dentriotleadersat UGAin 1961,suchas ThomasCochranfrom
ButlerCounty,
spokeofbeinginspiredbythatmobactionat the
ofAlabama.CochrantoldthepressthattheUGA stuUniversity
dents'use ofmobviolencewasaimedat achieving"thesamesort
. . . leofsituationthatprevailsin Alabama.They'reintegrated
4NewYorkTimes,
January12, 1961; "Shame in Georgia,"Time(January20, 1961), 44; At-
lantaJournal,January 12, 1961; Red and Black,January 11, 1961; Atlanta Constitution,
January
12, 1961; Trillin, An Education in Georgia: CharlayneHunter, Hamilton Holmes, and theIntegra-
theevidenceisnotdefinitive,
tionoftheUniversity
(NewYork,1963),52.Although
ofGeorgia
andundergradlawstudents
indicatethata coalitionofsegregationist
ofreports
a number
wasthedriving
theDemosthenians,
inUGA'sreactionary
uates,centered
society,
debating
in
forcebehindtheriot.See AtlantaConstitution,
15, 1961;Trillin,AnEducation
January
oftheDemosthenians'
52,81-82.On themindset
wing,see Robert
segregationist
Georgia,
Debateon theRaceQuestionintheDemostheC. Owen,"ACollageofCounterrevolution:
ofGeorgia,1984),
honorsthesis,
1950-1964"
nianLiterary
University
Society,
(unpublished
Minutes
24,1958,p. 158,January
22,1956,p. 31,
Hall,September
oftheDemosthenian
passim-,
.
citedas UGAArchives)
ofGeorgiaLibraries
Archives,
(hereinafter
University
University
did lookas iftheyhad
UGAadministrators
Holmesand Hunterfirst,
5Bysuspending
oftheriot.Butinthe
andnottheperpetrators
thetargets
cavedintothemobbypunishing
theadministration
riot'saftermath,
suspendedfourriotleadersand placedeighteenon
O.
toO.C. Aderhold,
24,1961,President
January
SeeJ.A.Williams
probation.
disciplinary
Hunterbeing
ofCharlayne
One oftheAPphotographs
C. Aderhold
Papers,UGAArchives.
offcampuscanbe foundinhermemoirs,
escorted
photoofUGA
alongwiththesyndicated
In MyPlace(NewYork,
theirracistbanner.See Charlayne
rioters
Hunter-Gault,
hoisting
1992).
6E. Culpepper Clark, The SchoolhouseDoor: Segregation'sLast Stand at the UniversityofAla-
bama(New York,1993), 71-90.
620
Georgia Historical Quarterly
The university's
Dean of Men William
Täte arrivedon the scene of the riot
soon afteritbegan. His personalintervention, which included reprimanding studentsby name and collecting
their ID cards, was instrumentalin
calming and dispersing the rioters.
Photographof TätefromtheHargrettRare
Book and Manuscript Library, University
of GeorgiaLibraries.
gaily.But thereare no niggersgoing to school there'"because of
the segregationistriotand expulsion of Lucy.7The yearafterthe
UGA riot,whitesouthernstudentswould have a hand in the most
violentofall campus anti-integration
riots:thebloodybattleat the
of Mississippiin September 1962, whichlefttwodead
University
and twenty-eight
federalmarshalswounded bygunshotduringfurious protestsagainst the admission of James Meredith to Ole
Miss.8
Despite theprominentrolewhitestudentsplayedin thesecrucial battlesagainstintegration,historianshave devotedlittleattention to southern student bodies. Even the best accounts of
desegregationon Deep South campuses- most notablyThomas
ofGeorgia,David Sansing'schapDyer'schapteron the University
ters on the Universityof Mississippi,and E. Culpepper Clark's
book on the University
ofAlabama- have tended to be top-down
and
histories.
political
They focusupon the tacticalmaneulegal
veringof southerngovernors,university
presidents,regents,and
7MaconTelegraph,
January13, 1961.
"RussellH. Barret,Integration
at OleMiss (Chicago, 1965), 163-95.
StudentAttitudesToward Desegregation
621
ratherthanupon the mindsetof southern
civilrightsattorneys
even
students,
thoughthesestudentshad farmore directand
African
Americans
dailyimpactupon thecollegelivesofthefirst
universities.9
toattenddesegregating
to thisdaywe knowalmostnothingaboutthe
Consequently,
racialideas thatprevailedamongwhitestudents(or theirteachand
ers) at southerncampusesduringthe era of desegregation
massiveresistance.
We knoweven less about wherethoseideas
and whyuniversities,
supposedlycentersof teaching
originated,
servedas launchingpadsforracistmobviolence.If
and learning,
whatdesegregation
meanton thecampuses
weare tounderstand
thatthecivilrights
conwe need to remember
whereitoccurred,
notonlyaboutpower
flicts
ofthe1950sand 1960swerestruggles
ideasaboutrace,integrabutalso aboutideas- and in particular
tion,and violence.These ideas shapedthe receptionthatblack
on southerncamreceivedfromtheirwhitecounterparts
students
time.10
puses,and madetheircollegeyearsa verytrying
the mindsetof white
The bestplace to startto reconstruct
students
as theuniversity
colorlinefelliswiththewords
southern
thearchives
oftheUniverthemselves.
ofthestudents
Fortunately,
sityofGeorgiaincludea setofstudentessayswhichshedconsiderUGA
able lighton thatmindset.Theywerewritten
bythirty-five
the
final
of
the
students
onJanuary
17,1961,during
stage
integration crisis.The authors,who wereenrolledin a calculusclass
(Math254),wrotetheiressaysduringa classsessioninresponseto
ThomasBrahana,thattheyexplain
a requestbytheirprofessor,
Brahanaaskedthestudentsto
theirviewson racialintegration.
writetheessaysin place ofa scheduledcalculustest,whichhe re-
1785-1985(Athens,Ga.,
'Thomas Dyer, The University
History,
ofGeorgia:A Bicentennial
1986), 303-334;David G. Sansing,MakingHasteSlowly:TheTroubled
History
ofHigherEducationin Mississippi
Door,passim.
(Jackson,Miss.,1990), 156-95;Clark,TheSchoolhouse
ofuniversithedesegregation
is curiousthatmosthistorical
narratives
10It
portraying
- sayso
centersofintellectual
discourse
whichare,at leasttheoretically,
ties- institutions
inclasses,orlearnmuchabout
littleaboutideas.In thesestudiesweneversee thestudents
to segregation,
curriculum
addressedissuesrelating
and university
howthefaculty
race,
ofdesegregating
universities
a mergA morecomplete
anddesegregation.
portrait
requires
between
ideas
an understanding
oftherelationship
andintellectual
history,
ingofpolitical
and
betweentheuniversity
as a politicalbattleground
andoftheconnections
andactions,
as a centerofteaching
andlearning.
theuniversity
622
Georgia Historical Quarterly
alized theywere- owingto the riotand the integration
controtoo
to
take.11
versy
upset
Assourcesofstudentopinionon thedesegregation
crisis,the
Math254 essaysare byfarthe richestthathavesurvived.
While
UGAstudents
werequotedin localand nationalpresscoverageof
thatcrisis,mostof thosequotationswereverybrief.So werethe
studentstatements
toTV reporters,
whichusuallyamountedtolittlemorethansoundbites.
The Math254 essaysofferfarmoreex- withsomerunning
tensive
studentcommentary
as longas three
handwritten
wrotetheseessaysin a sedate
pages.Since students
and pensiveclassroomsetting,theywerefreeof the posturing
whichsometimes
shadedthepublicstatements
thatUGAstudents
madetothemedia;as suchthesewritings
be
may a moreaccurate
reflection
ofstudentopinion.12
Thisis notto say,however,
thattheessaysoffera perfect
windowforviewing
thestudents'reactionto thedesegregation
crisis.
Thereisa problemwiththetiming
oftheessays.Theywerewritten
in theaftermath
of theriot,following
thefloodoflocal and nationalcriticism
ofthismobscene,and thedayafterthecourtorderedreinstatement
ofHunterand Holmes- whichprovedthat
theriothad failedto savethecolorline,and had done nothing
butdamageUGA'sreputation.
The essays'authorsobviously
had
moreofan inducement
to condemnsegregationist
violencethan
the essaysa weekearlier.Antheywouldhave had theywritten
otherpossibleinducement
fortheessayists
tosoundmoremoderate thanthe overallUGA studentbodycame fromthe political
oftheclassitself.
Atthetimethestudents
wrotetheirpadynamics
these
pers theythoughtthat,like otherclass worksubmitted,
wouldbe readbytheirprofessor.
AndsinceBrahana,as president
ofthecampuschapteroftheAmericanAssociation
ofUniversity
Professors
had
been
a
critic
of
theriotand
(AAUP),
prominent
advocateof the reinstatement
of Hunterand Holmes,the studentsalmostcertainly
knewthathe wasfarmoreprogressive
on
withThomas Brahana,Athens,Georgia,February13, 1995.
"Telephone interview
12UGAstudentsdemonstratedtheirwillingnessto playup to TV camerasand reporters
mostmemorablyin an incidentinvolvingCBS news.Aftera CBS TV news team misseda
- apparentlyat the request of a CBS
segregationistcampus demonstration,the students
employee- reenactedthe demonstrationfortheTV cameras,so theycould appear on television.See, Hunter-Gault,In MyPlace,179.
StudentAttitudesToward Desegregation
623
whichoperracialissuesthantheywere.Giventhepowerrealities
- whereprofessors
awardand underate withincollegecourses
- students
had reasonto playup to
aboutgrades
worry
graduates
Butfew,ifany,of
Brahanabytoningdowntheirsegregationism.
to takethe riskof
thestudentsdid so. Indeed,theirwillingness
alienatingtheirprofessorby candidlyexpressingtheirviews
makesthe almostuniformly
essaysseem all the
segregationist
morecredibleand heartfelt.13
all theviewsexpressed
Wewillneverknowforcertainwhether
oftheentirestudentbody.Nor
in theMath254essaysweretypical
weresimilarintelthesemathstudents
do we evenknowwhether
thattheywere
the
fact
students.
most
UGA
to
Certainly
lectually
students
who
UGA
them
from
differentiates
many
takingcalculus
and abilities
werelessadvancedin theirmathematical
training
thatacademically
atleastthepossibility
andthissuggests
theywere
But in one veryimportant
betterthanaveragestudents.
respect
Allbutone ofthe
thisclasscloselyresembledmostUGAstudents.
and mostwereGeorgians.This was
weresoutherners,
essayists
muchliketheprofileof thelargerstudentbody.Of 1,745UGA
in 1961,1,501 (86 percent)wereGeorgians,and no
freshman
class.14
in thatfreshman
statehad morethan16 students
northern
at least,theMath254 studentswereemiThus demographically
theUGAstudentbody.
nently
qualifiedto represent
*
ManyoftheMath254 essaysinvertwhattodaywouldbe our
and whoweretheagofjustwhowerethevictims
understanding
whichcondemnedtheriotand demandedthereinstatemovement
lsOnthefaculty
- and on Brahana'srolein thismovement,
see theKenneth
mentofHolmesand Hunter
AtColemanand HoraceMontgomery
Box,UGAArchives;
narratives,
RG-43,Integration
lantaJournal-Constitution,
23, 1961.Sincethiswasa calculus(and nota socialsciJanuary
ence or humanities)class, possiblystudentfearsof offendingtheirprofessoror
thatultimately
bytheirknowledge
jeopardizingtheirgradewouldhavebeen mitigated
- woulddeterminetheir
- as opposed to theirpoliticalviews
skills
theirmathematical
thanunsigned
butthesignedrather
didnotsigntheiressays,
ofstudents
grades.A handful
Brahananeverreadmostof theessays.Insegregationist.
essayswerethemostardently
ofan appropriate
andlabeledthem"results
stead,he depositedthemin thelibrary
peacecoverenvelopeof Math254
of studentopinion.Brahanainterview;
fuldemonstration"
UGAArchives.
essays,
Classoj IVôl (Apriliyt>2),Kb-4
on thetreshman
GuidanceCenter,Report
14University
Box,UGAArchives.
SG3,Integration
624
Georgia Historical Quarterly
crisis.WhentheMath254 stugressorsin the UGA integration
to
dentsmentionedthosevictimized
byforce,mostwerereferring
ratherthanto Holmesand Hunter.These whitestuthemselves
dentsfeltthatthemostegregioususe offorcein thedesegregationcrisiscame not fromthewhitemob'sassaulton Charlayne
Hunter'sdormitory,
but fromthe federalgovernment
coercing
Asone student
exofGeorgiatointegrate.
thestateandUniversity
plained:
feelhurtbecauseourfedandGeorgians
Manystudents,
parents,
canforce
. . . hasshownus thatit (fed.govern.)
eralgovernment
I
which
we
dislike.
...
feel
as
students
do
to
do
many
things
people
shouldhavea right
attheUniversity
ofGeorgia
thatweas citizens
togotosegregated
schools.
Itseemstomethefederal
government
hasgotten
orperhaps
hasalways
beenforwasitnot
toopowerful
thatcausedtheCivilWar?Why
theissueofstate'srights
partly
doesn'tCongress
questionthealmighty
powerof theSupreme
theU.S. government
wassetup on a
Court,afterall I thought
inanother
hundred
intecheck-and-balance
years
system.
Perhaps
in
but
would
have
come
about
the
South
why
voluntarily
gration
mustsomething
weresent
be crammed
downourthroats?15
resistance
wasexThe logicofwhitedissentand segregationist
in
of
not
but
these
students
terms
state
only
pressedby
rights, also
Americanism
and God'swill.Theybelievedthatthecourt-ordered
of
wasun-American
and violatedtheir
integration theuniversity
ownand theirstate'srights."I feelas manystudentshereat the
ofGeorgiathatwe as citizensshouldhavea righttogo
University
tosegregated
schools. . . becauseitis ourAmericanheritageand
"I am mad,"wroteanotherstudent,
thatan inGod-given
right."16
took
state's
so
"federal
away
tegrationist
judge
rights," that"the
and
school
officials
have no authority
the
governor, legislature,
totheintegration
pertaining
problemfacedatGeorgia.. . . Thisis
15TT,Math 254 Essays,UGA Archives.Since the studentswrotethese essaysforan academic course,withan assumptionof confidentiality,
thisseemed reason enough to consider keeping theirnames out of the narrative.And since theirideas ratherthan their
I could findno compellingreason to disindividualidentitiesare historicallysignificant,
close theirnames. Thus theirnames are not included in the text,and the notes willrefer
to thembyinitialsonly (or if the essaywas unsigned,by the order in whichthatessayappeared in the archivalfolder).
16CCH,ibid.
StudentAttitudesToward Desegregation
625
whichis thebeliefthat
wrongand does notmakeup a democracy,
foundedAmericaand thewayAmericais supposetobe today."17
as a God-given
rightand theopHavingdefinedsegregation
American
as a fundamental
tionofchoosingsegregation
freedom,
- particwhochallengedthisright
itfollowedthatintegrationists
ularlythe leadersof the NationalAssociationfortheAdvanceSeveralMath254
mentof ColoredPeople- wereun-American.
subversion.
Their
the
NAACP
with
students
chargeshad
equated
a McCarthyite
tinge,and tappedintopowerfulemotionsin the
of1961:
tenseColdWaratmosphere
believe
andI strongly
IftheNAACP
isnotCommunist
infiltrated,
touse.Theyhavea
situation
forthecommunists
itis,itisa perfect
whentheycan
outwheretheyknowalmostexactly
planworked
inknowing
trained
takeovertheU.S.. . . Theyhavemenspecially
sitoftrouble.
Whatbetter
riots
andcauseothertypes
howtoincite
the
Ifthey
arenotcontrolling
askforthanthis?
uationcouldthey
must
wakeup.18
arecertainly
NAACP,
usingit!Americans
they
efforts
as
Anotherstudentwho saw the NAACP'sintegrationist
conUnited
States"
"to
break
the
a
Communist
of
plot
up
part
cluded thatthe NAACP'sname "shouldbe changedto the National Associationfor the Advancementof the Communist
Party."19
in theclassechoedthe"sepLessextremefoesofintegration
v.Ferguin thehistoric
aratebutequal"doctrineestablished
Plessy
tocitethe
son(1896) decision(thoughnoneknewenoughhistory
totohavea benignattitude
. Thesestudents
caseitself)
professed
wardblacks.Theyarguedthatblacksshouldhaveeducationalopequal to those of whites,but these should come
portunities
in the
throughseparateblackschools,sincethiswas traditional
wouldevokeracialtensions
South- and sinceforcedintegration
and disruptsoutherneducationforbothraces.The studentsrefusedto see howunderfunded
JimCrowGeorgia'sblackschools
werein relationto thewhiteschools,butat leasttheyclaimedto
aspiretowardeducationalequality.20
17GB,ibid.
I8SL,ibid.
12, ibid.
19Essay
^RC, HG, Essay15, ibid.
626
Georgia Historical Quarterly
This contrastedwiththe most ardent segregationistsin the
class,who relied less on "separatebut equal" cliches than on blatantappeals to racial prejudice.These reactionariesdid not even
bepretendto care about securingequal educationalopportunity
tweenthe races; theythoughtblacks inferiorand unfitforsuch
As one studentexplained:
opportunity.
The mainreasonI sayI do notwantintegration
is thatI believethe
to theCaucasianrace.. . . The Negrohas
Negroidraceis inferior
an averageof one eighthmorebone thickness
on hisskull.This
leads one to believethattheNegrohas notcome as farthrough
evolutionas the"White"man.It is virtually
to remove
impossible
someoneor a racefroma mostprimitive
cultureand replacehim
in one thathasadvancedoverfifteen
hundredyearsabovehisand
to the
expecthimwithintwohundredfifty
yearsto adjusthimself
newcultureas wellas thedescendants
of thefounders
oftheold
culturehave.. . . The Negro... isshiftless
and undependable.
Why
doestheaverageNegrohavealmostdoubletherhythm
ofa "white"
manifhe has becomeequal to thewhitemanin hisculture.This
leadsme tobelieveitis stillthe"jungleinstinct."21
A sexual subtext frequentlyaccompanied these racist passages. The most vehement criticsof both integrationand the
NAACP among the studentessayistswere convincedthatthough
civilrightsactivistshad begun theirquest forblack rightsat the
schoolhousedoor theirreal destinationwaswhitebedrooms:"I do
notwishour . . . social affairsintegrated This is the pointI feel
moststronglyabout. ... In college I feel thatthe women willbe
protectedbetterif theydon't have to dodge colored boysin the
A femaleclassmateworriedthatifschool intecourse of a day."22
grationproceeded, it would yieldso much interracialsex thatby
"the year 2061 A.D. therewillbe littleleftof a distinctNegro or
whiterace; a hybridrace willbe well on itswayhere in America."
God too favoredracial homogeneity,according to one student,
who wrote:"I am definitelya strongsegregationist. . . mixingof
the Whiteand Negro races willonlyresultin dissention.. . . Negroes. . . deservea chance to betterthemselves.I do not favorthis
bettermentby intermarriage.... I cannot understandwhyGod
2IPC, ibid.
22Essay2, ibid.
StudentAttitudesToward Desegregation
627
wouldhavebotherto createvariedracesifhe had notwantedus
to remainas such."23
of blackinferiority
Stereotypes
pervadedthe moststrongly
"The
has
essays.
segregationist
Negro a lackofambition.He does
not havethe desireto workand betterhimselfbut is onlyconcernedwithhavingenoughto eat.Ambitionand driveare what
has madethiscountry
strong.SecondlytheNegrodoes nothave
themoralswehavein Meriwether
Thisis easilybackedby
County.
thenumberofillegalchildren.The Negroalso is notas physically
cleanas whites."24
Anotherstudentnoted:
I personally
do notdesiretoassociate
oflowmoral
withpersons
in
character.
. . . Southern
havea lowermoralstandard
Negroes
thanI caretoassociate
with.
Thisisshown
brand
general
by1 their
newCadillacstanding
intheyardoftheir
oneroomtennant
home
for
the
statistical
of
taxes
2
(neither
paid yet),
percentage
paidby
as compared
toWhites
3 Thefrequent
ofcourt
number
Negroes
casesinvolving
wifebeating,
drunk
and
Negroestabbings,
driving
etc.4 Lackoftrust
5 General
sanitadisorderly,
amongthemselves
tion.25
No one familiar
withtheextremesegregationist
cirrhetoric
intheSouthin 1961willbe surprised
culating
bythesestatements.
Butthefactthatcollegestudents,
amongthestate'sbesteducated
with
such
seriousness
absurdideasaboutblack
youths,
expressed
skullsize,junglerhythm,
and shiftlessness
shouldgiveus pauseto
considerthesourcesof theseideas and the natureof Georgian
- or more preciselymiseducation
and southerneducation
aboutrace.
The moststriking
featureofthisracialeducationwasitsinfortwo
out
of
thethirty-five
mality.
Only
essaysmadeanymentionof
a formaleducationalinstitution
influencingstudentthought
about race. In almosteveryessaywherethereis an allusionto
or integration
thecitedsource
learningaboutrace,segregation,
of thatlearningis not a school,a campus,a text,an author,a
teacher,or an academicdiscipline.Studentslearnedaboutrace
2, TT, and also see DW, ibid.
23Essay
24MHC,ibid.
25AS,ibid.
628
Georgia Historical Quarterly
fromtheirfamilies,
and communities;
theseweretheprifriends,
sources
of
their
racial
education.26
mary
in
Georgiansdid not have to be taughtabout segregation
in
andwereindoctrinated
school;theylearnedaboutsegregation
whitesupremacy
on
the
white
side
of
the
color
bymerelyliving
line.Thusas students
explainedtheirsupportofsegregation,
they
invokedtheirsouthernand Georgianupbringing
and
frequently
in
in
believed
because
of
their
roots
heritage.They
segregation
and lovefortheJimCrowSouthand thewayoflifein whichthey
were raised.This strongsense of place and its determinative
in the essays.Typically,
a studentexpowerappearsrepeatedly
"I
in
I havebeen
believe
.
.
.
because
strongly segregation
plained:
rearedin a sectionoftheworldwheretherewasno formofinteHe thenwenton to spellouthisbeliefin blackinferiorgration."
and
ity,
proudlyjustifiedthisbeliefin termsof his southern
"This
beliefwasinherited
fromme [sic] bymyancestors
lineage:
whogavetheirlives[intheCivilWar]thattheSouthern
wayoflife
would live."Anotherstudentwroteof personaloppositionto
school integration
evolvingout of his havingbeen "bornand
raisedin southwest
Georgia,wherethewhitemandominatesthe
coloredpeople."27
Growing
up as a whiteGeorgianoftencarriedwithitan exposureto onlythesegregationist
sideofthedebateovercivilrights.
Thussomeofthestudents'essaysindicatedthattheywereswayed
becausethiswasall theyhad heardin
bysegregationist
arguments
"I wasbornherein Athens,Georgiain 1940,"
theirhometowns:
wroteone. "SincethattimeI haveheardnothingbuttalkin favor
ofsegregation
downto thelastminutedetail.Therefore,
because
"I am,"anotherstudentwrote,
of thisI believein segregation."
"froma smallsouthGeorgiatown.. . . AllmylifeI havebeen told
thatsegregation
is right,
ithas been and alwayswillbe in effect."
"EversinceI can remember
whilegrowing
up in southGeorgia,"
a thirdstudentrecalled,"I havebeen tolditis notrightsociallyto
in ourschools."28
haveintegration
26For
a memoir
whichilluminates
thewaysmallsouthern
townstaughtitswhiteyouths
about race, see MeltonA. McLaurin,SeparatePasts:Growing
South
Up Whitein theSegregated
(Athens,Ga., 1987).
2,JA,Math 254 Essays.
27Essay
HS, Essay12, ibid.
*HJB,
StudentAttitudesToward Desegregation
629
These studentsneitheradmittednor even suspectedthat
theJimCrowsystem
fromthewhite
growing
up underandviewing
sideofthecolorlinelimitedtheirvisionor understanding
ofthe
τ
.
/
on the veryday of the riot,
This cartoon,whichappeared in the LouisvilleCourier-Journal
stressedthat a segregationistgeneration and their politiciansimposed a heavyburden
students.Itscaptionread: "'Tis Education FormstheComupon theshouldersofuniversity
mon Mind:Justas theTwigis Bent theTree's Inclined."HughHayniecartoon
fromLouisville
Courier-Journal,
January11, 1961.
630
Georgia Historical Quarterly
no senseat all of theirown
South'sracialproblems.Displaying
tended
to assumethattheir
Brahana's
students
provincialism,
gave themspecialknowledge
backgroundas whitesoutherners
and thought.
Thusone student
intoblacklife,culture,
andinsight
wrote:"I haveworkedwithand livedaroundNegroesall mylife.I
wasraisedbya lookedafterbya Negrowoman10hoursoftheday
wellknowwhatthecoloredpeople
everydayfor12years.I pretty
ofcoloredpeoplein
wantand don'twant.... I knowthemajority
mix
white
Anotherstuto
with
the
do
not
want
people."29
Georgia
withnegrosbewhohad "worked
dentnotedthatas a southerner
ofthenegros
he knewthatthe"majority
foreand talkedtomany,"
do notwantto go to schoolwithus,butthenaacp . . . talkthese
negrosintogoingtowhiteschools.Theytellthenegrohe isbeing
Theseyoung
andfeedthemall sortsofbalony."30
donean injustice
whitesfeltthattheirsouthernrootsalso gavetheman empirical
basis for theirspuriousclaims about black inferiority.
They
seemedto thinkthattheywereprovingtheirraciststatements
and
whentheyattachedto themsuchlinesas "I am a southerner
havelivedamongNegroesall mylife,""I knowand understand
theNegroesaroundmyhometown,"and "anyonewhohas lived
aroundsmallsoutherntownswilltellyou."31
In discussingrace,the studentessayists
invokedfamilyand
and their
observations
and assumptions
so frequently
hometown
what- if
formaleducationso rarelythattheyleaveus wondering
any discussionof race relationsoccurredin whitesouthern
of school and college
schools.Whydid the formalcurriculum
student
leave so littleimpression
upon
thoughtabout race?Ala
of
it
would
take
study highschooland college
though
thorough
coursecontentin Georgiaand theJimCrowSouthto answerthis
- alongwithmyinterthe Math254 essays
questiondefinitively,
and faculty
whowereatUGAin 1961- suggest
viewswithstudents
racial
thatmostteacherstendedto stayawayfromcontemporary
issues.Evenat thecollegelevel,discussions
ofrace,and especially
seemto havebeen rare.PeteMcComthecivilrightsmovement,
mons,a leadingmoderatestudentat UGAin 1961,couldnotre^Essay 12, ibid.
"«Essay16, ibid.
"JA,MHC, ibid.
StudentAttitudesToward Desegregation
631
member"any[UGA] teacherin a classtalkingaboutsegregation
Professor
or integration."32
Brahana,whoas head ofUGA'sAAUP
chapterin 1961wasin a good positionto knowaboutthestateof
at thattime,recalledthatfaculty
tendedtostay
academicfreedom
out
issues
race
and
controversial
from
regarding
integration
away
offearfortheir
jobs: "Backthenitwasn'ta subjectthatwastaught.
and talkedaboutit
It had been dangerousifyouwerea professor
to
too
much."
According Brahana,memories
[desegregation]
and
the
remembered
werelong,
onlytoo wellwhenback
faculty
in 1941 GovernorEugene Talmadgeattackedand fireda dean
would come to the
"forjust hintingthatone day integration
off
that
South.So everybody
juststayed
topic."33
Learningaboutraceappearstohavebeen at leastas sparsein
middle,and secondaryschoolsas itwas
Georgia'swhiteprimary,
evadedall ofthe
at UGA.The Georgiapublicschoolcurriculum
to
teach
studentsto
race
and
did
about
nothing
toughquestions
aboutrelationsbetweenwhitesand blacksin the
thinkcritically
in 1961wouldlikelyhaveexperienced
South.MostUGAstudents
theverysame evasionson race in theirpre-collegeschoolingas
founderEliotWigginton:
thoserecalledbyFoxfire
GeorandjuniorhighschoolinAthens,
WhenI wasinelementary
- notoneinstance
thatthere
wasnota single
gia... I ampositive
about
a discussion
evenallowed,
whenanyoftheteachers
initiated,
and
In thatnineyearperiod,itwasnotevenmentioned,
racism.
marked
water
founthatwasina town. . . [with]
clearly
separate,
in thedowntown
bathrooms
andblacks,
tainsforwhites
separate
academics
32Interview
withPeteMcCommons,
Athens,
Georgia,
April4, 1994.Southern
butalsoin their
issuesnotonlyin theirteaching,
civilrights
tendedtoavoidcontroversial
wouldaccepttheFundfortheAdvancement
Thusin 1954nosouthern
research.
university
Thisproject
schoolsystem.
a study
oftheSouth'ssegregated
offer
tofinance
ofEducation's
sinceAshmore
rather
thanbya professor,
wouldbe headedbyArkansas
Harry
journalist
- "thesubjectwasconsideredtoo hotforanysouthern
to
words
in Ashmore's
university
1945-1989
TheNewSouth,
handle."See NumanBartley,
(BatonRouge,La., 1995),152.
of
to Governor
Brahanawasreferring
^Brahanainterview.
EugeneTalmadge'sfiring
Thefiring
wassparkednot,as Brahana
deanWalterD. Cocking.
UGACollegeofEducation
ofintegration
(thatwasa boguschargemadebythosewho
advocacy
byCocking's
implies,
whowasa Talmadgesupporter,
ofa UGAemployee
wantedhimfired)
, butbyhisremoval
ofa reportthatshowedGeorgiaspentlessthananysouthern
andbyCocking's
authorship
See Dyer,University
on blackhighereducation.
stateexceptArkansas
225-40;and
ofGeorgia,
Overthe
and Educationin theTalmadgeEra:The Controversy
JamesF. Cook,"Politics
ofGeorgia,1972),
ofGeorgia,1941-42"(Ph.D. dissertation,
University
University
System
46-61.
632
Georgia Historical Quarterly
...
roomsin the. . . busstation,
. . ., separatewaiting
five-and-dime
a separateticketwindowand balconyforblacksat themovietheatre,. . . and absoluteand totalseparationofblacksand whitesin
and so on. And becauseit was
termsof schools,neighborhoods,
andI reallyneveraskedourselves
nevertalkedabout,myclassmates
were,
whythetownwassetup thatway.Thatwasjustthewaythings
had alwaysbeen,and wouldalwaysbe. It wouldhavedonejust as
muchgood to askwhytherewasgrassorwhythereweremockingbirds.Therejust were.*4
The textbooksused in Georgia public schools seem to have
only reinforcedits weaknesseson race. For example, in the late
1950s one of the Georgia public schools' mostwidelyused social
writtenbyUGA poand History,
studiesbooks, Georgia:Government
AlbertB. Saye,was 438 pages long,but
liticalscienceprofessor
theNAACP,
nevermentionedthewords"civilrightsmovement,"
discussion
a brief,uncritical
or a singleblackleader.Sayeoffered
whichhe praisedas "naturalin manyareas of
of segregation,
life."35
Saye'stext,whichwasused in theirprecollegeyearsbythe
whoattendedUGA duringitsdesegregagenerationofstudents
heard
tioncrisis,suggeststhaten routeto collegethesestudents
and
what
race
or
in
classes
about
their
little
they
segregation,
very
thedominantprejudicesand socialarconfirmed
didhearsimply
oftheregion.
rangements
criticsofGeorgiaeducatorsfor
the
Among mostpenetrating
M. Galphinof theAtlanta
race
was
Bruce
failingto teachabout
to
In February1961,GalphintooktheUGA faculty
Constitution.
notionsthat
taskforitsfailureto challengethewhitesupremacist
theirstudentsbroughtwiththemto college.Though Galphin
praisedthemforsigningtheirhistoricpetitiondamningtheriot
ofHolmesand Hunter,he also
and callingforthereinstatement
in itsteaching
more
if
been
the
that
forthright
faculty
thought
aboutrace,theriotmighthavebeen averted:
at the
havebeenstudying
whatthey[thestudents]
Onewonders
in
science
tutors
Thus
their
appearto
only
political
university. far,
havebeentheextremist
they
keepspewing
upsuchclipoliticians;
a ShiningMoment:TheFoxfire
MEliotWiggington,Sometimes
(Garden City,N.Y.,
Experiment
1986), 309.
and History
B. Saye, Georgia:Government
35Albert
(Evanston,111.,1957), 310-14.
StudentAttitudesToward Desegregation
633
chesas "judicial
"federalism"
or "socialism."
(Theprize
tyranny,"
wasthecomplaint
that"thelongarmoffederal
iscrushing
tyranny
usundertheheelofitsboot.")Perhaps
thefaculty,
nowthattheory
intoreality,
andnowthatmorethantwo-thirds
hasturned
ofthem
havesigneda petition
of
the
will
supporting
acceptance
Negroes,
intheir
findthecourage
tocurethisdefect
students'
education.36
and politrigorous
Galphinbelievedthata moreintellectually
could
have
altered
theway
icallycourageousfaculty
profoundly
of
students
thoughtaboutraceand reactedto thedesegregation
Therearereasonstodoubtwhether
theUGAfactheiruniversity.
- evenifitwasso inclined
- was
ulty(or anyDeep Southfaculty)
in a fewshort
influential
to reverse,
freeenoughand sufficiently
had
of
a
lifetime
of
miseducation
that
their
students
classes,
years
receivedaboutracein theirsouthernhometowns.
Indeed,at first
glance,Galphin'sfaithin thepowerand freedomofteachersand
educationalinstitutions
formal
all,this
mayevenseemnaive.After
and
around
wasa society
segregationist
organized
principles, eduthanchalhave
more
often
reinforced
cationalsystems
historically
and
their
ideologicalfoundations.
lengedexistingsocialsystems
But,on theotherhand,had theychosentouse it,theUGAfaculty
- thebest
sources
couldhavetappedintoa vastarrayofscholarly
- to prod
in
and
anthropology, psychology
scholarship sociology,
studentsintoquestioningthe racistdoctrinesupon whichthey
had been raised.Evenshort-term
exposureto themodernsocial
GunnarMyrdal,
scienceof MelvilleJ. Herskovits,
JohnDollard,
FranzBoas,and KennethB. Clarkmighthaveat leastgivenstuto transcend
theirprejudices.37
dentstheopportunity
LeadstheWay:GeorgiaRejoinstheUnion,"Nation
^BruceM.Galphin,
"TheUniversity
itspastfailures
on race,UGAfaculty
11,1961),118.Whatever
(February
playeda pivotal
in 1961(mostnotably
factheriot). Progressive
roleinpromoting
after
peacefulintegration
ultymembersprivately
encouragedmoderatestudentsto organizeagainstthe state's
therethreatened
closingofUGA.The faculty
petition
opposingtheriotand demanding
ofHolmesandHunterhelpedturnedcampusopinionand theUGAadminisinstatement
McCommons
resistanceto integration.
Brahanainterview;
trationawayfromfurther
withHoraceMontgomery,
interview
Athens,
interview;
May3, 1995.
the
ofsocialsciencescholarship
whichfromthe1930sthrough
s7For
usefulsummaries
whitesupremacist
notionsaboutblacks,see RichardKluger,Simple
1950shad refuted
Jus-
tice:TheHistory
Struggle
forEquality(New
ofBrownv. BoardofEducationand BlackAmerica's
Decade (New
A NewDeal ForBlacL·: TheDepression
York, 1975), 309-313; Harvard Sitkoff,
York,1978), 190-215.
634
Georgia Historical Quarterly
There is evidence in one of the essaysthatat least some studentsat UGA in 1961 werecapable ofembracingthatopportunity.
In thiscase itwas exposure to psychologicalscholarshipthatled a
studentto question racial segregation.This undergraduatenoted
thatwhitesupremacistideas had
been hammeredintomyhead fortheentiretimeofmylifeand,
toit.Duringmyyearsin foryet,I cannotseemtoreconcilemyself
mal schoolingI haveseen printedevidence,as compiledbypsythatthe men of thewhiteand blackrace haveequal
chologists,
toaccomplish
Thisknowledge
hasservedto
intellectually.
potential
Therefore
afterconsideropen and broadenmymindsomewhat.
I havearrivedat thefollowing
calledintegration
ingthissituation
conclusion:
Thereis a disparity
betweentheblackandwhiteraces,
butthisdisparity
is notinherited,
itislearned.The Negrohasbeen
downtrodden
and debased.... In conclusion,and I mustadmit
thatthisis a statement
I believethatthe
thatis quitehardtowrite,
the
will
be
able
to
climb
from
thehole thatwe
onlyway Negro
up
havethrown
himin is byhisbeingpermitted
to securean educationwhichis exactly
thatofthewhitemen.38
Commentssuch as these suggestthatthoughsegregationism
predominated,itwas not universalamong UGA studentsin 1961.
A small dissidentminorityin the Math 254 class (3 out of the 35
studentsin thatclass) wroteessaysthatcondemnedJimCrow.Attestingthatnot all whitesouthernersthoughtalike,one of these
dissidentspointedout thathe "wasborn and raisedin Georgia . . .
myfatherwas born in Georgia, and thereforeI am no Yankee,"
and thenwenton to complain thatitwas
hardto understand
is beingfoughtagainstso viowhyintegration
because
9
out
of
10
of
the
southern
lently
peoplehavebeenpractiwiththeNegroesall theirlives.. . . Mostofus have
callyintegrated
been broughtup bycoloredwomenwhileour mothersworked.
WhenI wassmallI hada friendthatwascoloredandwedidalmost
and I betifa role[roll]wastakenalmostevery
everything
together,
personin thisroomhad a coloredfriendsometimes
duringhislife
thathe woulddo almostanything
for.WhatI can'tunderstand
is
whywe don't mindeatingwithNegroesin the kitchenbut we
wouldn'twanttoeatwiththemin thediningroom.39
MEssay35, Math 254 Essays.
MJAII, ibid.
Student Attitudes Toward Desegregation
635
The strongestindictmentofsegregationin Math 254 came froma
studentwho coupled his antipathytowardsouthernracismwitha
sense of southernnationalism,arguingthatonlywhen it was free
of segregationwould the South realize itsgreatpotential:
is right.Thereis no possible
Mypersonalbeliefis thatintegration
...
defend
to
segregation. I, beinga southGeorgian,
way sanely
tomarry
a Nigger?"
haveheardthecry."Do youwantyourdaughter
to killthe whiterace in the
and "The SupremeCourtis trying
untilitmakesme sick.The
south"and theotherusualstatements
southhas thepotentialto becomethemostprosperousregionin
theUnitedStates.Indeed,it shouldalreadybe so. However,the
it
problemis goingto holdus backuntilwestraighten
segregation
out.40
Ifsuch indictmentsofsegregationwererarein thismathclassroom,theywererarerstillin the public expressionsmade byUGA
studentleaders duringthe integrationcrisis.The combinationof
racism,ideological solidarity,regional tradition,and peer pressureleftUGA studentleaders unwillingto voice in public the type
viewswhich the two studentsabove had shared
of integrationist
withtheirliberal professor.In January1961 the biggest
privately
conflictwithinthe whitestudentcommunityat UGA was not beand segregationists(since virtuallyall stutween integrationists
dentswho spoke up said theypreferredsegregation), but between
moderate and extreme segregationists.The moderates wanted
UGA to remainsegregatedbut wereunwillingto sanctionthe use
of violence or school closing towardthatend. These studentsorganized a large meetingin the UGA chapel on January8, where
theyput togethera petition,ultimatelysigned by 2,700 students
stayopen- at a timewhenstatelawmanurgingthattheuniversity
dated that the legislaturecut offfundingto UGA should it become integrated.Prior to the riot of January 11, moderate
newspapercolumnistsfor the Red and Black and other student
leadersalso made statementsin the campus paper urgingthatstudentsremaincalm and avoid violence.41
«»DC, ibid.
41
AtlantaConstitution,
January9, 1961; Redand Black,JanJanuary9, 1961; Atlantajournal,
uary5 and 10,1961.
636
Georgia Historical Quarterly
These callsfornonviolencefailedbecauseofa fundamental
weaknessin themoderates'position.Thatpositionwasbasically
one ofresignation,
a grudging
acceptanceofthefactthatfederal
law made inevitablethe presenceof the twoblack students
whichhad tobe acceptednotbecausethiswastheright
something
or democratic
thingto do, butbecausetherewasno wayto defy
theSupremeCourt.The moderates'cold logicobviously
lacked
theemotionalpunchofextremesegregationists
compassionately
mittedtousinganymeansnecessary
to
mainviolence)
(including
tain the "southernway of life."The moral fervorthat one
associateswiththecivilrightsmovement
whichtaughtpeoitself,
that
was
desirable
because
it
was
morehumane,
ple
integration
and
Christian
than
was simplynot visible
liberal,
segregation,
amongUGA'swhitestudentleadersin January1961. None of
thesewhiteswouldpublicly
associatethemselves
withthecompelthat
an
interracial
wouldbe
lingintegrationist
position
university
becauseitcould,forthefirst
time,be truly
stronger
intellectually
- open to thebeststudentsand faculty
meritocratic
ratherthan
to
whites
and
be
better
able
to
its
service
mission,
just
perform
sinceitwouldnowbe morerepresentative
ofan interracial
state
and nation.Withno students
the
of
publicly
challenging morality
the
student
segregation, overwhelmingly
segregationist
bodyat
thestartofthedesegregation
crisiswouldprovehighly
susceptible
to theappealsofthecrossburnersand effigy
who,in efhangers,
believesin a segregationist
educafect,askedwhyifa community
tional systemits membersshould not fightto preservethat
system.42
So theextremists
had theirday- or moreprecisely,
theirriotous night onJanuary
11 duringtheheightofthedesegregation
crisis.But theriot'simplications
withregardto majority
student
on
have
been
after
opinion campus
always
murky.
Immediately
theriot,prominent
Georgians,
includingnewspapereditors,the
and UGAalumni,whowereappalledbythemob
mayorofAthens,
theirdifferences
overtactics,
theunitythatmoderate
and extremist
students
42Despite
inexpressing
theirpreference
forsegregation
attimesmadeitdifficult
todistindisplayed
theearlystagesoftheintegration
crisis,
guishbetweenthetwogroups.Indeed,through
moderateand extremist
students
had no difficulty
Thisocworking
together
politically.
curredinthestudent
driverequesting
thatUGAbe keptopen,andinthesegregapetition
tionist
student
street
demonstration
on thenightofJanuary
9. See MaconTelegraph,
January
Atlanta
10,13,1961;McCommons
interview;
Constitution,
10,1961.
January
StudentAttitudesToward Desegregation
637
scene,defendedthestudentbody'sreputation
byblamingtheriot
KKK
on
the
few
members
on outsideagitators,
focusing
presentat
theriabouthowrepresentative
theriot.Addingto theconfusion
oterswereofthestudentbodyweretheconflicting
reportsabout
ofthemob'ssizevariedfrom
thesizeofthemob.Pressestimates
500 to 2,000.If theviolentcrowdapproachedthelargerfigure,
thiswouldobviously
representa verysignificant
percentageof
thefactthat
UGA'soverallstudentpopulationof 7,000.Finally,
formed
outofa basmarched
on
Hunter's
themobthat
dormitory
ketballcrowd,whichhad just watcheda close overtimeloss to
hatedrivalGeorgiaTech,was interpreted
bysome observersto
meanthattheriotwasspontaneousand wasas mucha resultof
of
angeraboutthisathleticdefeatas itwasan expression
youthful
racialanimosity.43
The FBI reportson theriotand theworkofthebestjournalistson thescenecan clearup some,butnotall ofthisambiguity.
retheKKK,and theirundercover
Federalagentshad infiltrated
the
riot.
claim
that
the
Klan
not
the
do
organized
support
ports
FBI and policereportsattestthattheriotwasnota spontaneous
butratheran eventplanned
gamedevelopment,
post-basketball
withinthe UGA stuwellin advancebyextremesegregationists
dentbody.44
sincein 1961,
The crowdsizeissuewillneverbe fully
resolved,
fewjournalists
werealmostunknown,
whenmassstudentprotests
had thekindof experienceneeded to makereliablecrowdestiofsuchestimates,
mates.Giventhedivergence
then,itis impossimeasures
to
determine
ble to use quantitative
preciselyhow
themobwasoftheentirestudentbody.Whatthe
representative
is thatthelevelofracialbias,igMath254essayssuggest,
however,
43
Athens
Banner-Herald,
January12, 1961; SavannahEveningPress,
January14, 1961;James
A. Dunlap to Aderhold,January13, 1961, Aderhold Papers; the AtlantaJournalestimated
mob was 500 strong,the NewYorkTimes,600; CalvinTrillin,who covthatthe Center-Myers
ered theriotforTime,estimated1,000 as did UGA's studentpaper, theRedand Black.Highwhichreportedthat"nearlytwothousandstudents"rioted.
estwas the AtlantaConstitution,
See AtlantaJournal,
January12, 1961; Redand Black,JanuJanuary12, 1961; NewYorkTimes,
52.
January12, 1961; Trillin,An Educationin Georgia,
ary11, 1961; AtlantaConstitution,
withAthens police officers,Athens,Georgia,January13,
44FBIfiles,72-39,interviews
1961,4, 42 44, 48, 51, 59, 61; FBI files72-39,SAC Atlantato FBI Director,January13, 1961.
Copies of theseFBI filesare in the author'spossession,and willbe discussedin RobertCohen, "G-Menin Georgia:The FBI Investigationof the SegregationistRiot at the University
52-53.
of Georgia,January1961" (forthcoming1997); Trillin,An Educationin Georgia,
638
Georgia Historical Quarterly
Newspapersaround the countryran photographslike thisone of CharlayneHunter'stearfulexitfromAthensin a police car in the immediateaftermathof the riotin frontof her
and adon January11, 1961. The incidentspurredlettersexpressingsympathy
dormitory
mirationto her fromaround the country,and even some fromwithinthe state.Photograph
fromWorldWidePhotos.
norance, and hatredamong the studentbodywas so high thatit
created an atmospherethat nurturedracial violence. If you believe, as some of Brahana's students did, that the subversive
NAACP togetherwitha dictatorialfederalgovernmentwere victimizingwhite southernersby forcingthem to integratewith
membersofan inferiorrace,thereis a logic to riotingagainstsuch
oppression.And therewas more thanlogic here.There wasanger:
anger thattwoblack outsidersimaginedto be on the NAACP payrollweredisruptingtheireducationsand threateningtheirwayof
life.The Math 254 essayssuggestthateven a week afterthe riot,
this anger toward Holmes and Hunter lingered: "PersonallyI
would like to choke both of them to death" wroteone student,
though she quicklyindicated that she would "never do such a
Integration,another studentwarned, "willbuild up so
thing."45
much frictionin the south thattherewillbe an outrightwarover
race. We knowthatthe NAACP willgo all the wayon gettingthe
«PC, Math 254 Essays.
StudentAttitudesToward Desegregation
639
negroin all ofthewhiteschools.Then Hellwillbreakloose,and
theUniversity
ofGeorgiariotwillsimply
be a littleparty
compared
towhatwillhappen."46
theseessaysattestthata chillingdegreeofracialanAlthough
and
imosity angerenduredamongUGA studentswellafterthe
had taughtsturiot,theyalso showthattheriotand itsaftermath
dentsthattranslating
thisangerintoviolencewasself-destructive.
thatthemoderates
The riothaddemonstrated
hadbeenright.No
matter
howstrongorviolentitwas,studentoppositiontointegration- alongwithitssegregationist
alliesin thestatelegislature
wouldfailto stopthefederalcourtsfromenforcing
thelawand
the
Two
after
the
riot,JudgeBootle
desegregating university. days
had orderedthereinstatement
of Holmesand Hunter,negating
to
boththeuniversity's
suspensionofthemand themob'sefforts
drivethemoff.The mathstudentscould see, then,thatfurther
segregationist
agitationand violencewouldbe futile.As one stuthe
dentarguedin hisessay,despitehisoppositiontointegration,
eventsofthepastweekhadconvincedhimthat"alltheseplansfor
aren'tgoingto do anygood beriotsand theriotlastWednesday
causeI doubtifthey'llcausetheSupremeCourtto changeitsdecision.Justa lotofpeople gethurtand theuniversity
getsa bad
name.I justwisheverybody
wouldleaveus alone so thingscould
calmdownand we coulddo somestudying."
Andan equallysegclassmate
warnedthatnotonlywasitimpossibleto reregationist
sistthefederalcourt'sintegration
order,butsuchresistance
might
lead toa humiliating
LittleRock-style
occupationofAthensbyfederal troops:"Ifthereare moreriotsor disturbances
it willonly
thefederalcourtsholdoverourschool."47
tighten
on thestudent
The uglinessoftheriotitself
alsohad an effect
Prior
to
the
Professor
Brahana
riot,
recalled,"therewerea
body.
thedesegregation
crisis.
lotofstudents
whoweresortofenjoying"
12, ibid.
4eEssay
offurthersegregationist
violence also
47CC,Essay21, ibid.This realismabout the futility
reflectedthe hard line the studentsencounteredaftertheJanuary11 riot,as UGA officials
banned segregationist
an Athensgrandjury drewup indictmentsagainst
demonstrations,
severalrioters,the FBI came to Athensto investigatethe riot,and the statepatrol- which
had done nothingto help quell the riot- sent additionalofficersto Athensto discourage
newviolence.See WilliamstoAderhold,January24, 1961; Williamsto Students,January14,
1961,AderholdPapers; AthensBanner-Herald,
January13, 1961; Red and Black,January19,
1961.
640
Georgia Historical Quarterly
But
"Theywouldgetdatestowatchmediacoverageoftheevents."
came to burnwhenin thewakeof the
theglareof thespotlight
riot,thenationalmediaheapedscornuponUGA.The front-page
rocksandrallying
behindthecrude
throwing
coverageofstudents
the
Go
Home"
banner,
Lifemagazinephotoofa grinning
"Nigger
a blackpuppet,theNBC "ToUGAstudentsymbolically
lynching
denunciationof the Center-Myers
day" show host'son-the-air
mob,thepoliticalcartoonslampooningUGAstudents(in northbulernas wellas somesouthernnewspapers)as brick-throwing
embarrassment.48
And
for
lies and rednecks,yieldedgenuine
somestudentsthiswasa matterthatwentbeyondbad publicity.
11 forcedstudents
toBrahana,theviolenceofJanuary
According
in
wanted
to
live
a
world
"todecidewhether
whereriotswere
they
thewaythingsweredecided.Andthiswasnota trivial
question."
on
this
one
of
Brahana's
students
wrote,
Reflecting
question,
"EvenifI had strongfeelingsabout integration
whatis thereI
coulddo aboutit.Playcavemanand throwrocks.No!!!"Suchsentheactivists
on
timents
leftsomeof themathstudentsresenting
bothsidesof thebarricades:"I do nothatethesetwoillustrious
membersof theNegroidracewhoare nowgoingto schoolwith
me. I do hate theuglyviolence,theunstrung
nerves,themany
ruleslimiting
our rightsin orderto protecttheirsthattheyhave
so unconcernedly
broughtabout."49
Militant
wiltedat UGAas students
cameto resegregationism
couldno longerbe maintained
without
the
alizethatsegregation
of
a
No
did
students
and
the
state
payment veryhighprice. longer
educationas a cost-free
trahavetheluxuryofviewing
segregated
in thewakeofBootle's
dition.Muchas theyvaluedthattradition,
4H
AtlantaJournal,
January12, 1961; "Prank,Riot and Shock on Georgia Campus," Life
January
(January20, 1961), 24; Macon Telegraph,
January13, 15, 1961; AthensBanner-Herald,
15, 1961; San FranciscoChronicle,
January12, 1961. UGA studentswereprobablyinfluenced
as much by the Georgia press criticismof the riotas theywere by the blastsfromthe nationalmedia. For examples of thisGeorgia criticism,
see MariettaDailyJournal,
January13,
1961; Columbus
January13, 14, 1961; SavannahMorningNews,
January13, 1961; SaEnquirer,
vannahEveningPress,
News,January12, 1961; Gainesville
January12, 1961; Brunswick
Daily
Times,
January12, 1961; Waycross
JournalHerald,January16, 1961; RomeNews-Tribune,
JanuFreePress,
ary15, 1961; Thomaston
DailyTimes,
January15, 1961; Thomaston
January17, 1961;
DaltonNews,January18, 1961; MoultrieObserver,
January16, 1961; WalkerCounty
Messenger,
Leaderand Enterprise,
January18, 1961; DeKalbNewEra,January19, 1961; Fitzgerald
January
19, 1961; EmoryWheel,
January19, 1961; Thomasville
January14,1961.
Times-Enterprise,
™rSranana
interview;
fcssayiz, 11, Math zd4 assays.
Student Attitudes Toward Desegregation
641
Sunwas one ofmanythatappeared in newspapersthroughThis cartoonfromtheBaltimore
out the countryin the wake of the riot.This one appeared on January13, 1961. The title
above it read "HigherEducation in Georgia,"and makes the point thatstudents'racial attitudescould be tracedback to theirelders- parentsand teachers.CartoonbyYardleyfrom
theBaltimore-Sun,
January13, 1961.
order,theyrealizeditcouldbe maintained
only(and
integration
- as the propoat best) byclosingthe university
itself
fleetingly
nentsof massiveresistancehad advocated.Studentshad to ask
whether
theireducations
themselves
theywerewillingto sacrifice
642
Georgia Historical Quarterly
and closetheiruniversity
ratherthansee itintegrated.
The answer
to thisquestionwasultimately
for
educational
self-evident,
segreandwhenin 1961itscontinwhites,
gationhadexistedtoprivilege
uationnotonlyceasedto confersuchprivilege
butinsteadbegan
to threatenthe veryexistenceof public highereducation,it
quicklybecameexpendable:"I cannotsee givingup our public
schoolswhichwehaveworkedso hardforjusttokeeptheNegroes
fromhavingequal opportunity."50
in ecoPuttingthistradeoff
nomicterms,
anotherstudentwrote:
I believeinsegregation.
ButI comefrom
a family
ofvery
modest
means.I hadtowork
fora yearafter
graduating
highschoolbefore
I hadenoughmoney
eventoentercollege.NowI work
afternoons
tomakemoney
togotoschool.BecauseI liveoffa limited
budget,
theUniversity
ofGeorgia
istheonlyplaceI canafford
toattend
to
. . . Mywholefuture
further
onit.Mysituamyeducation.
depends
tionbeingthus,
I amfortheUniversity
or
staying
openintegrated
not.. . . Mysegregationist
views
andthoughts
havegivenwaycontothefactthatI wanta collegeeducation
morethananysiderably
elseintheworld.51
thing
The racialarithmetic
involvedin the crisisat UGA in 1961
made it easierto giveup thebattleagainstintegration,
withthe
matriculation
of onlytwo- obviously
in a
black
students
gifted
withsome7,000whitestudents.
"Likealmostall southuniversity
one studentwrote,"I don'twantintegration.
Butwhenit
erners,"
comestoclosingtheschoolsI'm willing
toaccepttoken
integration
to get an education.""Let me put it thisway,"a classmateconcluded,"IftheNegrowantstocomehereas 1 or 2 in 7,000lethim
come.It'snotgoingtobotherme."52
The Math254 essaysleaveus,then,witha complexstory,
rife
withcontradictions.
show
us:
a
student
They
bodylongingtohold
on to segregation,
butbeginningto realizethatJimCrow'sdays
werenumbered;southernstudentsloyalto theirregionand its
staterightsand whitesupremacist
creed,butevenmoreloyalto
theireducationalself-interest;
a minority
whoseloathingforinteviolence,coupledwitha larger
grationmighthaveled to further
^TA, ibid.
51JB,ibid.
52CC (emphasis added), Essay 12, ibid.
StudentAttitudesToward Desegregation
643
withviolenceandresentful
oftheriotorgangroupuncomfortable
izersfordamagingUGA'sreputation.
Sinceno further
studentviolenceofanyconsequence(after
11 riot)hitHolmesand Hunterduringthetwoyears
theJanuary
fromUGA,theywereaffected
lessby
leadingto theirgraduation
thevariousstudentstatements
aboutrioting
thanbythewhitestudents'striking
silenceon questionsofhumanity
and friendship.
It
wouldprobably
be unrealistic
toexpectthatatsucha time- when
as CharlayneHunter-Gault
put it, Georgia's"whitesons and
daughters[were]facingtheirmostapocalypticmomentsince
Shermanmarchedtothesea"- theywouldpauseatall tothinkof
howitfelttobe on thereceiving
end ofthemobs,effigy
hangers,
and racialepithets.53
Perhapsone shouldexpectthatowingto
theiryouth,thesewhitestudents
wouldbe self-absorbed
and see a
crisisofthissortexclusively
in termsofhowitaffected
them.Thus
itcomesas no surprise
thatnotone ofthethirty-five
studentessayists spoke withany compassionabout the difficult
situation
Holmesand Hunterwouldface matriculating
in a 99 percent
studentbodyin a post-riot
white,overwhelmingly
segregationist
amidst
a
environment,
segregated
collegetown.Nordid a single
one ofBrahana'sstudents
writeofoffering
a handoffriendship
to
first
black
students.
the
one
Indeed,
Georgia's
essayalludingto
in
connection
with
Hunter
and
Holmes
did so onlyto
friendship
of suchfriendship
could be a valusuggestthatthewithholding
able weaponforbreakingdowntheirmorale:"Weshouldtryto
avoidthenegroesin hopesthatbydoingso theymightbe psychoaffected
and willeventually
logically
dropoutofschool."54
suchas thesesuggestthatresentful
UGAstudents
Expressions
wereholdingon to something
thatthefederalcourtscould not
takeawayfromthem:therightto be unfriendly,
and in so doing
makeUGAa personally
for
the
two
students
who
unpleasantplace
had had theeffrontery
to teardownwhiteGeorgia'sbelovededucationalcolorline.Thesealoofwhitestudents
hadabandonedunlawfuland violentmassiveresistancefor a lawfuland yet
inhumaneformof passiveresistance.Of coursedisplaysof unfriendliness
did not haveto occurin sucha calculatedmanner.
"Hunter-Gault,In MyPlace,172.
Math 254 Essays.
54JM,
644
Georgia Historical Quarterly
shunnedHunterand Holmes beSome students
just naturally
withmembersofa pacause theycould notstomachinteracting
riah race, especiallytwo accused of being puppets of the
- as journalistCalvinTrillin'sinterNAACP.Others
subversive
- stayedawayfromHolmesand
viewson Fraternity
Rowsuggest
Hunterbecauseofpeerpressure,
whichwouldhaverenderedas
outcastswhiteswho displayedany signsof interracial
friendlirationaleforit,thedetermination
ness.55
Butwhatever
thespecific
tobe unfriendly
waswidespread
and itmanifested
itself
underthe
A
takenof
veryroofwhereHunterslept. Dean ofWomen'ssurvey
theresidents
(whichcovered153ofthe163students)in Hunter's
three
sendormitory daysaftertheriotfoundthese"predominant
timents
. . . expressed":
1.Thegreatdesireforno moreviolence.
2. Thedesireforconditionsconducive
tostudy
andsleep.3.Apreverance
forsegregation,
butan acceptance
ofthefactthatdesegregation
is mandatory.
4.
in
Thedesirethatnopublicity
be giventotheir
views
as expressed
theseinterviews
andthattheseinterviews
notbeusedtomakeitapwouldwelcomeCharlayne
"withopen
pearthatthedormitory
arms."
wasmorethatthey
wouldtolerate
(Theattitude
her.)56
This ethicof indifference
and unfriendliness
affectedeven
moderate
such
as
Pete
who
students,
McCommons,
prominent
had led thepetitiondrivetoprevent
thesegregationist
legislature
fromclosingdowntheuniversity.
McCommons
recalledthat
thelasttimeI sawHamilton
HolmesI washeadedupAgHilland
I turned
sawhimcoming
from
theopposite
direction.
of[f]tothe
AnEducation
inGeorgia,
74. Charlayne
Hunter-Gault
notesinhermemoirthat
55Trillin,
UGAstudents
denouncedMareiaPowell"openlyand loudly"as a "nigger
lover"because
thewhitestudent
had befriended
her.See In MyPlace,207.CarolineRidlehuber
recalled
thathersorority
ostracized
herin 1961inretaliation
formerely
Hunter
walking
Charlayne
acrosscampus(Ridlehuber
inSmallPlaces"conference,
Athens,
speechatthe"CivilRights
Georgia,
April15,1996).
on interviews
ofCenter-Myers
Hall residents
onJanuary
14,1961,EdithStall56Report
Thisunfriendly
ings,Dean ofWomenPapers,UGAArchives.
posturetowardHunterand
Holmeson thepartofthewhitestudent
at UGAhadconsiderable
majority
staying
power.
BothHunterand HolmestoldCalvinTrillinthattheyhad "underestimated
howlongthe
unfriendliness
wouldlast."Indeed,as lateas March1963,Hamilton
Holmesgavea speech
inSavannahinwhichhe bemoaned"thefactthathe hadmadeno friends
whileattending
theUniversity,"
and complainedthatforblackstudents
theatmosphere
at UGA"isdefinotcordial."Trillin,
AnEducation
inGeorgia,
March20,1963.
121;Atlanta
nitely
Journal,
StudentAttitudesToward Desegregation
645
outofhispath.He knewmeandsawme,
downthesidewalk,
right,
I told
before
butI didn'tmeethiseyes.ThoughI hesitated
turning,
whowanted
allthosestudents
thatI hadbeenrepresenting
myself
Hamilton
ornotthey
welcomed
theUniversity
keptopen,whether
Itwas
towards
Hamilton
neutral
Holmes.
I'd better
personally.
stay
Leader. . . but. . .
likethatin 1961.I wasa Student
easytothink
likehell.57
hurtHolmesandHunter
suchhypocrisy
battleat UGA,ProfesLookingbackupon thedesegregation
waslucky.. . . Wewere
sorBrahanaconcludedthat"theuniversity
Indeed, comparedto the
trulyluckythatno one was killed."58
beofMississippi
thattheUniversity
charredandbloodybattlefield
the
after
the
camewhenit underwent
UGA,
desegregation year
mayseemalmosttame.But it is also
uglysceneat Center-Myers
initial
violence
the
truethatonce
ended,Hunterand Holmesat
in an
matriculated
at Mississippi,
UGA,muchlikeJamesMeredith
and
white
characterized
environment
coldness,
resentment,
by
the
white
Given
supremacisttradition,values, and
hostility.
in theMath254 esso clearlyand frequently
articulated
thought,
as students
havebeenotherwise,
respondedto
says,itcouldhardly
an unwelcomeand unexpectedchallengeto thesouthernwayof
and in
life.The changewas accepted,but acceptedgrudgingly,
wayswhichviolatedthe southernstudentbody'sown normsof
This is whatPete McCommonshad in
and evencivility.
gentility
hisdaysatUGAin 1961he drewa personal
mindwheninrecalling
conclusion,but one applicableto mostof his classmates
during
time:"Itwasall a tricky
thatturbulent
business,and evenmostof
and acthosewhotriedto overcometheirsegregated
upbringing
much
class."59
it
off
with
didn't
this
momentous
carry
change
cept
"'Athens
30,1992.
Observer,
January
interview.
58Brahana
™
conclusion
to McCommons'
Athens
Observer,
30, 1992.Exceptions
depressing
January
HolmesandCharwhowelcomed
Hamilton
included:thefewstudents
abouthisclassmates
AcforConstructive
withStudents
layneHuntertocampus(someofwhomwereassociated
- that
- basedin Westminster
House,thecampusPresbyterian
tion,a smallgroup
facility
whoin 1963
blackstudents)
thegoldenruletoUGA'sfirst
advocated
; fivestudents
applying
Holmes
a nasty
columnthatpaperhadrunattacking
wroteintotheRedandBlackrebutting
withHunterculminated
whosefriendship
WalterStovall,
as an "alien";and,mostnotably,
an event
unionbetweentwoUGAstudents,
interracial
in 1963(thefirst
in theirmarriage
In
fromracists
acrossGeorgia). See Hunter-Gault,
thatarouseda stormofdenunciations
175-78;Redand Black,March
MyPlace,207, 227, 233, 235-37;Trillin,AnEducationin Georgia,
News,
21,28,1963;SCAGoldenRuleflyer
(n.d.),AderholdPapers;Savannah
Morning
September
14,1961.
4, 1963;Atlanta
Inquirer,
September