Racism in the 1950s: Turning Points for Colvin
1952: Jeremiah Reeves
- Colvin's 16-year-old neighbor and school friend, Jeremiah Reeves, was sentenced to death after a rape conviction, then executed in 1958.
- Colvin and her classmates believed he was innocent and that police had forced a false confession.
- Colvin became politically active and Reeves' case later inspired her to refuse to give up her seat.
Martin Luther King's Protest For Reeves:
A Turning Point in Awareness
Martin Luther King Leads a March to the
Montgomery Capitol.
Montgomery Capitol.
"We assemble here this afternoon on the steps of this beautiful capitol building in an act of public repentance for our community for committing a tragic and unsavory injustice. A young man, Jeremiah Reeves, who was little more than a child when he was first arrested, died in the electric chair for the charge of rape. Whether or not he was guilty of this crime is a question that none of us can answer. But the issue before us now is not the innocence or guilt of Jeremiah Reeves.
Even if he were guilty, it is the severity and inequality of the penalty that constitutes the injustice. Full grown white men committing comparable crimes against Negro girls are rarely ever punished, and are never given the death penalty or even a life sentence. It was the severity of Jeremiah Reeves penalty that aroused the Negro community, not the question of his guilt or innocence." - Martin Luther King, from a speech protesting the injustice of Reeves' conviction, April 6, 1958.
Even if he were guilty, it is the severity and inequality of the penalty that constitutes the injustice. Full grown white men committing comparable crimes against Negro girls are rarely ever punished, and are never given the death penalty or even a life sentence. It was the severity of Jeremiah Reeves penalty that aroused the Negro community, not the question of his guilt or innocence." - Martin Luther King, from a speech protesting the injustice of Reeves' conviction, April 6, 1958.
1954: Brown v. Board of Education
Source: Rosa Parks Library and Museum.
- The Supreme Court unanimously ruled school segregation unconstitutional.
- The ruling became a beacon of hope for Civil Rights activists.
Colvin describes segregation on buses. Source: Democracy Now, 3/29/13.
1955: The Lynching of Emmett Till
Photos of Emmet Till before and after he was lynched.
- Till was visiting Mississippi when he was accused of flirting with a white woman.
- A white mob lynched him and racial tensions erupted.