The passages describe the lives and contributions of three freedmen of the Rapier family. John H. Rapier, Jr., was a physician at the Freedmen's Hospital in Washington, D.C. John H. Rapier, Sr., a barber in Florence, Alabama, served as a voter...
In this passage Leon Alexander, a coal miner and union organizer in Alabama, recalls living and working under Jim Crow laws and his early efforts to fight them. He discusses father's work in the United Mine Workers and the unsuccessful miners'...
In the book Liddell describes life and changes in Camden, Alabama, during the twentieth century; the author lived in the town from 1933 until her death in 1998. In the first passage she discusses the effects of the Great Depression in different...
This article from the Mobile Press-Register recounts the events of "Bloody Sunday," which some citizens "claim.hastened the passage of the voting rights act by Congress" in 1965. It then examines current conditions for African Americans in the...
In the letter Strickland complains about a recent newspaper article, which described the Commission as "the state's super-secret spy agency." Strickland argues that the journalist misquoted him and reported hearsay rather than fact. He gives...
This passage, "A Day with Daniel Pratt," is from the chapter "Commerce, Industry, and Transportation." It describes the design and operation of the Pratt Gin Company in Prattville, Alabama.
This newsletter, a paid political advertisement by the Committee for an Informed Electorate, promotes George Wallace in the gubernatorial campaign. Many of the articles and advertisements focus on the support Albert Brewer (Wallace's opponent) is...
Flier listing votes cast for Albert Brewer and George Wallace during the Democratic primary, held on May 5, 1970. The figures are only reported from select voting districts in counties with large African American populations (Dallas, Jefferson,...
Results from predominately African American voting districts are listed at the top, along with the question, "Do You Want This? Black Bloc Vote to elect and control the Governor's office?" Brewer received an overwhelming majority of the votes in...
Article from the Alabama Journal, reporting on the recent gathering of the Alabama Democratic Conference (an African American political organization). The group met to decide which candidates to endorse in the upcoming election. The article quotes...
Article from The Dothan Eagle, which quotes several newspaper columns to "substantiate what Governor George Wallace has been saying all along--that outside money, pressures and influences are being used within Alabama to defeat him, that the...
In the letter Thomas describes Bible school literature he recently saw that pictured Martin Luther King, Jr., and compared him with the apostle Paul. Thomas finds the material "repulsive" and asks Strickland if there is any evidence to confirm...
In the letter Lambert asks the governor to support state education by hiring more teachers; allowing local school boards and educators to control their systems; and cooperating "fully with the Federal Government to the mutual advantage of our State...
In the letter Levy expresses his support for the governor and her husband amid the racial tension in the state: "The North resents negro rioting, and the negro declaration of war against the whites...The North needs a strong man to safeguard white...
In the memo Hawkins informs the staff that the information gathered will be confidential because of the "commission's work in the field of subversive activities in the civil rights movements."
In the first letter, written January 31, 1967, Turner asks for information about the Tuskegee Institute Community Education Program (TICEP). In the second letter, written February 1, 1967, Strickland explains that the educational outreach program...
This article from the Birmingham News discusses the role of African American voters in Alabama's upcoming gubernatorial election. It examines the factors that will influence the "power of the Negro vote" in the three-way contest, including voter...
This article from the Birmingham News discusses the increase in the number of registered voters in Alabama following the Voting Rights Act of 1965: "It was an over-all gain of more than 31 per cent which affected the voter totals of virtually all...
In the letter the citizens ask for information about the Alabama Council on Human Relations because a family associated with that organization has recently moved into the neighborhood: "If it has subversive or criminal connections, we want to know....
Lingo served as director of the Alabama Department of Public Safety from 1963 to 1965. In the letter he discusses the book Jones is writing about the governor, which blames Lingo for the violence that occurred in Selma on March 7: "You know as well...