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Guest post by Dr. Johnny Teague
The Jim Crow Laws were established in the South after the Civil War to segregate black people from white people. Later, signs were erected saying “Whites only” and “Colored” to denote where people could go. Any African American who refused was legally arrested and punished by the courts or by lynch mobs. Literacy tests were required for voting to prevent the minority from being fairly represented in the halls of government. Neighborhoods were divided by race as were schools and colleges for the sake of “purity” or “harmony”. Transportation restrictions and designated water fountains followed. The courts called for facilities to be “separate but equal”. They were separated alright, but nowhere near equal.
Radical segregation was embraced with a vengeance in Montgomery, Alabama in the 1950’s. At the time, a young pastor took his first pastorate in Montgomery at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. The Church was formerly called the Second Colored Baptist Church of the city. This Church was located near the steps of power, the State Capitol of Alabama. The preacher’s name was Martin Luther King, Jr., the son of a preacher. The year was 1954. Racial hatred and its effect emanated throughout the state from the seeds planted in the capital seat situated in the stately building within earshot of the pulpit of King’s Church. The offenses became unbearable. Something had to be done.
Black pastors and leaders met in the basement of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, near the pastor’s office. The question was how do they attack the behemoth of racism and where should the foray begin? They agreed on an easy target - the Montgomery Alabama Public Busing system. The buses were segregated by race. The first rows were reserved for white people. The last few rows were set aside for black people. The front section could be entered through the front bus door near the driver. The rear section could be entered through a back door farthest from the driver. The middle rows were not designated for either race, but the whites took priority. When more white people were on the bus than their designated area could seat, the next middle rows became white rows as they were needed. Any black people seated there were required to move back in the bus. If there was no room, the black people had to stand, while the white people sat.
There were few friendly drivers to help the afflicted or dilute the discrimination as black drivers were not hired. Beyond the seating arrangements, other abuses followed. Black riders would pay their fare for the ride. They would then be instructed to exit the bus through the front door and reenter through the back door of the bus where the seats were assigned for their race. Often, after taking the money, when the black person exited to reenter through the ordered door, the driver would drive off leaving the person stranded and short of money. Sometimes black riders would pay for their fare, exit, reenter, but then be dropped off far from their desired stop. If any objected, they were arrested or beaten. There could be no better visible opportunity to take a stand than in this hostile environment known so well throughout the city.
In came Rosa Parks on the historic Monday of December 1, 1955. She sat in the first row of the middle section which was not designated for either race. When the white rows were filled, a man came to sit on Rosa’s row. The other black people on her row moved back as the rules of the Montgomery Public Bus System required, but Rosa Parks refused. She was then arrested. Before her December 5th trial, the group of pastors met in the basement of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. It was decided that all public busing in Montgomery, Alabama would be boycotted by the black people who composed nearly 75% of the ridership. Ms. Parks was tried on December 5, 1955, and fined $10 for her offense. The clash provided the motivation African Americans throughout the city needed to join the boycott.
An amazing thing occurred in this capital city of Alabama. The vast majority of African Americans in Montgomery refused to ride the public bus. This came with great inconvenience and hardships for the participants. But suddenly, a unified effort materialized. Black people began to carpool. Black taxi drivers cut their rates to equal what a public bus fare would cost a rider, sacrificing some of their own income. Businesspeople began to drive black passengers to where they needed to go, or they lent their cars for black people to conduct whatever chores were needed. Their efforts soon put the Montgomery Public Transportation system into an economic crisis.
Less than two months after the boycott began, on January 30, 1956, a firebomb was thrown on the porch of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s parsonage. Mrs. King was in the front room, their living room, which was nearest the porch. She was there with one of their children. Some say there were other women there for a Bible study she was conducting when the bomb exploded. By God’s Grace, no one was injured. Another pastor’s home was firebombed not long afterward. Four black churches were set on fire. The violence against black people spread rapidly with law enforcement supporting the aggression. Because of his leadership role, Martin Luther King, Jr. became the target for elimination. His life was in grave danger, but what bothered him more – the lives of his wife, his children, and his Church members were in jeopardy.
This was when, on February 2, 1956, King called for an emergency meeting with the leaders of the boycott, his deacons, his family, and his chief financial supporter, a Jewish attorney by the name of Stanley Levison. He let them know the United States was no longer an option for them. Crime and violence against them swelled. They could own nothing in this country peacefully. They could only vote with much hardship followed by many threats. They could not travel easily. Their educational opportunities were substandard at best. Their businesses, if successful, were being pushed out or overtaken.
The question was, where should they go? After some research, Sweden seemed to be the only viable destination. Stanley Levison, who had personally supported the boycott and raised funds from others to assist, gave King the money to move with his family. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his family emigrated to Sweden on March 12,1956.
Stanley Levison, who knew what it was like to be marked for eradication, whose own people had faced the Nazi effort to completely exterminate them, was successful in raising the money to pay for the passageway of thousands of African Americans who began new lives in a welcoming land of opportunity - the nation of Sweden.
What you have just read concerning Martin Luther King’s emigration is fiction, but what was detailed could have easily happened. Would anyone blame the oppressed minority for the move – if for nothing more than for the safety of their children? But Martin Luther King, Jr. did not move. He did not quit. He did not back down. There would be more threats, more violence, more arrests, and he would ultimately be assassinated. Black people across America marched into the teeth of hatred. Many were killed, some lynched, others attacked by dogs, hassled by police, blocked from schools even by a governor. Their children were hung, raped, and maligned. But history has no record of a mass emigration from the trouble. The African Americans stood. They fought through passive methods. Ultimately, they received much of what had been dreamed.
So, we have an immigration problem in the United States. People are said to be fleeing their countries of oppression, of crime, of violence, of racism, of government abuse and corruption. Advocates of this illegal entry of the masses justify the immigration. They defend it or, at the least, look away. There are three series of questions to ask of the advocates of illegal immigration, of the unlawful entry of millions.
1/Why are our expectations so low for those from other countries? Were black people in the 1960’s more wealthy, more educated, or wiser than these coming from other countries? Were African Americans less oppressed or less endangered? Not at all. Can we not see that every people group with the hunger to be free, to live under their own vine and fig tree, have the capacity to bring change against insurmountable odds? Can these masses who come from each country, each region of oppression not pull together and bring about the change in their own nations? Yes, but it would take time. Yes, but there would be suffering. Yes, but there would be sacrifices. All should be reminded; this is what it has always taken to correct and change the course of a nation.
2/Why has the lawless act of illegal immigration been accepted as the only recourse by which these can extract themselves from the lawlessness of their home countries? These same people, seeking to live in a law-abiding culture, willingly work in the nation of their destination in an unlawful status. How do our own citizens not see that we are creating the same environment as the one these immigrants left when we allow both the virtuous and the evil to cross the same border? We are foolishly expanding the problem by our permissive actions.
3/Why don’t we dare these to stay in their nations of conflict or return to the nations of their birth inspired by the story of our own oppressed? Why don’t we dare them, challenge them, inspire them, maybe even help them change their own nations, to break the chains of corruption, crime, and drugs in their corner of the world as Martin Luther King, Jr. and thousands of African Americans did in this country over a half-century ago? Women in our nation fought a similar fight and won. We should remind them of the voices of our Founders like George Washington, Patrick Henry, and Samuel Adams who remained in a nation besieged to push back against the tyranny of oppressive government.
Is mass deportation the answer? Sometimes people only make changes when there are no other options. Stanley Levison did not raise the money for Martin Luther King Jr. or anyone of his race to leave the injustice. The African Americans stayed. They stood. They strove. They aspired. They knew what was right. They trusted God would work on their behalf for the remedy. They worked to change the situation from within and were successful.
And for those who object - Yes, people came to this continent fleeing evil, longing to be free, but the vast majority did so after fighting with all their might to change the ills of their origin. They also came to be Americans, not to be of some race or culture cordoned or hyphened off in America. Let those who come, come legally, come willingly, come after exhausting efforts to make their home nation better. Let them come to be melted into the exceptional, as one people with pasts to forget and futures to reach.
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Dr. Johnny Teague is author of The Lost Diary of Anne Frank, The Lost Diary of George Washington, The Lost Diary of Mary Magdalene, and soon to be released, Thomas Paine Returns with Common Sense. All available from HistriaBooks.com and all major book retailers.
