Darkroom: A Memoir in Black and White

Chapter 8: Good News, Bad News

chapter 8 GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS 134 february 1965. it had begun. on our walks to school, it’s quite possible that my brother and I passed right by without noticing... a systematic suppression of black-voter registration was underway in our county, and black citizens were fighting back. hey, wait for me! ...that crowds lined up outside the perry county courthouse. 135 trouble was in the air, and in a town the size of marion, most people couldn’t help but notice. at school no one pointed out these developments. 136 town square of marion, alabama perry county courthouse county jail zion united methodist church mack’s cafe city hall gift shop parking lot my house jefferson greene p i c k e n s lafayette w a s h in g t o n We lived just one block from where everything happened. n 137 inside the courthouse, a daily drama unfolded. but the board of registrars wasn’t in session. not today, not tomorrow, not any time that black citizens lined up to apply. and so the protest marches began— around the courthouse square. we demand to be registered! knock knock 138 West on Jefferson Street, north on Washington, east on Greene, south on Pickens. then they returned to zion united methodist, the local hub for the voter drive that swept much of central alabama during that season. 139 using a home-movie camera, my father shot footage of these events. 140 it’s those outside agitators! they’ve got the nigras all stirred up! weeks passed. the registrars allowed no more than a trickle of black applicants to proceed. the marching went on, with participation swelling to 400 people at times. in the white community, concern grew. Among the spectrum of reactions, there were those that refused to believe local african americans were unhappy with their lot. this is serious! if they get the vote, they’re gonna have the majority, and they’ll take over! 141 this marching is getting way out of hand. y’all better reassert control, and now. hold on, we’re working on it! this is a delicate situation! listen, you dealt with the same kind of trouble in your jurisdiction. what do you advise we do? like the south in general, white marion had some racial moderates and gradualists, but its most outspoken citizens held a hard line on segregation. 142 any applicant that got past the stalling tactics faced the literacy test. white voters received far easier versions of the test— or no test at all. at the courthouse: better hurry up. you still gotta prove that you can write. 143 the senate of the united state shall be composed of two senators from each state, chosen by the legislature thereof for six years; and each senato shall have one vote. immediately after they shall b assembled in consequence of the first election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three classes. the seats of the senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expiration of the second year, of the second class at the expiration of the fourth years, and of the third class at the expiration of the sixth year, so that one third may be chosen every second year, and if vacancies happen by resignation , or otherwise, during the recess of the legislature of any state, the executive there of may make temporary appoint ments until the next meeting of the legislature, which shall now for the second part. I’m going to read a paragraph from the constitution and you write it all down, word for word. the failure rate for these rigged tests was staggering. 144 clink clink clink at the perry county jail, they soon ran out of cells. jail cells in dallas and perry counties are filling up with protestors. but spokesmen for the movement insist they will not be dissuaded. reporting from the dallas county courthouse in selma, alabama, this is richard valeriani for Nbc news. in nearby selma, the voter drive received national media attention. james orange, a key organizer, stayed in lockup the longest. 145 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 this coming thursday night let’s march by candlelight to the jail. we need to support those behind bars. amen! praise god! amen! oh yes! We shall overco...