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4. Ups and Downs O sometimes the shadows are deep, and rough seems the path to the goal “The Rock Is Higher Than I,” old gospel song South Carolina’s six-day legislative marathon in 1944 had succeeded in crafting a way to deny representation to black people, yet remain within the law. The Democratic Party had legally become the Democratic Club. To vote in the Democratic primary, it was necessary to first enroll in the newly formed club, something that could be done only at white-owned locations. Efforts by NAACP members to join were repeatedly unsuccessful—until the day George Elmore, looking as Caucasian as the men handling the registration (thanks to his forefathers ), walked into a party office and signed his name. When someone discovered Mr. Elmore had “one drop” of black blood, his name was immediately purged from the membership rolls. NAACP lawyers sued, and in July 1947 Judge Waring ruled that the Democrats were unconstitutionally excluding black people. Although it was immediately appealed, the decision was upheld. Ecstatic NAACP members started educating people how to register and vote. In Clarendon County, Rev. De Laine was coordinator for the effort. His Clarendon recruitment effort was successful, and, when the books opened for registration on March 1, 1948, many black citizens went to register. My father wasn’t among them. He was ill and had to remain at home. Despite their good turnout, almost none of the black people succeeded in registering . Rev. De Laine reported “much unfairness on the part of the registration board,” a literacy test being the major stumbling block. Inez Jones Pearson, a high school graduate, failed the test after being made to read the entire Constitution twice. Sarah Daniels, the college-educated home demonstration agent, was told she couldn’t read well enough. The two black high school principals suffered the same fate. A few days later my father wrote to Mr. Boulware. Although he asked if there had been a response to the Pearson bus petition, Daddy seemed more concerned with the voting issue. Based on his new knowledge of tactics used to keep African Quest for Equality, 1947–1951 34 Americans from registering, he outlined a plan that would require him to take the literacy test when he went to register. Since he held a Permanent Professional Teacher Certificate and had earned a B on the National Teachers Examination, he reasoned he would be a good person to start a lawsuit “should they be so stupid as to [say] I cannot read well enough.” He also had a backup plan. If the registrars allowed him to pass the test, he would “try to get someone else, if possible, to burst the cap.” But, as he explained in a March 6 letter to Mr. Boulware, “We have a great problem in this county; we have no leadership and an abundance of ignorance.” Only a small percentage of black people in the county could read well enough to qualify using the literacy test. Furthermore, my father added, “They keep the Negroes out, and register all the whites, even when some whites are not present.” Somehow, even in the face of such blatant bias, he maintained his deep belief in fairness, hoping the local authorities would see the error of their ways and be shamed into changing and doing what was right. His next sentence stated, “I also feel like making a somewhat patriotic speech while we are waiting [to register].” He wanted to “send a petition or resolution to the [election] board, or wherever necessary, asking for a better interpretation of the Constitution and better opportunities to get before the registration committee.” The fact that the county’s three leading black educators had been turned down when they tried to register must have made my optimistic father think the teachers could be roused from their apathy. He considered “making a fighting speech in the County Teachers’ Meeting” to stir up support for the NAACP and the voting effort, but left that decision up to the lawyer, writing, “I cannot tell what I will do until I have your advice.” The news that a black man was suing for school bus transportation broke in the State newspaper in March 1947. The lawsuit, Levi Pearson v. Clarendon County and School District No. 26, had finally been filed in the U.S. Eastern District Court of South Carolina. Although news of the lawsuit made white people angry, Mr. Levi became a hero among...

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