The Negro Protest Against Segregation in the South

Abstract

The Negro protest against segregated public ac commodations and facilities is a reform social movement which seeks total desegregation of all facets of American life. The protest is analyzed in terms of ideology, tactics and strategy, leadership, and membership. Basic conclusions are that, al though nonviolent direct action was a successful means of mass nonco-operation with segregation, tactics were dictated by ex pediency and not by a master plan of strategy; that protest organizations conflict over tactics and credit; that biracial com mittees have become an important tactic for diminishing racial tension; that all social classes are potential sources of members for protest organizations; and that Negro leaders no longer re quire white support. While the Civil Rights Act altered the structural basis of segregation, programs to improve the indi vidual Negro are needed. Changes in the race relations pattern depend upon interracial communication, leadership unity in the white versus the Negro community, the willingness of Negroes to protest, and the racial climate within the community.