Fairfield in Jefferson County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
Miles College Leaders, Students Active During Civil Rights Era
Photographed By Mark Hilton, July 19, 2020
1. Miles College Leaders. Students Active During Civil Rights Era Marker
Inscription.
Miles College Leaders, Students Active During Civil Rights Era. .
Miles College Leaders. Students Active During Civil Rights Era. The Colored Methodist Episcopal Church founded Miles College in Fairfield in 1898. During the 1960s, President Lucius Pitts encouraged students, faculty and staff to become involved in the Civil Rights Movement. In early 1962, students wanted to boycott downtown stores because lunch counters were segregated and few blacks were clerks. Pitts, who developed a good relationship with white business leaders, organized meetings between students and merchants. Some businesses integrated water fountains and elevators, but rejected full integration. With the support of Pitts and faculty members Rev. Abraham Lincoln Woods Jr., and Jonathan McPherson Sr., among others, Student Government Association president Frank Dukes led students in a 'successful “selective buying campaign" at department stores and major retailers in early 1963. The term “boycott" was not used since a city ordinance prohibited the practice.
(Continued on other side).
Miles College Students Invite Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Continued from other side). To bolster efforts to dismantle Birmingham's segregation ordinances in 1963, Miles College students joined activist Rev. Fred L. Shuttlesworth in inviting Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to participate in demonstrations. On Good Friday, April 12, Miles students and faculty, including Dr. Ralph Galt, Rev. Nathaniel Lindsey, Rev. James Ezekiel Robinson and Jonathan McPherson Sr., were among 50 arrested with King for violating a court order against demonstrations without a permit. Other students were arrested at Memorial Park in Titusville for praying without permission. During demonstrations May 2-7, police used fire hoses and dogs to attack hundreds of demonstrators, including children and Miles students. Several thousand were jailed. The school community triggered a test case that desegregated city buses. A Miles professor was the first African-American to pass the civil service test for police patrolman in the city. Campus activists contributed to the end of segregation in Birmingham in 1963, increased voter registration, and hastened passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Miles College Leaders. Students Active During Civil Rights Era
The Colored Methodist Episcopal Church founded Miles College in
Fairfield in 1898. During the 1960s, President Lucius Pitts
encouraged students, faculty and staff to become involved in the
Civil Rights Movement. In early 1962, students wanted to
boycott downtown stores because lunch counters were segregated
and few blacks were clerks. Pitts, who developed a good
relationship with white business leaders, organized meetings
between students and merchants. Some businesses integrated
water fountains and elevators, but rejected full integration. With
the support of Pitts and faculty members Rev. Abraham Lincoln
Woods Jr., and Jonathan McPherson Sr., among others, Student
Government Association president Frank Dukes led students in a
'successful “selective buying campaign" at department stores
and major retailers in early 1963. The term “boycott" was
not used since a city ordinance prohibited the practice.
(Continued on other side)
Miles College Students Invite Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
(Continued from other side)
To bolster efforts to dismantle Birmingham's segregation ordinances
in 1963, Miles College students joined activist Rev. Fred L.
Shuttlesworth in inviting
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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to participate in
demonstrations. On Good Friday, April 12, Miles students and faculty,
including Dr. Ralph Galt, Rev. Nathaniel Lindsey, Rev. James Ezekiel
Robinson and Jonathan McPherson Sr., were among 50 arrested with
King for violating a court order against demonstrations without a
permit. Other students were arrested at Memorial Park in Titusville
for praying without permission. During demonstrations May 2-7,
police used fire hoses and dogs to attack hundreds of
demonstrators, including children and Miles students. Several
thousand were jailed. The school community triggered a test case
that desegregated city buses. A Miles professor was the first
African-American to pass the civil service test for police patrolman
in the city. Campus activists contributed to the end of segregation
in Birmingham in 1963, increased voter registration, and hastened
passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Erected 2014 by Miles College Alumni Association and the Alabama Tourism Department.
Location. 33° 28.872′ N, 86° 54.453′ W. Marker is in Fairfield, Alabama, in Jefferson County. Marker can be reached from Myron Massey Boulevard north of 55th Street, on the left when traveling north. Located in front of Brown Hall on Miles College Campus. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 5500 Myron Massey Blvd, Fairfield AL 35064, United States of America. Touch for directions.
3. Marker in front of Brown Hall at Miles College.
(Submitted on July 20, 2020, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)
Photographed By Mark Hilton, July 19, 2020
4. Miles College gate with Brown Hall (and marker) on right.
Credits. This page was last revised on July 20, 2020. It was originally submitted on July 20, 2020, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 450 times since then and 43 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on July 20, 2020, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
