Black Classes and the Masses

Black Classes and the Masses. March Route for Fair Housing. 1955 , By the 1950s, North Smithfield was the residential area of choice for a new generation of Black middle-class families, despite the terror bombings meant to scare them away. This new generation of African American leaders included A. G. Gaston, whose businesses serving African Americans' funeral and financial needs made him the richest Black man in Birmingham. Attorney Shores and other Black middle-class citizens were active members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The NAACP pushed for voting rights, better jobs and more housing opportunities by filing lawsuits against unjust racial discrimination. , "Fred [Shuttlesworth]'s the man that's got the folks.", A. G. Gaston , As quoted in the book “My Soul Is Rested," in a meeting between Black and White business leaders in the 1960s., Some working-class Blacks did not always feel their leaders worked in their best interests. Their citizens grew increasingly impatient with the slow pace of integration, especially after the U.S. Supreme Court in the historic Brown v. Board of Education case struck down "separate but equal” schools in 1954. The masses of working-class Blacks began to rally around "race men." like Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth of Bethel Baptist Church and other outspoken leaders who demanded an immediate end to all segregation and racial discrimination. These new leaders became the chief spokesmen for the Black working-class rather than traditional Black middle-class leaders., Lesson H13: Discuss the pros and cons of slow change verses rapid change in a society.