Date of Award
5-2002
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
History
First Advisor
Dr. Robert C. Kenzer
Second Advisor
Dr. Woody Holton
Third Advisor
Dr. John L. Gordon, Jr.
Abstract
This thesis reveals the historical narrative of the civil rights campaigns in Richmond and Danville, Virginia, from 1959 to 1963, emphasizing how protesters experienced the movement through direct action and examining the way an inherited philosophy and strategy of non-violent protest was employed by demonstrators. Furthermore, it analyzes the role of Virginia as an Upper South state during the movement. The evidence presented verifies a direct correlation between community size, economic foundations, and social outlooks and the community's level of resistance to direct action tactics and youth leadership of the movement. Protests were successful in urban areas such as Richmond because greater economic diversity, demands to integrate because of financial losses during boycotts, and the presence of political moderates warranted the death of Jim Crow. Protesters encountered resistance in tobacco and textile towns like Danville because such communities lacked economic diversity and subscribed to traditional Jim Crow structures of segregation.
Recommended Citation
Burgess, Sally Ryan, "A "relatively northern southern state:" civil rights protest in Richmond and Danville, Virginia, 1959-1963" (2002). Master's Theses. 638.
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/masters-theses/638