“Sitting-Down” to Gain Racial Rights in Savannah

Sumner Holman

Spring 2004

Savannah is Georgia’s oldest city and continues to this day to hold strong to the traditional values that make this community a southern gem. Although many take great pride in the wonderful aspects of this strongly Southern city, no one can overlook the racial marring that took place in Savannah and numerous other cities around the South. These racial prejudices stand out as an embarrassing time in the life of a prideful Southern society. People found it difficult to persuade local whites that change should and eventually would be forced to occur. Inhabitants of Savannah, Georgia, with a century of African American freedom behind them, still remained deeply rooted in their beliefs concerning the inferiority of the black race. Disconcerting times did lie ahead for blacks and whites alike in Savannah, and people at both ends of the civil rights spectrum could not avoid protest and eruptions of violence in their race relations battle. In a 1960 Atlanta Journal Constitution article discussing Savannah and its newly forming practice of racial integration into public spectrums, Douglas Kiker writes: “This is Georgia’s oldest city, one of its largest, certainly its most beautiful- and undoubtedly its most troubled at the moment.”^{^[1]} The black activists working against segregation overcome numerous obstacles, but not without the aid of the popular “sit-in” movement and other forms of protest. However, following soon after the onset of the Civil Rights Movement in 1963 and struggles along the way to a successful end, Savannah society transformed itself into one of the most integrated and racially accepting cities in the South.

The segregation of public sectors played a large role in the exclusion of blacks in Savannah. Due to the Jim Crow laws southern lawmakers instilled into society, public sector segregation remained rampant in almost the entire South until the 1960s. Named after an African American in minstrel shows, states enforced laws that prohibited the intermixing of races, and enforcers did not take punishments lightly. One of the laws considered most important dealt with separation, an assurance that races did not socialize together, especially in public venues such as restaurants and lunch counters. A Jim Crow restaurant regulation in Georgia in the early to middle twentieth century read: “All persons licensed to conduct a restaurant, shall serve either white people exclusively or colored people exclusively and shall not sell to the two races within the same room or serve the two races anywhere under the same license.” Also, a lunch counter law prohibited “persons, firms, or corporations from furnishing meals to white and colored passengers in the same room, or at the same table, or at the same counter.” [2] These regulations were by no means simple, but extremely detailed and strongly enforced. Obviously, by reading the set laws, one can determine that whites were not ready to amalgamate, nor were they willing to do so. As the government became involved with the Jim Crow laws, these racial actions took a more political stance instead of a personal bigotry. Entire states in the South forbade any such racial intermingling in restaurants or lunch counters, therefore displaying a sort of racial hatred stemming from the era of slavery and holding on into the middle of the twentieth century. The fact that the government became involved at all signifies a mass racial prejudice, a racial problem in which the state governments found little reason to aid the inferior blacks suffering due to these backward laws. Fear of social equality and intermixing stemmed from the superiority and white supremacy the white population had held for years and was not ready to leave behind for a life of equal power and little superiority.

In May of the year 1965 Harold Nix and Charles Dudley completed an analysis of Savannah’s community structure, its values, and its areas of needed improvement. They felt that to understand a community, one must understand the opinions and values that people in the community hold. Although Nix and Dudley received mixed views on the people’s communal concerns, they concluded that Savannah held an extreme pride for their city; they were “homogeneous, class conscious, traditionally oriented, and graced with an old world charm.”^{^[3]} However, the traditional charm of the city and its people quite possibly made this a city resistant to change, even as they lived in a time of social change and radical racial outlooks. The preservation of the “old Savannah” would make it difficult to create a newly reformed city with reforming attitudes.

Many of the interviewed Savannah inhabitants remained critical of the changes already taking place. Although they desired the economic progress found throughout the country, they also cherished and held strong to the historical heritage that made the city unique. Savannah in 1965 remained fairly isolated and few migrated to the city, therefore the city had made no major changes compared to the Northern cities or even the larger and more urban Southern cities of the time. Douglas Kiker, in an article written five years prior to the Nix and Dudley analysis discussed the “racial problem” facing the city of Savannah. He commented as well on the isolation and traditional Southern ideals the community held. “Savannah society is traditionally self-contained and aloof from the rest of Johnny-come lately Georgia. Savannah aristocrats nod coolly to Atlanta, smile at Charleston, but bow only to London and Florence.”[4] Many commented on the moral and religious aspects of Savannah that made it a city of great strength. Nevertheless, others obviously did see the apparent need for alterations, and they concerned themselves with making these changes. Nix and Dudley also point out that what a community is doing to improve their status exemplifies the inhabitants’ values. One particular interviewee claimed that although Savannah was not completely unified in their efforts, many collaborated to improve the character, charity, and philanthropy of the city.[5]

The people of Savannah who were interviewed for this analysis expressed the most vital concerns and projects spanning the previous year. Although race relations was a sensitive topic in 1965, three out of the nineteen asked to comment on the relationships and attitudes of Savannah felt that better race relations was a top concern, ranking third out of the seven concerns conveyed. The interviewers saw an apparent effort to “Move Savannah Forward on all Fronts.”[6] These realized needs portrayed a city that, although still desired a traditional society, recognized the importance of improvement, even in such controversial subjects as the relations between the races. However, by the year 1965, many previously occurring events involving desegregation that served as a push in the forward direction for even the most traditionally southern of cities. Therefore, one cannot say that the importance of improved race relations had always been a topic of concern, for many southern societies had no choice but to improve due to the laws that the governments were beginning to more strongly enforce.

Savannah was making improvements to strengthen all areas, but one does not have to look to many years past to see the obvious racial prejudices that reigned high above the African American race and the demonstrations occurring to alter the white view. The mention of sit-downs in local restaurants threatened the white power. By the 1950s, segregation had become a major problem of which the blacks could no longer see as acceptable in Southern society. Blacks began to increasingly protest against the oppression they experienced in public venues such as restaurants and lunch counters. The idea of a “sit-in” was a new one, a way in which to nonviolently protest the segregation acts.

The first true “sit-in” in Greensboro, North Carolina influenced other similar actions across the entire South and encouraged other blacks residing in Savannah to follow these students’ lead. Four students studying at the all-black North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College in the early months of 1960 performed an act that would shock the South, anger many whites and restaurant owners, and inspire the black people to make a change. These students went to Greensboro’s local Woolworth lunch counter and proceeded to order food. Naturally refused service, the African American students simply sat at the lunch counter, refusing the order to leave the premises. This simple, yet brave act created the “sit-in.”[7]

Georgia government officials immediately began to fear the diminishing power of the white conservative, and passed an anti-trespassing law requiring the removal of oneself from a restaurant when told to leave. Although some blacks began to protest by means of a “sit-in” in numerous restaurants and lunch counters, extreme white supremacy still existed almost completely. The Georgia officials’ fear that whites would lose all sense of power remained a ridiculous notion in 1960, especially with the fact that they continued to create laws supporting segregation. Georgia governor Ernest Vandiver went so far as to say the “sit-ins” with the idea of ending segregation were “un-American” and “Communist inspired.”[8] These severely racial opinions stemmed almost completely from the comfort of white power and the traditional ideals from centuries past. Many whites could not see past their high positions of power to consider restaurant desegregation a change that would better communities such as Savannah and greatly improve race relations.

African Americans considered “sit-ins” a crucial matter so much that they received special training at Highlander Folk School in Monteagle, Tennessee. This school advocated the civil rights movement, aiding strong black leaders in Georgia in their efforts to desegregate the society. White political officials in Georgia claimed the school had communist intentions, but the school continued to practice its teachings, even under much scrutiny from Southern leaders.[9] The Highlander Folk School served as an inspiration for blacks and gave them hope to see a better future through peaceful protest.

The “sit-in” form of protest spread rapidly to Savannah. By March of 1960, police began arresting blacks in the city. Georgia newspapers across the state fervently discussed the “Negro sit-downs” in Savannah. When the sit-ins did not die quickly, whites became increasingly worried. Many claimed, “Something had to be done.” Douglas Kiker noted in April of 1960 that the sit-downs had entered their second straight month without a halt.[10] Obviously, these black protests were not simply going to disappear. The African American residents of Savannah had reached a point in which there was no turning back to the acceptance of segregation.

The first major sit-down that made an impact on Savannah society occurred on March 18, 1960. Three black students attending Savannah State College and Beach High School requested service at an exclusively white lunch counter at Levy’s Department Store on Savannah’s downtown Broughton Street. Police gave the students the attention they desired after a false bomb threat to several downtown stores. Before an attempt to receive service at Levy’s, the three young students challenged several other department stores and lunch counters. Their actions at other Broughton Street stores such as Woolworth’s, McCrory’s, and Kress’ only met with a great refusal of service as well. They also acted out at four smaller establishments. Police arrested Ernest Robinson, Joan Tyson, and Carolyn Quilloin on charges of “trespassing under a just-passed state law.” These charges held up to eighteen months imprisonment and a one thousand dollar fine as punishment.[11] Mayor W. Lee Mingledorff, Jr. was quoted as saying: “I regret that such an incident had to take place in Savannah where our race relations had been so excellent. I hope that such incidents can be avoided in the future.”[12]

Immediately following the first outbreak of Savannah restaurant protests, Governor Vandiver sent twenty troopers from Swainsboro to Savannah as protection for the widely attended St. Patrick’s Day Parade. The governor did not disclose information on the possibility of tear gas usage. The Savannah Morning News encouraged citizens of Savannah to place their trust in the officials’ hands to handle the erupting and quite possibly dangerous situation.[13]

In the Savannah Morning News on March 18, letters to the editor commented on the occurring racial instances. Ernest E. Lee of Sylvania wrote to editor Creed Black kindly disagreeing with the integration process. Lee utilized the Bible as a strong source to defend the separation of the races, for intermixing, according to Mr. Lee, could only lead to failure in a country. If desegregation occurred, this action would lead to intermarriage and a “mongrel race.” Government interaction was not necessary from Lee’s perspective.[14] Obviously the city of Savannah and its surrounding towns did not feel ready to deal with the force of integration. The police enforcement and the opinions of native Savannahians enable one to see that although these interactions did occur in 1960, Savannah did not and would not accept these acts as tolerable.

Curtis Cooper, a black man who lived during the climax of the restaurant sit-ins, discussed the actions he and his peers took in attempting to disband the segregation laws concerning refusal of service.

“We participated in a sit-in here at Woolworth’s and also at Kress’ and also at McCrory’s. And what they would do when you walk in, they were prepared for you. As soon as they saw you coming in, if they’d seen you come in before, they knew what you were coming for. So the waitresses would just walk up, put up a sign…”RESTAURANT CLOSED.” They closed down the lunch counters so we developed a technique. We said, if they going to close the lunch counters down, we going to keep them closed. If they don’t serve us, they not going to serve anybody…. And the police would come in and read you a statement. And sometime what we would do, we’d stay and hear the statement and then leave.”[15]

The sit-downs did not lessen with time. In April of 1960, twelve additional black students from Savannah State College acted out a pre-planned display in downtown Savannah. Numerous sit-ins occurred the previous week as well. However, unlike previous protests in peace, these demonstrations led to violent encounters between blacks and whites. When the lunch counters at Kress’ and Woolworth’s refused the twelve African Americans service, the students remained peacefully at the lunch counters while business resumed normally. Police, nor the two establishments, felt the need to arrest these peaceful protestors. While this protest remained nonviolent, the previous week erupted in violent brawls between young whites and blacks stirred by the sit-ins. W.W. Law, state NAACP president and strong advocate of the desegregation protests, claimed that the violence occurred due to little protection from law enforcement officials. Many blacks formed their own picket lines in front of establishments such as Woolworth’s, Levy’s, and Livingstone’s Drug Store. Their signs read: “Don’t Buy Where You Can’t Eat,” as well as “You Can Buy a Fifty Dollar Suit But Not a Ten Cent Cup of Coffee.”[16] Eruptions occurred and both black and white acted inappropriately violent. An attempt at desegregation by continual protest began to exceed its intentions and threaten with violence.

The common sit-in episodes continued for a number of years, building up to a more well known resistance to restaurant segregation. In June of 1963, Morrison’s Cafeteria became the object of the blacks’ attention. Morrison’s was a popular local institution with a traditional Southern atmosphere. Well-dressed, mannerly black men served as waiters. This black behavior reminded one of the years before the Civil War, when slaves served to the master class. Although these men served the people of Savannah at Morrison’s, they were not allowed to dine in the same restaurant in which they worked. These black men forced themselves to hide all hint of anger from the patrons. Black inhabitants resented this restaurant for every reason that whites cherished it. Located on the downtown Johnson Square, Morrison’s served as a representation of traditional values while at the same time attempting to attract a newly forming tourist economy.

The newly formed Civil Rights Movement made its way into Savannah in the summer of 1963. An endeavor to integrate public atmospheres, the factions met much dissent. A large number of protesters made their move onto Johnson Square. Morrison’s, in fright, locked the entrance to the cafeteria. However, the protestors could not be moved. They sat in front of the doorway, loudly expressing their opposition to segregation. Police arrested some of the black activists. The protests became so extreme that Savannah officials closed Johnson Square.[17] Also, the mayor continued to claim a restaurant’s right to refuse service. On June 20, the Atlanta Journal Constitution wrote that four of Savannah’s restaurants received restraining orders to hoard off the masses. Nevertheless, the protest movement continued to grow and continued to demand desegregation in front of restaurants such as Krystal, Johnny Harris, Porzio’s and Whitney and Manger hotels for the entire summer.[18]

The protests on Johnson Square affected the desegregation of public venues more than any other event in Savannah. By September of 1963, officials compromised and desegregated restaurants, theaters, hotels, and other such areas for public use. However, this did not automatically relieve all tension between the black and white race, and many whites decided to close their restaurants before serving to the black residents, and some blacks commented on the prejudices they continued to receive in community sites.[19]

Many civil rights activists accomplished great feats in the struggle for racial freedom in Savannah. Their drive inspired other blacks to follow their lead at a time when whites instilled much fear in the minds of African Americans. These strong motivators conducted the speeches at Johnson Square that led others to join in the fight. Their actions left a profound impact on the entire city of Savannah.

Savannah’s black population definitely considers Westley Wallace Law one of the most inspirational of all civil rights leaders. Law served as President of Savannah’s NAACP for twenty-six years. Although a great promoter of better race relations among the city’s residents, he took great pride in his city and in the importance of black history in Savannah. His accomplishments abounded in his years serving for the NAACP. In his later years, W.W.Law received prestigious awards for his activist and preservation work.[20]

Hosea Williams also served a great purpose in improving race relations at a crucial time. Many remember his efforts during the Civil Rights Movement era in Savannah. Later in life, he became involved in state and local Atlanta politics. In the 1950s, Williams realized that although Savannah contained thousands of well-educated blacks, the city was still highly segregated. He noted his remembrance of the day in which he told his sons they were not allowed to sit at the food counter at a local drug store. Because of his efforts, Savannah became one of the most desegregated cities in the South, a desegregation task difficult to accomplish.[21]

Others led the path to desegregation and integration as well. Tena Rhodes Butler protested at Levy’s department store. George Shinhoster worked at Anton’s Italian restaurant on Broughton Street. Although he served the customers at Anton’s, he was banned from dining in his employer’s restaurant. However, he hid behind the masses, secretly protesting the segregation from which he suffered.[22] These activists, along with hundreds unmentioned, braved the traditional views Savannah society and in many cases were successful in their battles. Their guidance led blacks to freedom from oppression through long years of protest.

On July 12, 1963, the Atlanta Journal Constitution pronounced Savannah a “test place for racial change.”[23] The blacks, however, were not just testing desegregation. They remained determined to see it occur at any cost. Therefore, Savannah integration was for the most part extremely successful. The city of Savannah shifted from one of the most traditional-minded societies to one in which allowed radical change to occur. Curtis Cooper explained the intentions of the black Savannahians perfectly. He claimed: “We weren’t interested in burning the town down. We were interested in getting some rights. We loved Savannah. We love it now, and we didn’t want to see anything destroyed.” Cooper believed that Savannah was a “leader in the South.”[24] Although the city can still be considered extremely traditional and exceedingly southern, the blacks of Savannah aided in turning these traditional values into something deserving respect. As the NAACP and black leaders of the time were inspirations to others more afraid to protest, so was Savannah an inspiration to all other, slower to change southern cities. Prejudices lie deep, and obviously many Savannah natives continued to oppress the black citizens after the early 1960s. However, the Civil Rights Movement and the “sit-in” movement that dominated Savannah for eighteen months convinced numbers of southern whites that the time had come for a rebirth, a new Savannah still holding strong to its traditional values, but also looking to the future at the same time.

Other related links

Savannah History

More info on Sit-Ins

Sit-ins in Greensboro