St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1960-05-20
Eve Of The Storm
Continued from Page ~

SIOuleN, ANGNGI HIM. riiON VIM
you are! You're not welcome
here"
We walked on out of the door,
and when we got to the street,
several young sport-shirted men
and one elderly white citizen fell
in behind us. We walked on in sill
ence to the car, which was parked
around the corner from the City
Hall. across the street from the
fire station. Not looking back, we
seated the girl in the car. I got in
next to her by the door, and the
other young man walked around
to get in the drivers seat. Before
he got in, my door was yanked
open and two of the men who
had followed US were grabbing at
me, cursing and trying to pull me
out of the car. They grabbed for
my arms, legs and the notebook
and papers I carried, tearing at
my clothes and ripping my jacket.
The young man who had come
to the meeting with me quickly
hustled the girl out of the car.
She ran across the street to the
fire station, where four or five
Montgomery city firemen were
standing outside and watching us.
She yelled Help" as she ran
toward them, and they hurried in
side, retreating into a back room
of the fire station, and refusing
to answer when the girl pounded
on the door.
My own yells by now had be-
come quite loud and quite sincere,
and the Jealous citizens, who still
hadn't managed to pull me out of
the car, finally ran off down the
street and out of sigh. My two
friends got back into the car, and
just before we drove away the fire
men appeared again outside the
; fire station across the street. They
were smiling at us. Evidently they,
too, were unmoved by, or unaware
, of, the doctrine of the uses of
peaceful means" in preserving
, tradition that their boss, Safety
Commissioner Sullivan, had es-
poused in behalf of himself and
his men at the meeting a few
, minutes earlier.
? Law and Disorder
In fairness to the inspired Citi-
) zens who attacked us, however, il
{ ought to be explained that the
Citizens Council Salute to Law
and Order" program was not ex
actly a Grandhian conference or
the merits of love and non-viol
ence, and L. B. Sullivans tex
was far from being The Sermon OF
the Mount One of the significan
and dangerous features of the re
t spectacle racism practiCed by tn
+ White Citizens Councils is tina
e although their leaders and orator
:. never fail to mouth a firm dedica
e ton to law and order at ever,
j. public gathering, they also stir tn
passions of their crowds with pro
It vocative and outraged attacks o,
l. all those who oppose their prin
d ciples, and deliver soul-searing de
II Carnations on the sacred cause o
Z white supremacy If zealots leav
= these meetings and vent their pas
sionate dedication to the caus
l. by violent means, the Citizen
lie Council officials can, of course
lie deny responsibility by citing thei
ID statements unfolding legal, peace
re full means" of action.
Is Safety Commissioner Sullivan
for instance, could disclaim an
W Indictment to violence in his speec
D. by pointing to his clearly state
n belief in peaceful means" of pre-
serving the threatened white trad
in itions But after that affirmatio
Sc "a not too radical stand for a cit
e. police chief, he got down to NOR
o. alarming matters. The City c
Montgomery, he explained to hi
audience, was selected long az
as "a site for racial agitators an
troublemakers to attack our chez
ished way of life" The pressur
had increased of late, he said, b.
= cause of the efforts of civil right
i'll groups to influence politicians
or Congress and in the coming Pre-
an idential elections. The rabble-rou
ne ers had so far met with little SUI
an cess, he reported, but there wei
10. dangers ahead:
Ii Not since Reconstruction hav'
~ our customs been In such jeOp
re- ardy >. We can, will and mus
lor resist outside forces hell-bent oil
ar our destruction.
ub AS if this weren't enough to i
Der flame the breast of any 10y
he white citizen, Mr. Sullivan we
In on to state; We want these on
As side meddlers to leave us alone
then, in a slow, meaningful to-
life of irony:"If they do Otherwi.
md we'll do our best to 'accOmmodat
red them here in Montgomery"
And who could say that the CT
son zens who shortly afterwards 6
SITS tackled us were not just dol
ers their best to accommodate" sor
da. outside meddler"?
ent The audience had also been
ian formed that outsiders were t
the real cause Of the attempted Neg
~ prayer march to the steps Of t
yes state Capitol on March 6, viii