cheer·lead·er
ˈCHirˌlēdər/
noun
An enthusiastic and vocal supporter.
Normally, being a cheerleader is all about pep, spirit and making people happier. But, in the 50s and 60s being a “cheerleader” had a whole different meaning. These self proclaimed “cheerleaders” were racist women who shouted verbal attacks at African American citizens. They spat and sometimes even beat these innocent people. The “cheerleaders” were anything but.
ˈCHirˌlēdər/
noun
An enthusiastic and vocal supporter.
Normally, being a cheerleader is all about pep, spirit and making people happier. But, in the 50s and 60s being a “cheerleader” had a whole different meaning. These self proclaimed “cheerleaders” were racist women who shouted verbal attacks at African American citizens. They spat and sometimes even beat these innocent people. The “cheerleaders” were anything but.
Housewife Hatred
The “cheerleaders” were a group of white housewives who didn’t want their children to go to school with African Americans, and therefore were against the integration of schools. They would stand outside of recently integrated schools, such as William Frantz Elementary in Louisiana and Central High School in Arkansas, making racist comments about the students and chanting “two-four-six-eight we don’t want to integrate”. These women were never of real importance, they were just self centered, racist women, who believed in white supremacy. I suppose their main objective was to keep their children “pure” and racist as well.
The “cheerleaders” were a group of white housewives who didn’t want their children to go to school with African Americans, and therefore were against the integration of schools. They would stand outside of recently integrated schools, such as William Frantz Elementary in Louisiana and Central High School in Arkansas, making racist comments about the students and chanting “two-four-six-eight we don’t want to integrate”. These women were never of real importance, they were just self centered, racist women, who believed in white supremacy. I suppose their main objective was to keep their children “pure” and racist as well.
Racist to Ruby
A specific example of the “cheerleaders” being the racists they were was the integration William Frantz Elementary. In 1960, a kindergartener named Ruby Bridges made history by being the first African American student to attend. Of course, this outraged the “cheerleaders” and they took to standing outside the school shouting extremely rude things, and spitting on Ruby. When this didn’t change the fact that Ruby was still going to school there, the mothers withdrew their children from the school, until she was the only student left.
Forms of Protesting
Other methods of protesting that the “cheerleaders” took, as mentioned in the previous paragraph, include taking their kids out of the school being integrated. The “cheerleaders” were attempting to bring down attendance levels to try to close the schools. This form of boycotting integration no doubt worried some parents, but schools stayed open even when tested by the WCC (White Citizens Council). Some mothers also went to the churches and shamed the pastors for allowing this to happen.
Other methods of protesting that the “cheerleaders” took, as mentioned in the previous paragraph, include taking their kids out of the school being integrated. The “cheerleaders” were attempting to bring down attendance levels to try to close the schools. This form of boycotting integration no doubt worried some parents, but schools stayed open even when tested by the WCC (White Citizens Council). Some mothers also went to the churches and shamed the pastors for allowing this to happen.
Elizabeth Eckford and Hazel Bryan
A very well known example of school integration was at Central High School, in Little Rock, Arkansas, when nine African American students enrolled there. Elizabeth Eckford was one of the nine, was 15. Hazel Bryan, a white student attending Central, was like most of her other classmates, and was extremely racist. On the Nine’s first day of attendance, a very infamous picture of Elizabeth and Hazel was taken by Will Counts, a photographer for the Arkansas Democrat. When the picture was taken, Hazel was in the middle of shouting “Go home, n*****! Go back to Africa!”
Trouble at Texarkana
In 1956, two African American students went to Texarkana Junior College in Texas. This obviously outraged most of the whites in nearby areas. A photographer for Time magazine, Joe Scherschel, was there to record the event. As Scherschel was taking pictures of the verbal abuse that was going down, the white citizens ganged up on him and asked him for the film to destroy the pictures he had taken. He ended up giving them an empty roll of film, but their actions show that they realized that, to some extent, they were wrong and they didn’t want that broadcast to the world.
In 1956, two African American students went to Texarkana Junior College in Texas. This obviously outraged most of the whites in nearby areas. A photographer for Time magazine, Joe Scherschel, was there to record the event. As Scherschel was taking pictures of the verbal abuse that was going down, the white citizens ganged up on him and asked him for the film to destroy the pictures he had taken. He ended up giving them an empty roll of film, but their actions show that they realized that, to some extent, they were wrong and they didn’t want that broadcast to the world.
While most Americans would like to believe that segregation has been eliminated, there is still racial persecution in the modern age. Wilcox County High School, in Abbeville, Georgia, had segregated proms up until 2013. Since prior proms were not school funded, the community continued with all white proms. One day, a group of students decided to change that. The four high school girls campaigned and made petitions, until they eventually received their first integrated prom in 2013.