We Challenged Jim Crow! A Report on the Journey of Reconciliation. April 9-23, 1947.
Newark, NJ: Libertarian Print Shop, 1947. 16pp. Original printed self wrappers, stapled. Uniform toning throughout, head and tail of spine partially split, faint ink stamp to front wrapper, minor chipping to top edge of rear wrapper. Good plus. Item #13074
A scarce report issued in the aftermath of a brave and dangerous experiment by a group of eight African American men and eight white men from the Fellowship of Reconciliation and the Congress of Racial Equality in the Jim Crow era. Over the course of two weeks in April 1947, these sixteen men, led by Bayard Rustin and George Houser, traveled through fifteen cities in Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky to test the effects of the recent Supreme Court decision in Morgan v. Virginia, which essentially struck down segregated interstate travel on buses and trains. Following the introduction, which lays out the basics of their journey, most of the text is comprised of a daily "Account of the Test Trips" (documenting the difficulties faces in each city), an "Account of the Trials" which have resulted from the arrests made during the test trips, and "General Observations," basically lessons learned during the trip. The last few pages includes numbered lists of "Suggestions for Individual Action" and "Suggestions for Group Action," followed by informational passages on the FoC and CORE themselves.
Price: $850