The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day March in San Antonio

San Antonio is well-known for its large scale Martin Luther King, Jr. Day March, evidence of which is found in the Claude and ZerNona Black Papers. Reverend Black himself was deeply aligned with the actions of Martin Luther King, Jr. on a national level when King was alive and locally, over the years, with the celebration of MLK. Jr. Day.
The 2014 march is on January 20, at 10 am. The City of San Antonio MLK Jr. Commission and Trinity University annual MLK Jr. Commemorative Lecture is this Thursday, January 16, 2014, at 7:30pm in Laurie Auditorium. This year, Julianne Malveaux, an economist, and noted author, will deliver the lecture. Malveaux has contributed to the public dialogue on issues of race, culture, gender, and how their economic impacts are shaping public opinion. The title of her speech is "From the War on Poverty to the War on Poor People. What Would Dr. King Say?"

Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom March photo album, San Antonio, 1987

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Reverend Black on stage with Rev. R.A. Callies at Martin Luther King, Jr. March, 1993

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Reverend Black at Martin Luther King, Jr. March, 2006 (left to right with Reverend Black, are Reverend Edward K. Maney, City Council person for District 2, Sheila D. McNeil, and Chairman of Martin Luther King Commission, Reverend Herman Price)

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One of the primary persons responsible for the first MLK, Jr. Day marches was Reverend Raymond Aaron Callies (1929-2011), founder and pastor of the First Gethsemane Baptist Church on San Antonio’s Eastside. According to the Callies family, the first grassroots MLK, Jr. Day march in San Antonio took place in 1972. A brief history of the San Antonio march, written by Mario Marcel Salas included in the 2005 MLK March souvenir booklet in the collection, states that the march grew to roughly fifty people between 1978 and 1980, and included some of San Antonio’s most active civil rights community members. Salas writes:

Many of the original fifty people involved in the initial march included Rev. R.A. Callies and family, Corine Duncan, T.C. Calvert, Bettye Roberts, Rick Greene, Mario Marcel Salas, Rev. C.C. Houston, Lillian Sutton Taylor, Rev. Christopher Griffin, Vashon Byrd, Jessie Mae Hicks, Bobby Roberts, George Clark, John Stanford, John Inman, Charles Middleton, John Allen, William Boyd, and many others, including members of the local chapters of SNCC, the NAACP, and ROBBED organizations. This initial effort did not enjoy community-wide support, nor was it very popular, as many saw the work of King concluded. The march received very little press coverage, but the marchers marched in all types of weather. In the early 1990s one such march involved freezing temperatures and sleet.




The earliest MLK, Jr. Day march document in the papers is the event brochure for  MLK Day 1986, the last march before the City and the MLK Commission (formed in 1986 by Mayor Henry Cisneros) sponsored the march for the first time in 1987. Reverend Black served with the city’s MLK Commission for many years.

This post features some of the documents in the Claude and ZerNona Black papers that relate to the MLK, Jr. Day observances, and are primarily found in:  Series 7: Printed Material, Sub-Series 8: Ephemera, Folders 1 and 2, Event Brochures: Juneteenth and Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebrations, spanning the years  1982-2010; and, in Series 4: Organizations, Sub-Series 6: Assorted Organizations, Conferences, and Meetings, Folder 44: Martin Luther King Commission, 1988-2010; and in various photographs and photograph albums in the collection.
-- Donna Guerra

"Capitols, Washington and Austin," August 28, 1963

This week marks the 50th anniversary of the March for Jobs and Freedom (known as the March on Washington) in Washington, D.C., August 28, 1963. Commemorative events are planned from August 21 - August 28, and may be followed at the anniversary Twitter account and  hashtag: #MLKDREAM50.
The original Washington march was attended by approximately 250,000 people, both African American and white. A quote from that day by Josephine Baker, the only official female speaker at the March on Washington, conveys something of the spirit of the occasion:

"You are together as salt and pepper, just as you should be; just as I've always wanted you to be, and the peoples of the world have always wanted you to be."

(begin at 22:37 mins., from Celebrity Participation in the March on Washington, see sources and audio link)

On the same day as the March on Washington, Reverend Black, along with other black, white, and brown Texas civil rights leaders, participated in a sympathy march in Austin, Texas. This post is about that particular march.

The Claude and ZerNona Black Papers contain many audiotape reels, the majority of which have now been digitized through a Summerlee Foundation grant. One of these reels is pictured here:

We are very grateful that with the gracious permission of Mr. Greg Martin, Director of Operations, Border Media/KTSA Radio, we are able to stream this important audio that documents the Austin march, Austin Civil Rights March, Speeches, and Interviews, 1963.

This recording was produced by a reporter from KTSA Radio, San Antonio, Texas. The tape begins with an interview by the reporter with Bob Joiner of the Indignant White Citizens Council (IWCC). The recording also includes a fragment of a speech on Mt. Sequoyah, Arkansas; speeches by Reverend Claude W. Black, Jr.; Booker T. Bonner; Moses LeRoy; Attorney William J. Durham, Dallas, president of the Texas Council of Voters; and an interview with Booker T. Bonner (the total playing time is 39:18 minutes).

In an informative chapter by Martin Kuhlman titled "The Civil Rights March in Austin, Texas, 1963," from the book Bricks Without Straw: A Comprehensive History of African Americans in Texas (see sources below), we get a clear sense of the Texas context of the Austin march. Then Texas Governor John Connally, well-known as a segregationist, presented opposition to the civil rights bill being proposed in Washington. The Democratic Coalition, comprised of African American, Anglo American and Mexican American leaders across Texas, was working against the poll tax and the rhetoric that Connally and other segregationists were using that encouraged "voluntary" integration. Reverend Black puts the point eloquently in this excerpt from his editorial, "The Decision Takers":

"Voluntary integration leaves the Negro where he has always been - subject to the will of another man, for no other reason than the color of his skin. Voluntary integration compels the Negro to cultivate the favor of the white individual in an effort to receive those benefits that should be granted to him as a responsible citizen. It is at this point that the Negro citizen must weight the benevolent attitude of the white politicians. I am sure that many Negroes are weary, as I am weary, of those programs that require that I play the part of a second class man in order to survive in a white community."

Included in the additional and many writings of Reverend Black available in our Digital Collections is a commentary with his reflections on the significance of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, in Washington, D.C. as well as on the Austin, Texas Civil Rights March. His comments stress the ramifications for Negros who assume roles as leaders. 
Capitols, Washington and Austin, by Reverend Black, 1963

And, through the important film digitization work of the Texas Archive of the Moving Image (TAMI) in Austin, Texas, there is also a video from the Gordon Wilkison collection, Civil Rights Demonstration in Austin, 1963, that provides visual documentation of the Austin march.

In this time of commemoration of civil rights marches in 1963 and the issues represented, we can also celebrate access to the historical documents that  make study of them and social justice movements possible, and our appreciation for archives, donors, and all those who safeguard the evidence of our diverse history.


Sources:
Celebrity Participation in the March on Washington. (08/28/1963). Boston, MA: WGBH Media Library & Archives. Retrieved 20 Aug 2013
http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/march-bc109d-celebrity-participation-in-the-march-on-washington

Kuhlman, M. (1997). Chapter 9: The Civil Rights March on Austin, Texas, 1963. In, Bricks Without Straw: A Comprehensive History of African Americans in Texas (p. 153). Eakin Press (a.k.a. Sunbelt Media).  Retrieved 20 Aug 2013
(Permalink): http://libproxy.trinity.edu:80/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tih&AN=19177376&site=ehost-live

Texas State Historical Association, "Civil Rights." Retrieved 20 Aug 2013
https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/pkcfl

Glad Tidings 2012 -- Updates and Themes

Glad tidings for researchers! Our web presence is growing, with the online appearance of the Claude and ZerNona Black Papers finding aid, as well as with initial digital content in the CONTENTdm Digital Collections.  Over time, most of the digitized items will be linked from the finding aid to the digital collections website. Wherever a green arrow is seen in the finding aid (like the one highlighted in the following image), clicking through will arrive at material in the digital collections. Green arrows that indicate the presence of digital content are also found within the body of the finding aid, but the initial arrow at the top allows the researcher to view all the linked digital content from the top of the finding aid without having to scroll through and find it.

 

Clicking through from the green arrow at the top of the finding aid to the item “The Christmas Message” will take the researcher to an editorial by Reverend Black, in which he expresses his thoughts on the spirit of Christmas, and how it is usually not found in commercial greeting cards. Here is the direct link to that editorial:
The Christmas Message, by Reverend Black, 1963

Regarding the spirit of Christmas, commercialism, and greeting cards, the collection also includes some ephemera directly related to this topic – African American Christmas cards, specifically, “The Christmas Soul” assortment, “18 Golden Trimmed Christmas Cards With Soul Sentiments.”

The cards were manufactured by a company called Merchant Prince, started by Berkeley G. Burrell, a businessman and advocate for minority enterprises, who was active in private and government-appointed positions.

In an article in Jet Magazine entitled "Greeting Card Firm to Pass $1 Million in Sales" (December 3, 1970, p.24), Mr. Burrell states that he started his business because the greeting card industry “has neglected the Black market and today’s strongly emerging attitude of self-pride and self-identification among Blacks.”  The cards in this set contain images such as a Black Mary and infant Jesus; Black three kings looking toward the star of the East; and, a Black drummer boy, among other depictions. The interior sentiments are predominantly religious, with wishes for peace. love and brotherhood.

Here's to many wishes for a happy holiday season, and for a productive new year, filled with digital content from the Claude and ZerNona Black Papers! 

-- Donna Morales Guerra, Project Archivist

Get out the vote! Election Day, November 4, 1961

Article about the political rally

On Saturday, November 4, 1961 in San Antonio, Texas, Reverend Black presented an appeal to vote for Texas State Senator Henry B. Gonzalez for the United States Congress. Vice President of the United States Lyndon Baines Johnson and G.J. Sutton (another prominent African American citizen from San Antonio) also spoke at the rally. In addition, Glenn Kothmann (Texas House Representative), and Mexican film star "Cantinflas" were present.

Whereas today’s rallies are commonly held at community halls and government locations, this rally was held on the back of a truck at an H.E.B. grocery store on the East side, at N. New Braunfels Avenue and Center Street (the store is no longer there). The article is from the SNAP News newspaper from November 10, 1961, part of which is lacquered onto the plaque, and is one example of many collection items created by Reverend Black and ZerNona Black which memorialize the events and issues they deemed important to their lives.

Framed letter from LBJ to Reverend Black

A letter dated November 24, 1961 from Vice President Johnson to Reverend Black praises the speech Black gave at the rally, calling it “one of the most moving, impressive oratories” he has ever heard. Henry B. Gonzalez was elected to Congress on that election day.

Johnson writes:

I think we proved something in San Antonio on November fourth for the eyes of the world. Each affirmation that this is still the home of the brave and the home of the free is a cause for rejoicing. Your eloquent testimony makes my heart glad and runs the bigots a little farther underground.

Entries from November 4, 1961 from the Lyndon B. Johnson Daily Diary Collection provide the background information that ties the newspaper article on the plaque to LBJ’s presence at the rally as well as to the letter.