BLACK HISTORY MONTH
By: Steve Feitl
Editor’s note: Throughout the month of February, The Lawrence Ledger will look at the various ways Black History Month is observed in the township. This week, the Ledger details a Rider University history professor’s attempt to clarify misconceptions about the civil rights movement.
The landmark Brown v. Topeka Board of Education case is no stranger to most students in Joseph Gowaskie’s "Constitutional History of the United States" course at Lawrence’s Rider University.
The college students certainly all know that the unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 1954 declared that separate educational facilities are unequal. But Dr. Gowaskie finds the events that transpired prior to and in the years following the case are not as well documented.
"I find the students have a general idea that it was a very important case and that it ended segregation," the professor of history said. "I don’t think they have a good handle on the details or the context."
It’s not a misconception limited to the college students, as many of the details from the crucial time in America’s history have been misplaced in the 50 years since the decision, he said.
"As a historian, I try to make the public aware that Brown versus the Topeka Board of Education gets lost in the historical context," he said. "It was a landmark case, but there already was a precedence for it. There were some things leading up to Brown."
And while the ruling in the 1954 was unquestionably important, there was also an often-forgotten second case the following term in which the court attempted to determine how to go about implementing its decision. It was then the phrase "with all deliberate speed" was agreed upon.
It was clear the court was taking a cautious approach to ending segregation, Dr. Gowaskie said.
Resistance from Southern states was the reason for the apprehension, he added. For example, some states in the late-1950s were setting up their own private schools that would not permit black students in a way to circumvent the ruling.
"There was a massive Southern resistance to this decision," Dr. Gowaskie said. "It wasn’t until the late-1960s when more militant civil rights groups came about that actual change began. Black power militancy and widespread rioting that’s what forced the authorities to actively integrate schools."
When Dr. Gowaskie speaks about civil rights, the most prevalent theme is "struggle." He often quotes Frederick Douglass, the American abolitionist who escaped slavery and led the anti-slavery movement as the editor of his North Star publication. Dr. Gowaskie refers to him as, "one of the greatest Americans of the 19th century."
Douglass once said, "Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never has, and it never will."
For Dr. Gowaskie, it’s a telling statement.
"I don’t think any of these civil rights acts would have become a law without a huge struggle," he said. "Students today have a sanitized view of history, but the one theme that stands out is struggle."
And as Dr. Gowaskie educates Rider students on the intimate details of the civil rights movement, he also reminds them of their potential as young adults, using the movement as a historical example.
"I try to remind them that a great deal of the struggle was led by students, both black and white," he said. "Students today don’t believe they can change anything, but young people in the ’50s and ’60s thought they could make a difference. And they did."
Outside of the classroom setting, Dr. Gowaskie said there are many sources students and interested citizens can seek out to get a better perspective of the civil rights movement.
The PBS series "Eyes on the Prize," available in many video stores is a "wonderful" and "powerful" look at the grassroots efforts in the 1950s and 1960s, he said. He also noted Rider University recently purchased copies of a new PBS three-part series on civil rights that drew high acclaim when it was produced last year.
And civil rights history is gaining ground with new museums, monuments and preservation projects. Dr. Gowaskie noted a recent Associated Press report that documented the blending of Civil War and civil rights history at Alabama tourist spots.
"I find that fascinating," he said. "Obviously, there’s some tension and contradiction there."
Beyond that, there’s always the written word and plenty of articles, books and studies on the battle for civil rights, and more specifically, the 50-year-old Supreme Court ruling.
"There’s a huge amount that’s been written on Brown versus the Board of Education," Dr. Gowaskie said. "It’s one of the most important decisions of the Supreme Court. There’s a lot to be learned."