Pro-Civil Rights Speakers
The 1960s were an incredibly tumultuous time in the history of the United States, and there was no corner of the nation that did not feel the tensions from this time. The fight for civil rights was raging, and schools across the nation were beginning to integrate, even in the southern part of the country. Episcopal High School was not exempt from the results of this movement for equality, as the school integrated in 1968, adding two African-American male students to the otherwise all-white student body. Leading up to integration, Episcopal had many speakers come in to talk to the students about the events of the times, including difficult conversations regarding race relations. Speakers like these undoubtedly had a major effect on the opinions of the students on race relations. We compiled information about three of the most notable speakers during this time; Hodding Carter, Virginius Dabney, and Sarah Patton Boyle. All of these people were southern, but were also outspoken in their support of integration, which gave them each a unique opinion, one that was not common during this time. We compiled information to evaluate the speakers impact on the students during this time, as these newspaper editors and writers offered a challenge to the conservative status quo that dominated much of the South at the time.
Hodding Carter II (1907-1972)
Hodding Carter, a “staunch” Southern Democrat, journalist, and critic of segregation, came to speak to Episcopal High School students on March 10, 1955. Carter grew up in Hammond, Louisiana, and attended Bowdoin University and Columbia School of Journalism. After college, he worked as a fellow for Tulane University, and then was a reporter for several newspapers in New Orleans and Jackson. In addition he founded the Hammond Daily Courier and also launched the Greenville Delta-Democrat Times. He was a strong advocate for integration, and a harsh critic of the intolerance in the deep South. He once said that the South was “The only place in the world where someone could become liberal simply by urging obedience to the law.” Carter also warned against racial discrimination in the age of communism. In 1946 he won a Pulitzer Prize for his works criticizing the United States ill-treatment of Japanese immigrants.
Carter came to Episcopal several years after winning his Pulitzer, and his speech to students mainly centered around one theme: “The Right to Differ.” He discussed the major problems that were facing the nation during this time, and encouraged every student to realize that they had the power to make change. According to the EHS Chronicle, the students appeared to respond well to Carter, although he likely had differing beliefs than many of the more conservative students. The Chronicle also noted that Carter’s speech was “both interesting and thought-provoking, and still very humorous at times." (1)
1. “Hodding Carter.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Apr. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hodding_Carter.
Virginius Dabney (1901-1995) Class of 1919
Virginius Dabney was a teacher, journalist, editor of Richmond Times-Dispatch from 1936 to 1969 and author of many historical books. Dabney attended Episcopal High School from 1914 to 1917. He actually at one point became a French teacher at Episcopal in 1922, leaving his job after one year to become a reporter at the Times-Dispatch. Dabney earned a name as a reformer even though he grew up in Charlottesville, and was raised by southern conservative parents. During his life, especially at the Times-Dispatch, Dabney often targeted and criticized prohibitionists, religious fundamentalists, and machine politicians.(1) Dabney wrote a book called Dry Messiah: The Life of Bishop Cannon about James Cannon, A Methodist bishop, an advocate of Prohibition, and the main man behind an anti-Catholic campaign against Alfred E. Smith, who was the 1928 Democratic presidential candidate. He started writing the book in 1929 but the book was not published until 1949 because of the amount of controversy around Smith's nomination by the Democratic party.(2) In 1935 Dabney helped found the Southern Policy Committee, a liberal committee that analyzed issues such as tenant farming, industrial conditions, and racial injustice. In 1947 Dabney won the Pulitzer Prize for an article titled "Is the South that Bad?" Published in the Saturday Review of Literature. The article depicted the South in relation to the North and how racism is embedded within the United States, not just the South. (3)
On April 15, 1954 Virginius Dabney came to speak to Episcopal students about the newspaper business and his time at Episcopal. Episcopal students spoke highly of Dabney and his inspiring speech. Dabney’s views on racial integration likely contrasted with the mentality of some at Episcopal at the time. The students were able to relate to Dabney because he came from a similar background, went to Episcopal, and taught at Episcopal. The fact that the school brought Dabney to the school to speak exemplifies what Episcopal was trying to teach the students. Dabney most likely talked about the adversity he faced at the Times-Dispatch for being opposed to the massive resistance campaign attempting to block the integration of Virginia's public schools. Having Dabney come speak shows how school leaders wanted to broaden their student's perspectives and educate them in a powerful way.
For more information on Virginius Dabney please visit the University of North Carolina’s oral interview project with Dabney to learn about his early life, career, and legacy.
- Nitschke, Marie Morris and the Dictionary of Virginia Biography. "Virginius Dabney (1901–1995)." Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 23 Sep. 2013. Web. 26 Apr. 2018.
- Jordan, Daniel, et al. “Oral History Interview with Virginius Dabney.” Virginius Dabney, Daniel Jordan, Conducted by, and William H. Turpin, Conducted by Oral History Interview with Virginius Dabney, June 10-13, 1975. Interview A-0311-1. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007)., University of North Carolina, 10 June 1975, docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/A-0311-1/menu.html.
- Nitschke, Marie Morris and the Dictionary of Virginia Biography
Sarah Patton Boyle (1906-1994)
Sarah Patton Boyle was an activist and author during the civil rights movement. Boyle came to speak to Episcopal students in March of 1966. She had a unique story as a white woman from Charlottesville, Virginia. Boyle grew up in a proper southern family that supported the Confederacy during the Civil War, and had many African-American servants. As a young girl, Boyle was expected to follow “southern code” and “only have formal relations with Blacks.” In college, she began to question her prejudices against blacks. She became a journalist for the Richmond Times, publishing one of her most notable articles, titled “A Plea For Tolerance.” She was also a weekly columnist, and her column was titled “From Behind The Curtain,” and most of her articles were about supporting good relations between all humans (1).
Boyle refused to silence her beliefs, and it got her into trouble. One of her most infamous articles, titled “Southerners Will Like Integration,” prompted the KKK to personally attack her. They sent her hate mail and threatened her through phone messages, and even went as far as to put a burning cross in the front yard of her home in 1956. In addition, she had many run-ins with the police at civil rights demonstrations, including when she was actually arrested at a protest in St. Augustine, Florida. She retired from activism in 1967, a year after she spoke at EHS, but her work with civil rights left a lasting impact (2).
1. “Sarah Patton Boyle.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 14 Apr. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Patton_Boyle.
2. Ritterhouse, Jennifer. "Sarah-Patton Boyle (1906–1994)." Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 9 May. 2016.