In this letter J. W. Cummings, a resident of Kansas City, Kansas, appeals to state attorney general Harold Fatzer to not desegregate public schools. According to Cummings, integration would lead to miscegenation and would be the downfall of society. He writes that "we must keep our country great by not permitting a Policing action forcing communities into a like pattern, forming a state against our will. We must have the liberty of community majority choice, to accept or reject the kind of life our children live." He also believed that those causing this "unrest" were violating the principles of democracy and had been unduly influenced by Communist doctrine.
Date: November 27, 1953
Creator: Cummings, J. W.
This source presents several different arguments supporting the status quo of segregation. In particular, students could discuss how Cummings considered it a violation of his rights to be forced into community with people of a different race. This could be contrasted with the African-American point of view, which asked that all members of this democracy be treated equally. Overall it is an excellent example of how some white Kansans viewed the Brown v. Board case.
KS:11th:3.1:Brown v. Board (2005)
Item Number: 211843
Call Number: Records of the Attorney General's Office, Brown v. Board Files, Box 1, Folder 2
KSHS Identifier: DaRT ID: 211843
Collections - State Archives - Attorney General
Curriculum - 11th Grade Standards - Kansas History Standards - 1945-1990 (Kansas_Benchmark 3) - Brown v. Board (Indicator 1) - "Separate but equal" doctrine
Curriculum - 11th Grade Standards - Kansas History Standards - 1945-1990 (Kansas_Benchmark 3) - Brown v. Board (Indicator 1) - Responses to desegregation
Curriculum - 11th Grade Standards - Kansas History Standards - 1945-1990 (Kansas_Benchmark 3) - Brown v. Board (Indicator 1) - Segregated schools
Date - 1950s - 1953
Education - Primary - Students
Education - Segregation and desegregation - Brown v. Board
Government and Politics - State Government - State agencies and programs - Agencies - Attorney General
Home and Family - Children
Home and Family - Children - Girls
Home and Family - Children - Group activities
Home and Family - Children - Teenagers
Home and Family - Courtship and marriage - Courtship
Home and Family - Courtship and marriage - Marriage
Objects and Artifacts - Communication Artifacts - Documentary Artifact - Letter
People - African Americans - Discrimination - Segregation
People - Children
Places - Cities and towns - Kansas City
Places - Counties - Wyandotte
Thematic Time Period - Eisenhower Years, 1946-1961 - Civil Rights Movement
Type of Material - Unpublished documents - Letters
http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/211843
