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 Citizens' Councils logo | |
| Abbreviation | WCC |
|---|---|
| Successor | Council of Conservative Citizens |
| Formation | July 11, 1954 |
| Type | NGO |
| Purpose | Maintaining segregation and white supremacy in the South. |
Membership | 60,000 (1955) |
Founder | Robert B. Patterson |
The Citizens' Councils (commonly referred to as the White Citizens' Councils) were an associated network of white supremacist,[1] segregationist organizations in the United States, concentrated in the South and created as part of a white backlash against the US Supreme Court's landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling. The first was formed on July 11, 1954.[2] The name was changed to the Citizens' Councils of America in 1956. With about 60,000 members across the Southern United States,[3] the groups were founded primarily to oppose racial integration of public schools: the logical conclusion of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling.
The Councils also worked to oppose voter registration efforts in the South (where most African Americans had been disenfranchised since the late 19th century) and integration of public facilities in general during the 1950s and 1960s. Members employed tactics such as economic boycotts, unjustified termination of employment, propaganda, and outright violence. By the 1970s the influence of the Councils had waned considerably due to the passage of federal civil rights legislation.[4][5] The councils' mailing lists and some of their board members found their way to the St. Louis–based Council of Conservative Citizens, founded in 1985.[3][6][7][4]
- ^ Lazar, Ernie (August 2016). "Finding Aid – FBI and Other Files (Ernie Lazar Collection)" (PDF). Berkeley Center for Right Wing Studies. The University of California – via Database.
- ^ "July 11, 1954". University of Southern Mississippi. Archived from the original on September 11, 2011. Retrieved September 8, 2011.
- ^ a b "Council of Conservative Citizens" (PDF). Anti-Defamation League. Retrieved November 29, 2018.
- ^ a b "Council of Conservative Citizens". splcenter.org. Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
- ^ "Massive Resistance". Encyclopedia of Alabama. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
- ^ "Rep. Barr Rejects Segregation Supporters". Washington Post. December 12, 1998. p. A4. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
- ^ "ADL Data Shows Anti-Semitic Incidents Continue Surge in 2017 Compared to 2016". Anti-Defamation League. November 2, 2017.
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