Dialogue on Race Louisiana presents Behind the March: How The Tuskegee Boycott Energized the Plaquemine Voting Rights Movement
Dialogue on Race continues Behind the March, a series of events that brings participants behind the hidden stories that influenced the March on Washington just over 60 years ago. The focus for this Behind the March event shows how the successful boycott in Tuskegee, Alabama energized the voting rights movement in Plaquemine, Louisiana, two towns that made civil rights history during the build-up to the March on Washington.
In 1963, when Black citizens of Plaquemine held a voting registration drive government officials attempted to halt them and the citizens retreated. James Farmer, co-founder of the Congress of Racial Equality, visited Plaquemine and talked to the group about how just a few years before, government officials attempted to block the voting rights of Black citizens in Tuskegee, Alabama. In response, Black residents decided to boycott white-owned businesses from 1957 to 1961, until the unjust laws that disenfranchised Black residents of Tuskegee changed. After hearing this story in, what had been a voter registration drive in Plaquemine became a protest and Black Citizens began marching for their voter rights. This protest is another one of the hidden stories of activism in the fight for Civil Rights that added to the momentous March on Washington.
Join Dialogue on Race for a one-and-a-half-hour dialogue. Bring a friend, add your voice to the conversation, and hear the stories of other experiences and thoughts that are part of the Dialogue on Race educational process for understanding and change.
Friday, June 14, 2024, from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM CT
Reading material for this session will be provided upon registration.
