Thursday, February 17, 2011

South Carolina Black History

St. Andrews TeenSpot Salutes
Reverend Joseph DeLaine

Civil Rights Actvist
(1898-1974)

To the South, the United States Supreme Court's decision to end segregation in the nation's public schools was a calamity; for a middle age Methodist minister from Clarendon County, South Carolina, it was the fulfillment of a lifelong crusade. The Reverend Joseph Armstrong DeLaine, who died in 1974, was one of the true heroes in the civil rights struggle to break down the barriers of segregation. Ultimately, Briggs v. Elliott became one of five cases which were considered and heard collectively under the name of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. Success came at a price for DeLaine. In Lake City, he was subjected to a reign of terror that eventually persuaded him to leave the state. "I am not running from justice but INJUSTICE," he told the FBI.

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