This section highlights people, events, and viewpoints central to the Civil Rights movement around the globe.
World Wide: Civil Rights
This 1949 Bucknellian article for the World Wide Column centers on the socio-political implications of President Truman’s Civil Rights Program, in addition to the political machinations of both parties as it pertains to the passage of legislation. The article begins with an analysis of the difficulties present in a democratic system—namely, respecting both majority and minority opinions, while also abiding by majority rule. As the student moves into a discussion of the Civil Rights Program itself, he presents the disadvantages of the full passage of Truman’s program, highlighting the intense turmoil it would sow within the South. And while the article mentions the social changes that the program would introduce, a significant amount of attention is paid to the political motivations underlying the resistance to the program’s passage. This emphasizes a key component of racial inequality in America, specifically that the issue is not simply a social problem in need of solving, but is also an object weaponized within political discourse to maintain the status quo.
World Wide Collection: “Robinson, Negro Second Baseman, Guest at Student Church Service”
This Bucknellian article from February 1949 details famous athlete Jackie Robinson’s (1919-1972) upcoming visit to campus where he would speak at the student chapel and attend a reception. This article also gives background on Robinson’s life and accomplishments as the first black man to break into major league athletics through baseball.
World Wide Collection: Indictment
This 1947 edition of the Bucknellian’s World Wide Column addresses the report released by President Truman’s Committee on Civil Rights, in which the committee confronts the problem of rights and privilege violations against minorities. Additionally, the report interrogates the narrative of American Democracy—namely, that minorities have been historically excluded from accessing its benefits. In response, the committee makes 35 recommendations to improve the status of Civil Rights in the U.S., some of which include the end of segregation and the passage of an anti-lynching act.
World Wide Collection: Discrimination
In this December 1948 article for the Bucknellian’s World Wide Column, a student examines recent events in the U.S. involving both discrimination and resistance to it. He fronts the article with a discussion of systemic discrimination within a fraternity at Amherst College and notes the informal vote of the national intra-fraternity conference to continue its ban on black students. Largely, the article then moves into coverage of recent acts of resistance against discrimination and finally, different theoretical models for pressuring change in contemporary thought. He then concludes the article by mentioning the potentiality of America to become a model of moral leadership within the global community—a possibility that can only be achieved through inclusivity and unity as it pertains to racial equality.
World Wide Collection: Discrimination and Prejudice
This 1950 edition of the Bucknellian’s World Wide Column features a scathing criticism of prejudice and discrimination in the U.S. as being antithetical to the essence of American Democracy. Citing headlines that highlight the widespread violence occurring against minorities, the author urges readers to confront prejudice at its core. The article also notes that many of those affected by discrimination were once involved with the military, where they served to protect the very democratic ideals that they are excluded from experiencing upon returning home. With a final call to not only gaze beyond the superficialities of identity on an individual level, but to more largely interrogate prejudice and discrimination from the perspective of democracy, the author concludes with a demand for equal opportunities for all peoples.
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