DIY History | Transcribe | Campus Culture | State University of Iowa Human Rights Committee first annual report and correspondence, 1963 | ""Civil Rights and Civil Liberties"" by Robert Moses, Field Secretary, S.N.C.C. Page 2

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State University of Iowa Human Rights Committee first annual report and correspondence, 1963

""Civil Rights and Civil Liberties"" by Robert Moses, Field Secretary, S.N.C.C. Page 2

(2)

Southern congressmen, elected because Negroes are denied the ballot, help create an anti-civil libertarian atmosphere, in part to perpetuate their own power. They realize that if there were a strong tradition for freedom of association in the country, many more white people in the South would join the Negro in his right for social change.

It is no accident that Congressman Willis, Chairman of the House Un-American Activities Committee, is from Louisiana; that Senator Thurmond of South Carolina is using Red-baiting tactics to smear the civil rights movement in general and the civil rights March on Washington in particular. This National "leadership" provides incentive and encouragement for Southern states to create Senate Commissions to investigate white and Negro integration leaders and use the "Communist" label to spread fear and suspicion in Southern communities. In the north this same tactic is used to obstruct the peace movements.

Movements for social change require freedom of speech and association. We need to create open discussion on the relation between civil liberties and these social movements. The National Student Association should sponsor such a program on college campuses to fulfill its obligation to the students of the country, and uphold the tradition of academic freedom.

DISTRIBUTED BY THE PROVISIONAL STUDENT CIVIL LIBERTIES COORDINATING COMMITTEE. THIS MATERIAL WAS NOT PREPARED BY THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL STUDENT ASSOCIATION, NOR DO THE VIEWS PRESENTED NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF THE NATIONAL STUDENT CONGRESS OR OF THE INDIANA UNIVERSITY.

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(2) Southern congressmen, elected because Negroes are denied the ballot, help create an anti-civil libertarian atmosphere, in part to perpetuate their own power. They realize that if there were a strong tradition for freedom of association in the country, many more white people in the South would join the Negro in his right for social change. It is no accident that Congressman Willis, Chairman of the House Un-American Activities Committee, is from Louisiana; that Senator Thurmond of South Carolina is using Red-baiting tactics to smear the civil rights movement in general and the civil rights March on Washington in particular. This National "leadership" provides incentive and encouragement for Southern states to create Senate Commissions to investigate white and Negro integration leaders and use the "Communist" label to spread fear and suspicion in Southern communities. In the north this same tactic is used to obstruct the peace movements. Movements for social change require freedom of speech and association. We need to create open discussion on the relation between civil liberties and these social movements. The National Student Association should sponsor such a program on college campuses to fulfill its obligation to the students of the country, and uphold the tradition of academic freedom. DISTRIBUTED BY THE PROVISIONAL STUDENT CIVIL LIBERTIES COORDINATING COMMITTEE. THIS MATERIAL WAS NOT PREPARED BY THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL STUDENT ASSOCIATION, NOR DO THE VIEWS PRESENTED NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF THE NATIONAL STUDENT CONGRESS OR OF THE INDIANA UNIVERSITY.