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| Abbreviation | RCNL |
|---|---|
| Formation | January 10, 1951 (1951-01-10) |
| Type | NGO |
| Purpose | Civil rights |
| Headquarters | Mississippi |
Region served | United States |
| Staff | 60 |
TheRegional Council of Negro Leadership (RCNL) was a society inMississippi founded byT. R. M. Howard in 1951 to promote a program of civil rights, self-help, and business ownership forAfrican Americans. It pledged "to guide our people in their civic responsibilities regarding education, registration and voting, law enforcement, tax paying, the preservation of property, the value of saving and in all things which will make us stable, qualified conscientious citizens." Instead of starting from the "grass roots," however, the strategy was to "reach the masses through their chosen leaders" by harnessing the talents of blacks with a proven record in business, the professions, education, and the church.[1]
At first the RCNL did not directly challenge "separate but equal" (much like the initial stance of theMontgomery Improvement Association), but zeroed in on the need to guarantee the "equal."[2] It often identified inadequate schools as the primary factor responsible for the Northern black exodus of the second wave of the Great Migration. Instead of demanding immediateintegration, however, it called for equal school terms for both races. From the beginning, the RCNL also pledged an "all-out fight for unrestrictedvoting rights."[3]
Sixteen relatively autonomous committees, each headed by a respected leader in business, education, the church, or the professions, formed the backbone of the RCNL. The committees, in turn, reported to an executive board and board of directors headed by Howard. The RCNL's constitution stipulated that each town or city in theDelta with at least one thousand blacks was entitled to representation. To build mass support for the work of these committees, the RCNL made sure to hold its business meetings in different locations each year.
The RCNL attracted many notable individuals of well-established reputations, includingAaron Henry, a druggist andNAACP officer fromClarksdale, Mississippi;Amzie Moore, an NAACP activist and gas station owner fromCleveland, Mississippi; PresidentArenia Mallory of Saints Junior College inLexington, Mississippi; and President J. H. White of Mississippi Vocational College, now (Mississippi Valley State University), inItta Bena, Mississippi. For many, it was their first exposure to civil rights and a training ground. In contrast to later groups, such as theMontgomery Improvement Association in Alabama, most RCNL leaders were businesspeople and professionals. Relatively few were from the clergy.[4]
Perhaps RCNL's most famous member wasMedgar Evers.[5] Fresh from graduation atAlcorn State University in 1952, he had moved toMound Bayou, Mississippi to sell insurance for Howard.
Evers soon became the RCNL's program director and helped to organize a boycott of those service stations that failed to provide restrooms for blacks. As part of this campaign, the RCNL distributed an estimated twenty thousand bumper stickers with the slogan "Don’t Buy Gas Where You Can’t Use the Rest Room." Beginning in 1953, it directly challenged "separate but equal" doctrine and demanded integration of schools.[4]
The RCNL's annual meetings in Mound Bayou between 1952 and 1955 attracted crowds of ten thousand or more.[2] They featured speeches by Rep.William L. Dawson ofChicago, Rep.Charles Diggs ofMichigan, AldermanArchibald J. Carey Jr. ofChicago, and NAACP attorneyThurgood Marshall. Each of these events, in the words of Myrlie Evers (laterMyrlie Evers-Williams), the wife of Medgar, constituted "a huge all-daycamp meeting: a combination of pep rally, old-time revival, and Sunday church picnic." The conferences also included panels and workshops onvoting rights, business ownership, and other issues. Attendance was a life transforming experience for many younger and future civil black leaders such asFannie Lou Hamer.[4][2]
In 1955, RCNL officials, including Howard and Amzie Moore, played key roles in helping to find evidence in theEmmett Till murder case. During the trial,Mamie Till Bradley, Emmett's mother; key witnesses, such as Willie Reed; and black reporters stayed in Howard's home in Mound Bayou.[6] Dr. Howard, referring to the murders ofEmmett Till andGeorge W. Lee, and the attempted murder ofGus Courts, charged that the FBI "can’t seem to solve a crime where a Negro is involved." The statement angered FBI DirectorJ. Edgar Hoover, who credited the FBI with the "virtual elimination of lynchings in the South," and with "breaking up the Ku Klux Klan in the Carolinas and Georgia."[4]
After Howard left the state at the beginning of 1956, the RCNL went into decline. Nevertheless, it continued to attract many of the region's prominent civil rights leaders including Amzie Moore and Aaron Henry. The RCNL still operated in 1962 but was already being pushed into the shadows by groups such as theCouncil of Federated Organizations (COFO) and theStudent Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).[7]
