International Politics and Civil Rights Policies in the United States, 1941-1960

In the period following World War II, the federal government devoted more time and attention to civil rights reform and legislation than it had since the end of Reconstruction in 1876. Despite the impressive literature that analyzes the modern civil rights movement, its connection to American foreign policy during and after the war remains largely unexplored. Focusing on this gap, Professor Layton shows that the revolutionary changes in world politics created by the war also created new opportunities and pressure points for reforming U.S. race policies. The Holocaust, the dismantling of colonial empires, the Cold War, and the establishment of the United Nations all contributed to a new receptivity to civil rights reform in both the executive and judicial branches of the federal government. And, as Professor Layton describes, civil rights leaders quickly recognized the opportunities presented by the new international environment and were able to use them in exerting their own pressure to enact domestic policy reforms. Cover 1 Frontmatter 3 Contents 9 Acknowledgments 11 Introduction 15 Social Movement Theory 23 Political Opportunity Structure and Civil Rights 24 Relative Openness of the American Political System 25 Divisions in Elite Alignments 27 New Allies 29 Repression of and Violence against African Americans 33 Mobilization, Framing, and U.S. Civil Rights 35 Research Questions 40 Conclusion 42 Mobilizing and Utilizing International Pressure: A Strategy of U.S. Civil Rights Leaders 45 The International Context of America's Race Problem: A Historical Perspective 47 The War Years: The Beginning of U.S. Vulnerability 53 After the War 59 The Whole World Is Watching 72 The Paul Robeson Challenge 78 The Bandung Conference: The Historical Emergence of 1.4 Billion People of Color 84 Conclusion 87 Civil Rights Commissions: A Vehicle of Government Response to International Pressure 89 The 1947 Civil Rights Committee 90 Congressional Hearings and the International Implications of Racism 101 The 1957 Civil Rights Commission 109 Conclusion 118 International Pressure and the State's Response to Racial Segregation 121 Segregation, Foreign Policy, and the Supreme Court: 1948–53 125 Brown v. Board of Education, 1954 129 Southern Defiance 132 Diplomatic Embarrassments: Segregation “Fiascoes” Involving Foreign Dignitaries and Foreign Students 145 Conclusion 152 Conclusion 155 Implications of This Study 162 A Final Thought 164 Notes 167 Index 223 Despite the impressive volume of literature on the civil rights movement and US race policies, the connection between American foreign policy during World War II and the postwar years and America's race policy remains largely unexplored. Focusing on this gap, Professor Layton's book shows that the revolutionary changes in world politics in the wake of WWII created new opportunities and pressure points for reforming US race policies. The Holocaust, the dismantling of colonial empires, the Cold War, and the establishment of the United Nations had a major impact in creating the Executive and Judicial branch of the Federal government shifts from a seventy year old hands-off policy to the advocacy of civil rights reform. This book further reveals how civil rights leaders utilized foreign policy issues and Cold War politics to press for domestic policy reforms in the United States. Azza Salama Layton. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 153-207) And Index.