In Struggle against Jim Crow: Lulu B. White and the NAACP, 1900-1957(Centennial Series of the Association of Former Students, Texas A&M University)

African American women have played significant roles in the ongoing struggle for freedom and equality, but relatively little is known about many of these leaders and activists. Most accounts of the civil rights movement focus on male leaders and the organizations they led, leaving a dearth of information about the countless black women who were the backbone of the struggle in local communities across the country. At the local level women helped mold and shape the direction the movement would take. Lulu B. White was one of those women in the civil rights movement in Texas. Executive secretary of the Houston branch of the NAACP and state director of branches, White was a significant force in the struggle against Jim Crow during the 1940s and 1950s. She was at the helm of the Houston chapter when the Supreme Court struck down the white primary in Smith v. Allbright , and she led the fight to get more blacks elected to public office, to gain economic parity for African Americans, and to integrate the University of Texas. Author Merline Pitre places White in her proper perspective in Texas, Southern, African American, women's, and general American history; points to White's successes and achievements, as well as the problems and conflicts she faced in efforts to eradicate segregation; and looks at the strategies and techniques White used in her leadership roles. Pitre effectively places White within the context of twentieth-century Houston and the civil rights movement that was gripping the state. In Struggle Against Jim Crow is pertinent to the understanding of race, gender, interest group politics, and social reform during this turbulent era.

About the Author :
Merline Pitre is professor of history and former dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Texas Southern University. Her specialization is U.S. Reconstruction and African American history, particularly in Texas.

Review :
"I recommend this fine study of an important but neglected chapter of the early civil rights movement."--Journal of American History--Steven A. Reich "The Journal of American History " "The author is successful in meeting each of her stated objectives, especially in her discussion of Lulu White's formative years. The importance of White's childhood, education and friendships is artfully presented. Also noteworthy is the author's candor in describing White's hard-fought successes (e.g., her efforts to promote equal pay for public school teachers, to work for the abolition of white primaries, to promote desegregation of the University of Texas, and to expand the membership of the NAACP in Houston) and her numerous setbacks (e.g., the failed attempt at establishing the FEPC, the unsuccessful attempts to improve wages and collective bargaining, and the ongoing political and personality conflicts with the African American community and the Houston chapter of the NAACP). " . . . [White] certainly comes across as a forceful, effective female voice in the struggle for racial equality in Texas. The book certainly adds to our knowledge of and appreciation for civil rights activity at the local level. . . . The best feature of the work is the effective way the author meshes national events together with the work of Lulu White in Houston."--Michael R. Heintze, Clemson University, and author of "Private Black Colleges in ""Texas"", 1865-1954"--Michael R. Heintze, Clemson University, and author of Private Black Colleges The author is successful in meeting each of her stated objectives, especially in her discussion of Lulu Whites formative years. The importance of Whites childhood, education and friendships is artfully presented. Also noteworthy is the authors candor in describing Whites hard-fought successes (e.g., her efforts to promote equal pay for public school teachers, to work for the abolition of white primaries, to promote desegregation of the University of Texas, and to expand the membership of the NAACP in Houston) and her numerous setbacks (e.g., the failed attempt at establishing the FEPC, the unsuccessful attempts to improve wages and collective bargaining, and the ongoing political and personality conflicts with the African American community and the Houston chapter of the NAACP). . . . [White] certainly comes across as a forceful, effective female voice in the struggle for racial equality in Texas. The book certainly adds to our knowledge of and appreciation for civil rights activity at the local level. . . . The best feature of the work is the effective way the author meshes national events together with the work of Lulu White in Houston.--Michael R. Heintze, Clemson University, and author of Private Black Colleges in Texas, 18651954 -- Michael R. Heintze, Clemson University, and author of Private Black Colleges