Cecil Ivory facts for kids

Reverend Cecil Augustus Ivory (born March 3, 1921 – died November 10, 1961) was a brave Presbyterian minister. He was also a strong leader in the Civil Rights Movement. He worked hard for disability rights and led many important protests, like "sit-ins." In 2017, the City of Rock Hill honored him as a Freedom Walkway Local Hero for all his amazing work.

About Cecil Ivory's Life

Cecil Ivory was born on March 3, 1921, in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. He was the third of four children in an African American family. When he was a toddler, his father passed away.

A Childhood Injury

At age fourteen, Cecil had a serious accident. He fell from a pecan tree and hurt his back badly. His family could not afford a doctor. So, Cecil taught himself how to walk again. This injury might have caused health problems later in his life.

School and Faith

Cecil was determined to keep learning. He went to Cotton Plant Academy, a boarding school. There, he was a star in football and basketball. His football skills helped him get a scholarship to Mary Allen Junior College. He studied there from 1937 to 1939. This time at college made him interested in the Presbyterian Church.

He then went to Johnson C. Smith University. He earned two degrees in 1946. After becoming a minister in 1947, he served at a church in Irmo, South Carolina. He also worked at Harbison Junior College.

Moving to Rock Hill

In 1949, Cecil moved to Hermon Presbyterian Church in Rock Hill, South Carolina. While serving as a pastor, he often visited a small church in the countryside. During one trip, he fell from a truck. This made his old childhood injury worse. After this, he needed a wooden cane and later a wheelchair to move around.

He also earned a Master's degree. In 1960, he received an honorary doctorate degree. This was to honor his important work as a minister.

Family Life

Cecil married Emily Ivory in 1945. They had three children: Darnell, Cecil Junior, and Titus. Because of Cecil's important work, his family sometimes received threats. These threats made him keep a pistol for protection. Some threats came from groups like the Ku Klux Klan.

From June to October 1961, Cecil was in the hospital with serious health issues. He passed away on November 10, 1961, due to an illness.

Cecil Ivory's Fight for Rights

Cecil Ivory led many protests against segregation in Rock Hill. Segregation meant that Black and white people were kept separate. This was unfair. He was the president of the NAACP in Rock Hill. He held this role from 1953 until he passed away. He organized protests called sit-ins. He also helped pay bail for activists who were arrested.

The Bus Boycott

In July 1957, Cecil organized a bus boycott. This started a wave of civil rights actions in Rock Hill. It began after a Black woman, Adelene Austin White, was told to leave a bus. She had sat next to a white woman. Cecil called an NAACP meeting to plan the boycott.

The next Sunday, Black church leaders told their communities about the boycott. They said people should stop riding the buses until they were no longer segregated.

Cecil also set up a carpool service. This helped people get around during the boycott. After a month, he bought two used buses. These buses gave free rides to the community. It was estimated that 90% of Black bus riders stopped using the Star Bus Line. By the end of that year, the Star Bus Line had to close down.

Leading Sit-Ins

Cecil saw how successful the Greensboro sit-ins were. So, he organized similar sit-ins with students from Friendship Junior College. He made sure the students learned how to protest peacefully.

On February 12, 1960, 150 Black students entered stores in downtown Rock Hill. These included Woolworth, McCrory's, and Phillip's and Good's drugstores. White people working there and other customers were often mean to the students. Someone even threw something into Good's. This forced people to leave the store.

But Cecil was not stopped. He kept organizing more sit-ins. He also led and joined marches and rallies in his wheelchair.

In June 1960, he did something very special. He held the first wheelchair sit-in. He rolled up to a lunch counter at McCrory's and asked for service. He explained that he wasn't breaking any Jim Crow laws because he wasn't sitting in a seat. The manager and a police officer refused to serve him. They also threatened him. Eventually, he was arrested.

By February 1961, Cecil had been arrested many times. This was for leading and joining protests in Rock Hill. The NAACP honored him for his leadership. They gave him a special award for leading the bus boycott and helping students with sit-ins. National civil rights leaders like Ella Baker and Thurgood Marshall praised his actions.

The 1961 Freedom Ride

In 1961, brave people called Freedom Riders traveled on buses to protest segregation. When John Lewis and Albert Bigelow were attacked in Rock Hill, Cecil rushed to help. He drove to the bus station with many cars. He gathered local supporters to protect the riders as they got into the cars. An angry group of white men followed and yelled at the cars. Cecil led the riders to his house and gave them dinner. Charles Person, one of the youngest Freedom Riders, said that Cecil's courage, even from a wheelchair, inspired him to keep going on the Freedom Ride.