Desegregation of theaters in Durham, North Carolina facts for kids

The desegregation of theaters in Durham, North Carolina, was a big step towards equal rights. Between 1961 and 1963, people in Durham protested, signed petitions, and took legal action to end unfair rules at movie theaters. These efforts mostly focused on the Carolina Theater.

In March 1962, the manager of the Carolina Theater said no to a plan from the local NAACP group to allow all people to enter. He also refused a request from the city council to change his mind. Because of this, protesters started special demonstrations called "round-robin" protests. When a court order stopped these protests, activists went to court. Finally, in July 1963, after many large protests and with support from the new mayor, Wense Grabarek, Durham's movie theaters began to welcome everyone.

Movie Theaters and Unfair Rules

Unfair Rules

In the early 1960s, many movie theaters in North Carolina had unfair rules. Some theaters only allowed white people to enter. Others made Black and white Americans sit in different parts of the theater.

Theater owners sometimes used special stamps on tickets or hired ushers to make sure Black Americans only sat in the top balconies. These sections were sometimes called "Buzzard's Roosts." In other cases, Black Americans had to use a separate entrance. They might also only be allowed to attend late showings, known as 'midnight rambles'.

To serve the Black community, a businessman named Frederick King Watkins opened theaters just for Black people. These theaters often showed older Hollywood films. They also played movies with all-Black casts or Westerns.

Public Land and Fairness

A court case in Greensboro helped people understand fairness on public land. This case was about a golf course that was privately run but on land rented from the city. The court decided that Black Americans had a right to be on public land, even if a private business was using it.

This meant that unfair rules could not be kept in place just because a business was private. The golf course was still considered public property.

The Carolina Theater, built in 1926, was owned by Charles Abercrombie in 1961. But the building itself, the Durham Auditorium, was rented from the city for $10,000 a year. This situation was very similar to the golf course case. It gave people a strong legal reason to protest the unfair rules at the Carolina Theater.

Petitions and Protests

On November 2, 1960, the issue of the Carolina Theater was brought to the City Council. The NAACP asked for the Carolina Theater to allow all people, along with other changes to end unfair rules. The City Council sent this request to the Mayor’s Human Resource Committee.

In January 1961, the NAACP sent a letter about the unfair rules in theaters. They sent it to the Human Relations committee, the city manager George Aull, and the Carolina Theater manager Milo Crawford. In the letter, protesters said they were unhappy with the theater's "illegal" and "morally unjustified" rules.

The NAACP gathered signatures from students at nine different schools and colleges. These included Duke University, North Carolina College, Durham High School, Henderson of Hills High School, Merrick-Moore High School, Whitted Junior High School, Deshazor’s Beauty College, Bull City Barber College, and Durham Business College.

On January 21, students and teachers from the all-Black North Carolina College and Duke University protested together. They stood in front of the Center and Carolina Theaters. They linked arms to block the entrance, pushed their way inside, and held sit-ins.

The new manager of the Carolina Theater, Charles Abercrombie, kept refusing to talk about the unfair rules. He said that the decision to allow all people had already been made by the Commission.

In March 1962, the Carolina Theater allowed Black students to enter for the first time. Fourteen African American students managed to get past the ticket takers. For two days, over a thousand Black Americans formed long lines in front of the ticket booth. Each person who was refused a ticket for the white section would go to the end of the line and try again. This was called a "round-robin" protest.

As students were denied entry, they tried to get a reason from the ticket seller. They wanted to gather proof that Black Americans were being turned away because of their race. When the ticket booth moved inside the theater, white supporters helped. They bought tickets for Black moviegoers, who would then sneak into the side doors of the theater.

Ending Unfair Rules

In 1963, the Mayor’s Interim Committee of Race Relations suggested a plan. Both the theater managers and the local NAACP and CORE groups supported it. On July 15, the NAACP and CORE groups started a twenty-day trial period. During this time, most of Durham’s theaters, including the Carolina Theater, slowly began to welcome Black people.

Mrs. Bessie McLaurin, an adult leader in CORE, helped manage the schedule for many theaters during this trial. Black moviegoers who wanted to see a specific showing had to contact McLaurin. She would then schedule a time and date for them to attend. The idea was to slowly increase the number of Black Americans allowed into each showing over the twenty days. This would gradually bring them into the audience.

On August 5, 1963, the new mayor, Wense Grabarek, told Miss Joyce Ware, the NAACP-CORE council chairman, that all movie theaters except the Uptown Theater would be open to everyone. This marked the end of the 20-day trial period and the full integration of the Carolina Theater.