Gloria Richardson facts for kids

Gloria Richardson Dandridge (born Gloria St. Clair Hayes; May 6, 1922 – July 15, 2021) was an American civil rights activist. She is best known for leading the Cambridge movement. This was a major fight for civil rights in the early 1960s in Cambridge, Maryland. Gloria Richardson was an important figure in the Civil Rights Movement.

In July 1963, she signed "The Treaty of Cambridge" with Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. This agreement aimed to bring peace and change after a riot the month before. In August 1963, Gloria Richardson and five other women were honored at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. They sat on the stage at the Lincoln Memorial. However, none of the women were asked to speak to the large crowd. The next year, Richardson moved to New York City. There, she continued her work for civil rights and economic fairness in Harlem.

Gloria Richardson's Early Life and Education

Gloria St. Clair Hayes was born in 1922 in Baltimore, Maryland. Her mother, Mable, came from the wealthy St. Clair family in Cambridge, Maryland. This family owned a successful grocery store and funeral home. Gloria's ancestors were free people of color before the Civil War. They also owned many rental properties.

During the Great Depression, Gloria's family moved to Cambridge. Her mother's uncle was a lawyer in Maryland. Her family was also involved in politics. Gloria's rich grandfather was elected to the Cambridge City Council. He served there from 1912 to 1946.

From a young age, Gloria had a strong personality. Her parents and grandparents encouraged her to speak up. She developed strong feelings about fairness and against racism. She realized that her family's wealth and education did not fully protect them from racism. Her grandparents taught her to value people for their actions, not their money.

Gloria's family faced racial unfairness. Her father, John Hayes, died from a heart attack. This happened because there was not enough medical care available for Black people nearby. This made Gloria realize that racism could be a matter of life or death.

Black men in Maryland could vote since the American Civil War. Women gained the right to vote in 1920. In Baltimore, African Americans lived in separate areas. They had strong religious and business communities. But they still lived under Jim Crow laws. These laws enforced racial segregation.

Gloria earned a degree in sociology from Howard University in 1942. This was a historically black college in Washington, D.C.. As a student, she joined protests against stores that refused to hire Black workers. She also picketed a Woolworth's store. Black people were not allowed to eat at the lunch counter there. People were surprised by her leadership. They were used to poorer Black women being less outspoken.

Her experiences in Washington showed her that legal changes alone were not enough. She saw that Cambridge was still very segregated. Black people there had one of the highest unemployment rates for a city its size.

Returning to Cambridge and Starting Activism

After college, Gloria Hayes returned to Cambridge. She married Harry Richardson and began exploring civil rights issues. When the city hired Black social workers, they were only allowed to help Black clients. After Gloria was not chosen for a social worker job, she focused on her family and community work. She noted that in Cambridge, Black people were "the last hired and first fired." This meant they were the first to lose jobs and the last to get hired.

After her divorce from Harry Richardson, she was a mother with two daughters. She worked at her family's pharmacy and grocery store. Gloria Richardson said that being a mother made her want to become an activist.

Richardson held a formal role in the Cambridge Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (CNCC). She also advised the group. At one point, she was the only Black woman leading a local civil rights group. When she became co-chair of the Cambridge Nonviolent Action Committee (CNAC), she aimed for more than just ending segregation. She wanted fairness in housing, education, jobs, and health care.

During her early activism, Richardson was arrested three times. When she was first arrested, officials tried to shame her. But she kept fighting harder. She was known for speaking strongly. She said national leaders offered "meaningless smiles" because they failed to make real change.

The Cambridge Movement

In December 1961, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) sent two organizers to Cambridge. They started sit-ins in February 1962 to protest segregated places. They targeted movie theaters, bowling alleys, and restaurants. Gloria's daughter, Donna Richardson, was among the students who supported these protests. Gloria and other parents wanted to show their support.

In 1961, a Freedom Ride came to Cambridge. At first, Gloria rarely joined civil disobedience actions. She found it hard to accept SNCC's strict rules about nonviolence.

By 1962, the Civil Rights movement was growing. Students tried to end segregation in public places in Cambridge. The city had about 11,000 people, and about one-third were Black. The first protests were peaceful. But white supremacists attacked the protestors, and police arrested the protestors instead. The protests did not get results until Gloria Richardson was chosen to lead the movement and CNAC.

On January 13, 1962, Cambridge's Black community held its first civil rights protest of the 1960s. Many Black high school students, including Gloria's daughter Donna, joined. They were supported by groups from Baltimore and SNCC. This was the start of Cambridge's civil rights movement. At first, Donna sent Gloria home from a protest. She told her mother to come back only if she could promise to be nonviolent. Gloria could not promise this at the time. So, she worked with the Black community's secret "grapevine" network. She shared information about Cambridge's political system and the Black community's views.

Watching her daughter protest made Gloria want to get involved. She struggled to stay quiet when counter-protestors mocked the non-violent groups. Gloria decided to become a "student" again. She attended workshops where activists learned how to be nonviolent. They learned to handle the hatred of mobs.

Protests in March and April led to many court cases. Gloria and others were tried for disorderly conduct. This was called The Penny Trial. It showed how the Cambridge movement challenged the comfort of white leaders. Gloria believed that violence was not always the answer. But she also said it could come from deep frustration. She once stated that "revolts seemed to be the only thing that America understands."

In June 1962, Gloria Richardson was asked to help organize the Cambridge Nonviolent Action Committee (CNAC). This was the first adult group linked to SNCC. She became its official spokesperson. CNAC surveyed African-American communities. They then expanded their goals to include economic fairness. They wanted better housing, education, jobs, and healthcare. Many Black people struggled with low pay or no jobs.

The Cambridge movement was one of the first to focus on economic rights, not just civil rights. Gloria Richardson was also one of the first leaders to publicly question if nonviolence was always the best plan. Protests demanded both economic and social equality. Richardson wanted to fight unfairness in jobs, low wages, poor schools, healthcare, and segregated places.

Richardson said that CNAC's leaders should reflect the community. She believed that education and college degrees were not the most important things. She said, "If you could explain the need, if you knew what that need was... that was the real thing."

In summer 1962, CNAC focused on helping people register to vote. They wanted to replace state senator Frederick Malkus. He had opposed laws that would bring more industries to Dorchester County, Maryland. The lack of industrial jobs limited opportunities for the African-American community.

Richardson focused on what the Black community cared about most. She learned this from her grandfather. One of the first things she did was survey the Black community. Data was collected door-to-door. It showed that the most important issues were:

• Jobs (42%)
• Housing (26%)
• Improved schools (21%)
• Open public places (6%)
• Police unfairness (5%)

Before the survey, Richardson thought public places would be the biggest concern. But after seeing the results, CNAC started a broad campaign. They encouraged Black people to register to vote. They pushed for more job opportunities for Black workers. They also worked to end segregated education.

As protests grew stronger, white resistance also increased. Two 15-year-old students were arrested for praying outside a segregated building. They received long sentences in a juvenile facility. This made the Black community very angry. Large marches and protests increased. They were often met by white mobs. This is when the idea of "armed self-defense" grew in Cambridge's Black community. A Black businessman said, "We are not going to start violence. But if we are attacked, we are not going to turn the other cheek."

In June 1963, the Cambridge protests attracted activists from all over the country. On June 11, white people attacked Black and white protestors at a sit-in. The National Guard announced new rules. There was an earlier curfew, stores closed earlier, firearms were banned, and police could search cars.

That night, 250 African Americans marched to the courthouse. They were attacked with eggs by white crowds. A gunfight broke out between white and armed African Americans. Police used tear gas and guns to break up the crowd.

The federal government stepped in to stop the violence. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy helped create a five-point "Treaty of Cambridge." It included a statement for equal rights. The Attorney General, Maryland state officials, local Black leaders (including Richardson), and Cambridge officials all signed it in July.

On June 13, 1963, another large civil rights march took place. This time, the Black community in Cambridge had protection. Armed men guarded the protestors. A fight broke out between the white and Black communities. Gunshots were exchanged. Some people were hurt, and some white businesses were set on fire. During these 1963 protests, a famous photo of Richardson pushing away a National Guardsman's bayonet and rifle was taken.

Because of the protests, Governor Milliard J. Tawes offered a plan to slowly end segregation. But CNAC rejected it. Tawes then sent in the National Guard for three weeks. When they left, CNAC continued protests.

On July 12, a white mob attacked protestors at a restaurant. Black residents fought back. Governor Tawes sent in the National Guard again for almost two years. This was the longest time the National Guard occupied any community since the Reconstruction period after the American Civil War. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy arranged a deal. If CNAC stopped protesting, segregation in public places would end. Public schools would be desegregated. Public housing would be built, and a federal jobs program would start.

This agreement did not last. A local business group tried to overturn it. Richardson took a strong stand. She announced that CNAC would not take part in a vote on the agreement. She believed that white neighbors should not decide on Black rights. She said, "A first-class citizen does not beg for freedom. Human rights are human rights, not white rights." She was right; the vote failed.

The fight for desegregation also helped labor unions. Richardson said white union members often wanted to learn about the civil rights struggle. Many white workers were inspired by CNAC. They saw that the Black struggle for freedom could also help them. This led to more unity between Black and white workers. Black union members, with white support, asked CNAC to attend meetings. At one meeting, some people tried to remove Richardson. But local white union members said, "If she goes, all of us go," showing their support.

Gloria Richardson was honored at the March on Washington on August 22, 1963. She was told not to wear jeans. For Richardson and SNCC members, jeans showed their support for poor people. But she wore a jean skirt instead. When she arrived, her seat on the stage was missing. After finding a spot, she was allowed to say "Hello" to the crowd of over 250,000 people before her microphone was turned off.

Gloria Richardson played a big role in the Kennedy administration's decision to work with CNAC. She started talks to help Cambridge residents escape Jim Crow laws. By summer 1963, she was risking her family's standing among the Black elite to achieve CNAC's goals. Because of this, Cambridge's Black community saw her as their leader. This made her one of the few women to lead during the Civil Rights Movement.

In December 1963, Richardson attended a national meeting of SNCC leaders. They discussed the future of the organization. Many important activists were there, including Bob Moses and John Lewis. They planned a voting rights program for the South.

After the Cambridge Movement

On July 14, 1963, Governor Tawes met with Richardson and other leaders. He offered to integrate schools and hire a Black person in the State Employment Office. He also offered a loan for a "Negro housing project," a public accommodations law, and a group to work on other problems. In return, he asked for a year-long stop to protests. Richardson refused. She said she would only stop protests if there was full desegregation of schools and complete fairness in jobs. She stated, "We will decide, and not the political structure of the city, who shall speak for the Negro community."

Richardson was criticized for her role as a female leader. Many said she should have spoken out against violence. But she continued to believe in self-defense. Officials even tried to say she was mentally unwell, but they failed. President John F. Kennedy said Cambridge had "lost sight of what demonstrations are about" because of the violence. But Richardson believed that people who had suffered for generations would resist until change happened.

Leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis urged Richardson to be "less confrontational." But Richardson refused. She disagreed with those who thought she supported violence. She believed in nonviolence as a first step. But she encouraged physical force for self-defense if attacked. People around her said that if Richardson was on "your side, you didn't need anybody else." Many Black church leaders and some activists distanced themselves from her. Some thought her approach was too strong. Her actions were sometimes seen as not proper for a woman.

Richardson helped change the image of Black women. She showed that women could be warriors, not just victims. She paved the way for African American female politicians and feminists. Richardson proved that even women from small towns have a voice.

Because of this movement, federal money began to flow to Cambridge. It helped parks, schools, streets, public housing, and other projects. However, unfairness against the Black community continued even after segregation legally ended.

Later Life and Legacy

A month after meeting Governor Tawes, Richardson left Cambridge for New York City. She married Frank Dandridge, a photographer she met during the protests. In New York, Richardson worked at an advertising agency. Then she took a job with the New York City Department for the Aging. She helped make sure businesses followed laws that affected seniors. Richardson also advised the Black Action Federation (BAF), which followed CNAC. BAF was started by former CNAC members. They felt that Cambridge's "white power system was still blocking progress." She retired in 2012 at age 90.

In a 1982 interview, Richardson explained why she was passionate about helping student protestors. She said, "there was something direct, something real about the way kids waged nonviolent war. This was the first time I saw a vehicle I could work with."

Richardson continued to follow current politics and social justice events.

Her legacy is not as well known as other women like Rosa Parks and Dorothy Height. An oral history of Richardson is in the 2006 book Generation on Fire: Voices of Protest from the 1960s. A review of the book noted, "When Gloria Richardson mentions how she and others put red pepper on their legs to deter attack dogs, you understand the enormity of the struggle for equality."

In 2017, Maryland honored her by dedicating February 11 as "Gloria Richardson Day." Richardson spoke to a packed church from her apartment. Five months later, she was a featured speaker at a banquet in Cambridge. Her words made 300 guests give her a standing ovation.

Richardson helped create a new image for Black women in the United States. She replaced the image of a long-suffering person with that of a warrior. When asked how she wanted to be remembered, she said: "I guess I would like for them to say I was true to my belief in black people as a race." Today, there is a mural of Gloria in Dorchester. It is next to a mural of Harriet Tubman, who was also from Dorchester.

Gloria Richardson died in New York on July 15, 2021.