Juliette Hampton Morgan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Juliette Hampton Morgan
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| Born | February 21, 1914 |
| Died | July 16, 1957 (aged 43) Montgomery, Alabama
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| Occupation | Librarian |
| Known for | Civil Rights activist in Montgomery, Alabama |
Juliette Hampton Morgan (born February 21, 1914 – died July 16, 1957) was a librarian and a brave activist for civil rights in Montgomery, Alabama. She was the only child in a wealthy white family. Juliette was one of the first people in her community to support racial integration, which means bringing people of different races together.
As a librarian, she often spoke out against unfair treatment of African Americans. She did this by writing letters to the Montgomery Advertiser, which was the local newspaper. Many people in her community criticized her for her views on race. People who supported segregation, which means keeping races separate, even broke her windows and burned a cross in her yard. The stress from these attacks was very hard for her.
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Juliette Morgan's Early Life and School
Juliette Morgan was the only child of Frank P. and Lila Bess Olin Morgan. Her family was well-known in Montgomery, Alabama. They had lived in the South for many generations. Famous friends of the Morgan family included Zelda Fitzgerald, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Tallulah Bankhead.
Juliette went to Sidney Lanier High School in Montgomery. In 1934, she graduated from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. She earned high honors, called Phi Beta Kappa. She got degrees in English literature and political science. The next year, she earned her master's degree in English.
After college, Juliette returned to Montgomery. She became a public school teacher at her old high school. In 1942, she started working as a reference librarian at Montgomery's Carnegie Library. Later, she was promoted to director of research at the Montgomery Public Library.
Fighting for Civil Rights and Fairness
After college, Juliette Morgan joined many groups. She was part of Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal Club. She also joined the Southern Conference Educational Fund and the Alabama Council on Human Relations. She was one of the few white members in the Alabama Council.
Juliette often wrote letters to the local newspaper, the Montgomery Advertiser. She supported federal laws against lynching, which was a terrible act of violence. She also wanted to get rid of the poll tax. This tax made it hard for many poor people, especially African Americans, to vote.
Juliette first spoke out about fairness in 1932. She supported motherhood and special training for women. She also wanted a government department to help children. In 1938, she wrote letters defending "the Southern Woman." She challenged old ideas about women at that time.
Juliette also joined a women’s prayer group called the Fellowship of the Concerned. This group included both white and African American women. They had to meet in African American churches. White churches would not let them use their buildings. This was because integrated meetings went against the city’s rules. During this time, Juliette became even more involved in civil rights.
Juliette could afford a car, but she had severe anxiety. This made it hard for her to drive. So, she took city buses from her home to her job at the Montgomery City-County Public Library. She often saw white bus drivers treat African American riders unfairly.
One time, Juliette saw an African American woman follow the bus rules. The woman paid her fare at the front of the bus. Then she got off and tried to get back on through the rear door. But the bus driver drove away while the woman was trying to get back on. Juliette was very angry. She stood up and pulled the emergency cord, stopping the bus. She yelled at the driver and told him to let the woman back on. Juliette kept doing this whenever she saw unfair treatment on the bus.
Juliette's letter writing had consequences. Many white people in the community started to avoid her. She was even fired from a bookstore job after college. This happened because of a letter she had published in the newspaper.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested. She had refused to give up her seat and move to the back of a Montgomery city bus. Eleven days later, on December 12, 1955, Juliette Morgan wrote another letter. It was to the editor of the Montgomery Advertiser. She supported Ms. Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott that followed. In her letter, she wrote:
The Negroes of Montgomery seem to have taken a lesson from Mahatma Gandhi... Their own task is greater than Gandhi's however, for they have greater prejudice to overcome. One feels that history is being made in Montgomery these days... It is hard to imagine a soul so dead, a heart so hard, a vision so blinded and provincial as not to be moved with admiration at the quiet dignity, discipline and dedication with which the Negroes have conducted their boycott.
Continuing to Speak Up for Civil Rights
Juliette Morgan started getting hate mail and threatening phone calls. These were in response to her views on race. W.A. Gayle, the Mayor of Montgomery, was a member of the White Citizens' Council. He threatened the library council. He demanded that they fire Juliette. The library council refused. They said firing her would go against her First Amendment rights. These rights protect freedom of speech.
However, library officials privately asked Juliette not to write any more letters. Many white library users had destroyed their library cards. They boycotted the library to protest Juliette's views. Juliette agreed to stop writing letters for the library's sake. She stopped for almost a year.
Eventually, Juliette could not stay silent any longer. She started writing letters again. In 1956, she wrote to newspapers. She strongly disagreed with the expulsion of Autherine Lucy. Autherine Lucy was the first black student to attend the University of Alabama.
In January 1957, Buford Boone, the editor of the Tuscaloosa News, came to Montgomery. He spoke out against racial injustice. He publicly blamed the White Citizens' Council for the increase in violence. Juliette later wrote a private letter to Boone praising him. She wrote:
There are so many Southerners from various walks of life that know you are right. [...] They know what they call 'our Southern way of life' must inevitably change. Many of them even are eager for change, but are afraid to express themselves – so afraid to stand alone, to walk out naked as it were. Everyone who speaks as you do, who has the faith to do what he believes right in scorn of the consequences, does great good in preparing the way for a happier and more equitable future for all Americans. You help redeem Alabama's very bad behavior in the eyes of the nation and the world. I had begun to wonder if there were any men in the state – any white men – with any sane evaluation of our situation here in the middle of the Twentieth Century, with any good will, and most especially with any moral courage to express it.
Boone wanted to publish Juliette’s letter in the newspaper. But she refused, remembering her agreement with the library. Boone insisted, saying that her public views would inspire others. Juliette finally agreed. On January 14, 1957, the Tuscaloosa News printed her letter.
Challenges and Her Passing
Soon after her letter was published, Juliette received more hate mail and phone calls. Many of her friends left her. Even her own mother worried about the damage she was supposedly doing to the family name. This public abuse continued for months. One night in April, a cross was burned in her front yard.
Again, the mayor demanded that the library fire Juliette. But the superintendent and library board continued to support Juliette’s right to freedom of speech. When the city library's funding was cut by the amount of Juliette's salary, it became clear her job was at risk. Meanwhile, her severe anxiety grew worse, and her health became much weaker.
On July 15, her mother called the library. She said Juliette could no longer work and had decided to resign. On the morning of July 17, 1957, Juliette’s mother found her daughter had passed away. She had left a note that said, "I am not going to cause any more trouble to anybody." The Montgomery Advertiser reported that she had "died...at her home." The other local paper, the Alabama Journal, said she had died "after a short illness."
Remembering Juliette Morgan
On the afternoon of July 17, St. John's Episcopal Church was almost full for Juliette's funeral. However, the church was segregated. This meant that her black friends were turned away by the church official.
The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. later wrote about Juliette Morgan’s brave fight. He also wrote about the difficulties she faced in his book, Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story. King wrote:
About a week after the protest started, a white woman who understood and sympathized with the Negroes' efforts wrote a letter to the editor of the Montgomery Advertiser comparing the bus protest with the Gandhian movement in India. Miss Juliette Morgan, sensitive and frail, did not long survive the rejection and condemnation of the white community, but long before she died in the summer of 1957, the name of Mahatma Gandhi was well known in Montgomery.
On March 3, 2005, Juliette Hampton Morgan was honored. She was inducted into the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame. Later that year, the Montgomery City Council voted to rename the main public library. It is now called The Juliette Hampton Morgan Memorial Library.
