Laurie Pritchett facts for kids

Laurie Pritchett (born December 9, 1926 – died November 13, 2000) was the Chief of Police in Albany, Georgia. He is known for how he handled civil rights protests in 1961 and 1962. These protests were part of the Albany Movement.

Early Life of Laurie Pritchett

Pritchett was born in Griffin, Georgia in 1926. He went to Auburn University and South Georgia College. He was also a soldier in the Army. He studied at the FBI National Academy and the Southern Police Institute. Before coming to Albany, Pritchett worked as a police officer in his hometown for 12 years.

Pritchett and the Albany Movement

The Albany Movement started in 1961. Its goal was to end segregation in Albany, Georgia. Segregation meant keeping Black and white people separate. This included public places like buses, libraries, and hospitals. It also affected voting and jobs. The movement used peaceful protests to make changes.

How the Movement Started

Three young people from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) came to Albany. Their names were Charles Sherrod, Cordell Reagon, and Charles Jones. They wanted to help people register to vote. They encouraged local people to challenge the city's segregation rules. Many people, both white and some Black citizens, did not like these changes.

Police Response to Protests

Different civil rights groups joined together to form the Albany Movement. Many protests then took place. The police department got involved to manage these events. They handled marches, sit-ins, and other peaceful acts of protest.

Pritchett's Unique Strategy

In other cities, police often used violence against peaceful protesters. These actions were often shown on TV, which helped the civil rights cause. But Laurie Pritchett, Albany's police chief, had studied Martin Luther King Jr.'s non-violent methods. Pritchett decided to use non-violent ways to handle the protests. He wanted to avoid bad attention from the news. He knew that if his police used violence, they would be criticized. This would only make the movement stronger.

Pritchett also charged protesters with "disturbing the peace." He did not charge them with breaking segregation laws. Many people in Albany praised Pritchett for keeping order. He taught his police officers how to deal with non-violent protesters. He told them not to use violence or force. He wanted to "out-nonviolent" the protesters. Pritchett explained that his officers were told not to use their clubs, even if they were insulted.

Media and Public View

Pritchett was surprised by how his police officers accepted his new methods. He said it was "strange" that they "readily accept[ed] this position." Pritchett also knew that Martin Luther King Jr.'s involvement would bring many news reporters. He worried about how the media would show the police actions. He wanted the news media to be an "ally," not an "enemy."

Filling the Jails

Pritchett noticed that the SNCC's protest methods were like those of Mahatma Gandhi. Protesters would let themselves be arrested to fill the jails. This would stop the police from making more arrests. To prevent this, Pritchett contacted jails up to 70 miles away. He made sure they had enough space for arrested protesters. He filled these nearby jails before putting anyone in the Albany city jail.

Because of this, Dr. King and the local groups ran out of people willing to be arrested. Pritchett still had jail space. More than 1,000 young people were arrested and sent to jails in other cities. So many people were arrested that adults, who were hesitant at first, started to join the movement. The protests grew from trying to desegregate bus stations to trying to desegregate the whole city. The Albany police mostly avoided violence against the activists.

Martin Luther King Jr. Arrives

By December 1961, over 500 protesters had been jailed. William G. Anderson, the leader of the Albany Movement, asked Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to come to Albany. King arrived on December 15, 1961. He spoke at a protest meeting. The next day, King, Anderson, and Reverend Ralph Abernathy were arrested. They were charged with parading without a permit. They chose to stay in jail instead of paying a fine.

Pritchett did not want Dr. King to stay in jail. He knew it would bring national attention. So, Pritchett arranged for King's bail to be paid. He hoped King would leave Albany and the movement would end. But King chose to stay and continue his work.

Broken Promises and Loss of Momentum

In December 1961, Albany city officials made promises to the protesters. They said bus and train stations would no longer be segregated. They also promised to release the hundreds of jailed protesters. They said mixed-race groups would be formed to discuss segregation issues. But these promises were not kept quickly. This made many protesters lose trust.

On July 12, 1962, King spoke about Pritchett. He said, "I sincerely believe that Chief Pritchett is a nice man, a basically decent man, but he's so caught up in a system that he ends up saying one thing to us behind closed doors and then we open the newspaper and he's said something else to the press." King was jailed again, and his fines were paid against his wishes. After this, the movement lost its energy. King left Albany in August 1962. The press called it "one of the most stunning defeats" in his career. King later felt that Pritchett used peaceful methods to keep unfair racial separation.

After the Albany Movement

Pritchett left Albany and became the police chief in High Point, North Carolina. He retired in 1975. Pritchett later said he considered King a "close personal friend." Laurie Pritchett and his actions were remembered in a 1963 song called "Oh Pritchett, Oh Kelly."

Pritchett said he was neutral about segregation. He claimed his job was only to enforce the laws of Albany. He said, "My responsibility was to enforce the ordinances and laws of that city and state." He told Dr. King many times that he did not disagree with King's goals, only his methods. Pritchett believed in using the courts, while King believed in street protests. Pritchett said he was not a segregationist or an integrationist. He was simply the police administrator. He believed that if he leaned one way, he would not be doing his job. He was told to enforce the laws and not get caught up in political issues.

Pritchett was one of the few officials from the Jim Crow era who agreed to be interviewed. He appeared in the 1987 documentary Eyes on the Prize.