The travail and triumph of a southern black civil rights lawyer: the legal career of Alexander Pierre Tureaud, 1899-1972
Description
While students of recent American history often differ on when the civil rights movement began, all agree that the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954 was of pivotal importance. Prior to 1954 black Americans living in the South were second-class citizens in every respect. The public schools and public accommodations were segregated; there were no black public office holders, and only a token number of blacks were registered voters This dissertation is an examination of the legal career of Alexander P. Tureaud, primarily of his activities as legal counsel for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Louisiana for more than three decades. Tureaud was one of the dominant figures who used the judicial system to transform the Brown decision into a reality for black Americans. Although his main efforts were made in the field of education, he also devoted time to securing voting rights for blacks, and integration of public accommodations. He handled civil and criminal cases involving the civil rights of blacks and discrimination in employment, and investigated incidents of rape and lynchings This study examines how and why Tureaud used the federal courts as the principal means of attack against a system of racial segregation which black and white alike accepted as a way of life. It tries to shed light on his relationship with the local and national leaders of the NAACP as well as with the local and state power structure and the judges of the federal courts. Lastly, the study clarifies and puts in perspective the contributions and role of Tureaud in the Civil Rights movement in the South in general, and in Louisiana in particular. As the leading lawyer of the NAACP in the state, Tureaud argued well over one hundred cases before the state and federal courts. These cases essentially comprise the totality of significant litigation involving the struggle for civil rights in Louisiana Tureaud's legal career reveals that it is possible though admittedly painfully slow, for blacks to achieve legal parity in American society within the framework of American constitutional law