Negative Reception
I read pages 45-89 in Folder 1 of Box 20. Every letter I read was moderately disapproving to harshly critical of the testimony given by Mayor Ivan Allen. Even though most of the letters are remarkably similar in content, there are vast amounts of different methods used to convey their displeasure of Ivan Allen’s stance on civil rights and business rights. Many tried to use logic pertaining to business rights to convince him that what he stood for is bad for businesses, ironically arguing for private rights by decreasing the rights of African American people. Others tried using pathos, arguing that their family shouldn’t be forced to be around black people, once again ironically saying that the protecting families is most important, but not families that aren’t theirs. Finally, others threw any façade of civility out the window by stooping to name calling and fear mongering.
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Many people were highly critical of Mayor Ivan Allen's progress when it came to integration, especially in private businesses. |
As stated above, many of the letters written tried to appeal to some twisted sense of logic by advocating for the exclusion of African Americans from private businesses by claiming that owners should be able to refuse service to whomever they choose. While this logos is easily refuted by the notion that inclusion of black customers would increase the total number of customers therefore increasing sales, this idea was nonetheless prevalent in many of the letters I read. One citizen from the north misinterprets the black struggle for equal rights through activities such as sit-ins as merely being a nuisance, writing in his letter that when a black person dines in “an upper class restaurant in “the North” he does so to see if he will be given good service” (Box 20, Folder 1, Doc 56).
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Many people tried to use pathos in their argument against Ivan Allen’s position that private businesses should be forced to integrate. One grandmother, Box 20, Folder 1, Document 52, writes that her only concerns in life are her grandchildren, but then sours the sentiment by including a slew of terrible, racist stereotypes and prejudice assumptions.
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While many letters tried to appeal to logic or Ivan Allen’s emotions, most were little more than targeted harassment. One such example of name calling is in Document 58, Folder 1, Box 20. A citizen from Orangeburg, South Carolina writes “You are a disgrace to the south”. The large presence of letters like these show that while many people felt passionate about their stance against equal rights, there was little that they could say to justify this viewpoint. This further discredits their side.
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Conclusions
In conclusion, while all advocating for decreases in rights for black people, the many different letters did it in different ways. While some used arguments about business, and some used emotions, many used name-calling and all used racist, hate filled messages. Ivan Allen had to endure a lot for his stance and for standing up for what is right.
For more information on Mayor Ivan Allen go to http://allenarchive.iac.gatech.edu |