Lonnie King: An Enduring Fight for Freedom

Early Influences and Call to Action

Lonnie King's commitment to freedom, liberty, justice, and equality was deeply rooted in his upbringing. His grandfather, a Baptist evangelist preacher, raised him from age 2.5 to 8.5. During this time, King traveled with his grandfather, hearing sermons that advocated for these principles within a segregated society. After his grandfather's death, King moved to Atlanta, Georgia, to live with his mother. His mother was a member of Ebenezer Baptist Church, pastored by Reverend Martin Luther King Sr. King joined the church shortly after arriving, beginning a significant relationship with the King family and the church. Between 1945 and 1954, he was put in charge of almost every youth activity at Ebenezer, even heading the Ebenezer Youth Organization. This period allowed him to develop crucial leadership skills. Concurrently, Martin Luther King Jr. often returned to preach at the church after completing his degree at Morehouse College.

King summarizes that he was "birthed into this idea of freedom, justice, and equality" through his grandfather's preaching, a sentiment further reinforced by King Sr. and King Jr. He notes that this early relationship with MLK Jr. was instrumental in later convincing King Jr. to join the student movement on October 19, 1960, at Rich's Department Store. He reflects that one is a product of their environment, and he grew up in a place where "liberation theology" was preached, though often more preached than acted upon due to the societal risks of challenging segregation.

Transition and Navy Experience

Returning from the Navy in 1957, King re-enrolled at Morehouse. His Navy experience had a profound impact; he encountered and battled rank discrimination throughout his service, winning all his fights and becoming an E-5 within 24 months, an almost unheard-of achievement at the time. This practical experience of fighting systemic discrimination within the US Navy provided a crucial preparation for his future activism.

The Catalytic Greensboro Sit-Ins

On February 1, 1960, when young men in Greensboro sat down at a segregated lunch counter, King felt ready. Reading about it in the Atlanta Constitution, he recognized that segregation was "ubiquitous" across the South and declared that Atlanta needed to get involved. The initial plans were slowed by college presidents who had "excellent intelligence" about the students' intentions. This delay led to the strategic publication of a full-page ad on March 9, 1960, in the Atlanta Constitution, titled "An Appeal for Human Rights."

"An Appeal for Human Rights"

The "Appeal for Human Rights" served as a manifesto for the Atlanta Student Movement, guiding their actions over the next two to three years across various desegregation efforts, including theaters, lunch counters, restaurants, hospitals, and voter registration. The college presidents had requested the student leaders to write a manifesto to provide a philosophical foundation for their planned street protests.

King appointed Dr. Rosalyn Pope (then a Spelman student, president of SGA, and an English major) to edit the appeal. Julian Bond and Charles Black, both excellent writers, along with Albert Brinson, were appointed to the committee. Dr. Clement raised 12,000 from his sources to fund its publication, with the newspaper cost being about 4,000; the remaining 8,000 was retained for future use, though never fully utilized by the students. Dr. Pope ultimately wrote the entire appeal, with Julian Bond assisting in typing it, under tight deadlines because King was busy organizing for the first sit-in scheduled for March 15.

The appeal was published in the Atlanta Journal, Atlanta Constitution, and Atlanta World on March 9, 1960. It gained national and international attention: it was reprinted in the New York Times, read into the Congressional Record by New York Senator Jacob Javits, and reproduced by the Harvard Crimson newspaper and The Nation magazine (around April 2, 1960).

Pre-Sit-In Planning and the March 15, 1960 Sit-Ins

With the appeal published, the student movement organized on two tiers: Joe Pierce as the major organizer and Julian Bond and Rosalyn Pope focused on the "Appeal." They chose March 15 as the date for the first sit-ins, playing on the historical significance of the "Ides of March." The plan was to release the appeal on the 9th, followed by the sit-ins a few days later to maximize shock value.

The Governor at the time dismissed the appeal as too well-written to be by Georgia college students, suggesting it must have been written in Moscow, reflecting the prevailing "Russian scare" of the era. The students began their sit-ins at 11:00 AM on March 15, targeting only public, tax-supported institutions like the Fulton County Courthouse and the City of Atlanta cafeteria. This strategy was chosen because the college presidents preferred it, and Supreme Court rulings had already indicated that battles over public facilities supported by taxpayers were legally winnable. Approximately 70 people were arrested on this first day, causing "pandemonium" in Atlanta, as the white community was largely unaware of the extent of African American college student activism. Previous sit-ins in other cities had occurred, but many Atlantans believed their city and students were "too intelligent" for such actions.

The students eventually won the case regarding arrests at public places. After appeasing the college presidents, the movement decided to escalate its actions by targeting major downtown department stores, particularly Rich's.

Sit-In Execution and Police Response

The planning involved choosing nine to eleven public institutions and forming teams led by senior students or graduate students. For example, Julian Bond led a team to City Hall, John Mack to AU, and Johnny Parham to the Federal Building. King acted as commander-in-chief from a “command central” located initially in Dr. Rufus Clement’s conference room at AU, receiving reports from spotters across town.

Unlike in some smaller towns, Atlanta police did not physically abuse the black students. However, white allies who participated in the sit-ins reportedly received "rough rides" in paddy wagons, where officers would speed up and hit the brakes aggressively, demonstrating underlying racial animosity. Segregation extended even to paddy wagons, separating white and black arrestees.

Initial Meetings and Spelman Women's Involvement

The initial student meetings were held at Sale Hall Annex at Morehouse, gathering about 23-24 men. Concerned about the lack of female participation, King's mother advised him to reach out to Spelman College. Though King didn't know anyone personally at Spelman, he was known for his community work. His outreach led to a pivotal debate around April 5, 1960, in Sisters Chapel at Spelman, between King and Dr. Roy Wilkins, head of the NAACP, with Dr. Manley, Spelman's president, moderating.

Dr. Wilkins urged students to return to class, let the NAACP handle litigation, and join the movement after graduation. King, recalling speech lessons from Spelman, praised the NAACP's historical work but then argued that "the time has come when the class has to speak for itself," asserting that the White South was prepared for a "century of litigation" if only legal routes were pursued. He closed by declaring, "we want freedom now." His speech resonated with the Spelman women, who gave him a standing ovation.

The Spelman women formally participated in strength on May 17, 1960, during a march on Downtown Atlanta, ending at Wheat Street Baptist Church, to commemorate the Brown v. Board of Education decision of 1954. Key leaders from Spelman included Marion Wright Edelman, Rosalyn Pope, and Josephine Jackson. In September, Herschel Sullivan Shalanoa, Norma June Wilson, and Lenora Tate became the official representatives. The student committee consisted of 19 members: three from each of the six colleges (Morehouse, Spelman, ITC, Clark, AU, and Morris Brown, referred to as "clogged and AU") plus King as chairman.

Targeting Rich's Department Store: The Domino Strategy

King viewed Rich's as the critical target, similar to John Foster Dulles's "domino theory" regarding communism in the Pacific Basin. Rich's was the largest department store outside of New York in the Southeast, selling over 58% of all merchandise. Breaking its segregation was seen as a way to make other stores follow suit. Dr. Mayes, president of Morehouse, listened to King's strategy without explicitly agreeing or disagreeing.

Confrontation with Dick Rich

In June 1960, King, accompanied by Dr. Howard Zinn, his wife, and daughter, went to the Magnolia Room at Rich's. They were denied service, the room was closed, and King was taken to the police station. There, he met Chief Jenkins and Dick Rich (owner of Rich's). Rich expressed his displeasure, highlighting his contributions to black colleges and his store's paternalistic policies (e.g., being the first to use "Mrs." and "Mr." on black customers' accounts). He threatened King, stating that if he returned, Rich would have the chief put him "under the jail."

King, in response, thanked Rich for his contributions but declared the need to end segregation. He vowed to return in the fall with "thousands of students" to open up Rich's. This confrontation concluded with a visibly angry Rich walking out. King then began planning the "October Surprise," deferring action until the students returned in August.

The October Surprise: King's Arrest and the 1960 Presidential Election

During the summer, King observed the first televised presidential debates between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy, noting their failure to address civil and human rights despite widespread student activism. He decided to force the issue onto the national agenda. King called Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., explaining the plan to involve him at Rich's on October 19. King Jr. agreed.

Planning continued in August, with King orienting new students. His plans to wait until October 19 were initially challenged by Bernard Lee (a student from Alabama State) and A.D. King (MLK Jr.'s brother), who advocated for immediate action. However, with the support of the Spelman and Morehouse students, King prevailed, arguing for careful organization before the October 19th date.

The Arrest at Rich's

On October 19, King, Dr. King Jr., and two ladies (names not specified, but one was Marian Wright Edelman) went to the Bridge Cafeteria at Rich's. Finding it closed, they proceeded to the prestigious Magnolia Room on the Sixth Floor. There, they were arrested. In court, Dr. King Jr. delivered a powerful speech against injustice, stating his willingness to remain in jail. The group faced "jail, no bail" and were taken to a new prison on Jefferson Street. Dr. King Jr. and Lonnie King shared a cell. Over 100 people were arrested that day, necessitating extra mattresses from neighboring counties to accommodate them.

Simultaneously, other students targeted Davidson's, Woolworth's, W.T. Grant, and H.L. Green, covering "every eating place downtown."

Economic Boycott and Picketing

Alongside the sit-ins, a massive boycott and picketing campaign was launched. Over 2,000 students, spaced "three feet apart," formed picket lines stretching across downtown from Forsyth and Mitchell Streets to Whitehall (now Peachtree Street) and up to Ellis Street. King believes the simultaneous shock of the sit-ins and the widespread picketing was highly effective, arousing aspirations among African Americans and serving notice to the white community that young African Americans would not tolerate another century of segregation. He noted that businesses did not voluntarily desegregate but were forced to by pressure and later by the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Political Aftermath: The 1960 Election

The arrest of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. became an international issue due to his established reputation from the Montgomery bus boycott. The Kennedy campaign became peripherally involved through Sargeant Shriver and Harris Wofford, who helped secure King's release from Reidsville. King believes there was an intent to harm Dr. King Jr. while transporting him at night in a paddy wagon with an unleashed German Shepherd. Richard Nixon, advised by outgoing President Eisenhower, did not get involved.

After King's release, the Kennedy campaign distributed 11 million flyers, known as the "blue bomb," through African American denominations. This campaign led to a seismic shift in African American voting patterns. Two weeks before the election, Nixon led Kennedy by double digits. However, after King's arrest and the "blue bomb" distribution, the African American community overwhelmingly switched from voting Republican (a historical allegiance since Abraham Lincoln, with exceptions during Roosevelt and Truman's terms) to voting Democrat for Kennedy. This switch, primarily from "live bodies" in major cities rather than alleged voter fraud in Chicago, was decisive in the election.

Southern Political Realignment

Ironically, this 1960 election also triggered a significant political realignment in the South. White Democrats, dominating politics from Texas to Maryland, began shifting their allegiance to the Republican party. They largely took over the Republican party in the South, replacing the term "segregationists" with "conservatives" (a change suggested by William F. Buckley in 1955), fundamentally tying conservatism to race. King asserts that this racial motivation remains evident today in support for figures like Donald Trump.

Joe Pierce: A Personal Tragedy and Metaphor

Joseph Pierce, King's close friend and initial co-organizer, serves as a tragic metaphor for the systemic pressures of the time. Joe and Lonnie were high school friends and Navy shipmates. After reading about the Greensboro sit-ins, King convinced Pierce and Julian Bond to organize the Atlanta movement, drawing a parallel to college "panty raids" for their potential to spread. They chose March 15 for the first sit-in based on A.D. King's suggestion (the "Ides of March").

However, on the morning of March 15, Pierce called King, weeping, to say he couldn't participate because his aunt, a schoolteacher, feared losing her job if he were arrested. In the mid-1950s, Georgia's Attorney General had passed a law allowing the firing of NAACP members, creating immense pressure on black professionals. Having been raised by his aunt after his parents' deaths, Pierce felt an immense duty to respect her wishes.

Joe Pierce subsequently dropped out of Morehouse and faded from the movement. He largely avoided King and eventually died a few years prior to this interview. King laments that Pierce, who was arguably smarter and would have been recognized as a co-leader, was a casualty of a system designed to suppress black activism through economic threats and intimidation. His story highlights the pervasive fear and the difficult choices many African Americans faced.

The Role of White Women in the Movement

King notes the significant, often overlooked, role of white women in social justice movements. He points out that white women formed the bulk of the abolitionist movement, seeing their own liberation tied to that of African Americans. He critiques Frederick Douglass's stance during the drafting of the Fifteenth Amendment, where Douglass prioritized black men's voting rights over women's, leading to women's exclusion and their subsequent independent struggle for suffrage until 1920. However, white women returned to the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, playing an instrumental role in pushing through many of the civil rights laws, which also contributed to their advancement.

Personal Anecdotes and Beyond

King shares a personal anecdote about his rivalry with Vernon Jordan, dating back to high school. Though Jordan was running for SGA president with perceived advantages, King, urged by Joe Pierce, ran and won by a margin of 10 to 1. He humorously adds that the woman Jordan was dating at the time eventually married him, solidifying his role as Jordan's "nemesis." He also recounts receiving a smaller scholarship (150) at Morehouse, suggesting it was a punitive measure from a counselor who disliked his victory over Jordan. King concludes by expressing that this is merely the "tip of the iceberg" of his extensive experiences and knowledge.