PRIMARY DOCUMENT

“Hoses Used on Danville Negroes” (June 11, 1963)

CONTEXT

In this press release, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) sought to publicize the use of state-sanctioned violence to repress peaceful protests against segregation in Danville. The city was the site of fervent protests through the early summer of 1963, with the SNCC, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People all sending leaders to help organize and raise awareness. The legal resistance and violence deployed by white authorities like Danville Corporation Court Judge Archibald M. Aiken against protesters was ultimately successful in blocking gains for African Americans in the city.

Author: Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
    Transcription Source: Freedom Summer Collection, Wisconsin Historical Society, http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15932coll2/id/68024

    FULL TEXT

    NEWS RELEASE

    STUDENT NONVIOLENT COORDINATING COMMITTEE

    6 RAYMOND STREET, N. W.

    ATLANTA 14, Georgia

    688-0331

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

    JUNE 11, 1963

    HOSES USED ON DANVILLE NEGROES 

    DANVILLE, VIRGINIA, JUNE 11—After beating Negro children, turning fire hoses on groups of anti-segregation demonstrators here, police have begun jailing parents of juveniles involved in a series of anti-segregation activities since June 1. 

    38 demonstrators were arrested yesterday, June 10, in a series of marches on city hall here. Fire hoses and billy clubs were used to disperse the marchers. 

    Also jailed yesterday was Robert Zellner, a field secretary from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in Atlanta. Zellner, who was photographing the demonstrations, was jailed and charged with “inciting to riot” and “felonious assalut” [sic] after police-men smashed his camera. Injured in yesterday’s demonstrations was SNCC staffer Dorothy Miller, who received a head injury and a gash on her leg. Zellner was held on $5000.00 bail. 

    Also in jail here is Avon Rollins, another SNCC field secretary who was arrested on Saturday, June 8 when police picked him up while sitting in a parked car. 

    Demonstrations here have been conducted by the Danville Christian Progressive Association (DCPA). 

    Three of the leaders of the DCPA—Reverends A.I. Dunlap and Campbell and Mr. Julius Adams—have been indicted by a Grand Jury here on charges of contributing to the delinquency of minors and inciting to riot. Their bail has been set at $5000.00. 

    FURTHER READING
    “Danville Leaders Indicted; Demonstrations to Continue” (June 8, 1963)

    CITE THIS ENTRY
    APA Citation:
    Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. “Hoses Used on Danville Negroes” (June 11, 1963). (2020, December 07). In Encyclopedia Virginia. https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/hoses-used-on-danville-negroes-june-11-1963.
    MLA Citation:
    Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. "“Hoses Used on Danville Negroes” (June 11, 1963)" Encyclopedia Virginia. Virginia Humanities, (07 Dec. 2020). Web. 07 Dec. 2023
    Last updated: 2020, December 07
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