An Easy Burden2005

							Katy Lopez
8 March 2005


Andrew Young, An Easy Burden: the Civil Rights Movement and the Transformation of
      America (New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1996).


       In 1896, Plessy v. Ferguson legalized the segregation of society and gave

credence to Jim Crowism throughout the South. In the fifty-eight years during which

that ruling stood, American society became entrenched in its racist attitudes and

prejudices. That supremacist attitude, which prevailed in all areas of the nation, formed

a barrier which thwarted attempts at racial equality even following the 1954 Brown v.

Board decision. Particularly within the South, white society refused to allow the

integration of its towns and cities and threatened the use of violence to supplant any

challenges. The north did not prove much more accommodating as minorities laborers

had limited incomes, substandard housing, and little access to social services.

Overcoming those realities and destroying an unfair and unconstitutional society would

required tremendous sacrifice and dedication from any attempting the feat. Despite this

knowledge, a group of individuals willingly placed the responsibility for the movement

upon their shoulders and began slowly chipping away at the hypocritical system.

Andrew Young, a member of the SCLC and a part of Martin Luther King’s inner circle,

took part in the movement and dedicated himself to the cause. While his book revolves

around Young’s personal experiences, it provides information on the leadership and inner

workings of the SCLC. With the insights gained through his participation, Young’s

account most importantly offers a view of the rise and fall of Civil Rights movement.

#      The struggle for equality, which began making earnest strides through the efforts
of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, originated as a faith-based movement.

This group of primarily preachers rooted in and devoted to the principles of Christianity,

firmly maintained that the harshness and violence of their oppressors could only be

overcome through compassion and non-violence. That “turn the other cheek” mentality,

taught by Christ, was the only acceptable response and all understood the centrality of

that emphasis. But the commitment to faith permeated beyond the upper levels of the

organization as Young insists that demonstrators in Albany, Birmingham, St. Augustine,

and all similar events held the same unwavering religious commitment as King and the

other leaders. They knew God would protect them from any harm and grant them

victory and that unshakeable faith allowed countless individuals to place themselves in

the midst of danger. He powerfully recalled how demonstrators, in the face of armed

opponents and almost certain physical harm, relied solely upon faith to meet the violence

and intolerance which they encountered. The burden for equality, however heavy, was

an “easy burden” because of the justness of the cause and those who bore it never

resented its weight. Young identifies religion as the one factor which make the struggle

for civil rights possible and successful.

       More than that, however, Young claims that morality dictated the causes the

movement embraced. Discriminatory societies were by nature immoral as well as

constitutional and needed alteration. However, King and his cohorts did not stop there

and intensified their scope to include an array of social issues. They criticized the lack

of attention to the poverty plaguing minority groups, denounced the Vietnam War, and

questioned the government’s lack of concern over the most pressing social ills.     These

issues, which clearly fell outside of the realm of civil rights, were moral problems
actively decaying America and the SCLC had a responsibility to correct them. King,

despite the concerns of other staff members, would not back down from his Christian

obligations even though they “challenged . . . the basic structure of the American

economy.”1 From Operation Breadbasket in Chicago to the Poor People’s Campaign

scheduled for Washington, King never allowed his staff to retreat from any just cause.

       With the assassination of King, the SCLC and the movement it led, could not

sustain itself. While the reasons for its collapse may appear plentiful, Young simply

attributes it to a loss of faith. King, undoubtedly committed to the Christian-based

program, kept those around him focused on the essential religious tenets. Without him,

that united vision dissipated as King’s successor Ralph Abernathy could not draw out

“the most moral, disciplined, and determined qualities” of those under him.2 But

perhaps more importantly, participants lost a “basic religious awareness of who [they

were] as child[ren] of God.”3 Other groups which tried to further the cause such as the

SNCC and the Black Power movement, traded in the reliance upon faith for an emphasis

on violence. In ignoring that central element, those secondary civil rights groups

“symbolized a crisis in faith, for it was faith that had sustained the movement through

beatings, jailings, setbacks, and betrayals since the early days of Montgomery” and they

were destined to fail.4 When King died, he took along with him the moral essential for

survival.

1
       1Young, Burden, 470.
2
       2Ibid, 474.
3
       3Ibid, 529.
4
       4Ibid, 397.
       Outside of his commentary upon the role of Christianity, Young addresses the

role of the government in the movement. Regarding the assassination of King, he

speculates that Johnson’s denunciation of King following his anti-poverty, anti-war

commentary might have signaled a complacency toward his removal.5 He also

confirmed Hoover’s harassment and surveillance of King and while no direct claims are

made Young does not discount the possibility of FBI involvement. Aside from that

subject, he also lauds the federal court system for its support of the early movement.

Calling southern judges the “unsung heroes of democracy”, he believes their willingness

to allow demonstrations such as the March to Selma granted crucial protection for SCLC

events. The leadership understood their crucial role and for that reason refused to act

contrary to federal orders. Without the availability of that legal structure, Young

questions whether success would have been as forthcoming.

       Overall, this work is impressive for it grants an inside view into the Civil Rights

movement. While the facts surrounding the marches, boycotts, and even violence are

well researched, this text presents an added first-person dimension. He was in the

planning meetings, discussed the current events with King, and encountered the violence

first-hand. He sacrificed of himself to destroy a segregated America and for those

reasons, his viewpoints cannot be overlooked.




5
       5Ibid, 472.