| Description |
This thesis is a look at the Negro in Utah, his history and his position from early settlement to the late 1960's. The Negro population in Utah increased steadily during most of this period, but it never became more than one-half of one percent of the total population of the state. The Negro population in Utah has been a quiet one, assuming the most menial of tasks and living in the poorest of conditions. It has also been a transient population, moving with jobs around Utah and into other states. The Negro community has been poorly organized because of its liquid nature and because of its poor conditions, both educationally and economically. In the 1960's it has become more organized, and following the national example, it has became more vocal in its opposition to some of the poor conditions existing in the state. The second focus of this thesis is on the actual discrimination encountered by the Negro as he functioned within the state. On a smaller scale most of the national discrimination, including Jim Crowism, existed in Utah through the years. The small number of Negroes excluded the practicability of segregated schools, or laws applying only to the Negro. Practice dictated a harsh discrimination in the field of public accommodations. The economic plight of the Negro was doubly bad -- he lacked the skills to obtain good jobs, and he was denied decent jobs if he obtained the skills. Legally, only one law, a harsh Anti-Miscegenation Law, existed on the state level. The role of the governments of the state has been one of neglect and disinterest in the situation of Negro citizen-so There have been few violent actions taken by white citizens against the Negro, but a background of threats and fear existed to an extent - at least to some Negro citizens. Finally the thesis looks at what has been done to end the discrimination existing within the state 0 A discussion is made of various groups, such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Utah Citizens Organization for Civil Rights. These groups were effective in providing information, organization and pressure on the citizens of the state and the state legislature in gaining the passage of civil rights legislation. Two laws, a public accommodation law and a fair employment practices law, are the most spectacular results of these efforts. These laws were also encouraged by national currents and national laws, which forced Utah to enact such legislation, the last non-Southern state to do so. Another topic of importance is the relationship of the Negro and the Mormon (Latter-Day Saint) Church, which has controlled much of Utah's political, economic and cultural life. Utah, with the passive encouragement of this church, has often seemed racist in its attitudes toward and its treatment of its Negro citizens. |
