The Tuskegee Civic Association was officially founded on April 13,1941 during a meeting at Greenwood Missionary Baptist Church. The Association’s stated mission was “to achieve a type of society in which all citizens [had] the opportunity to participate in societal affairs, and to benefit from or enjoy public services in keeping with their interests, abilities, and needs without limitation or restriction based on race, color, creed, or national origin.”*
They approached this mission in the following three ways: “To study the civic status, problems and resources of… members; to disseminate useful and usable civic information; and to stimulate and facilitate intelligent civic action.”* Over the years the scope of their work grew to include civic and political education on state-wide and national candidates and issues, and increased legal action fighting discrimination and seeking civil rights.
The TCA did not bar anyone from membership; they reached peak membership in 1959 with just under 2000 members.. They met on Sundays at mass meetings hosted by various churches. Different speakers would address the meetings on topics usually relatied to the importance of getting the vote, voting responsibly, and promoting civic education. Activities of the TCA included their voter registration program which aimed to educate Macon County residents about all the hurdles they would face in attempting to register, getting these prospective voters before the board of registrars, and increasing the numbers of registered black voters in Tuskegee and Macon County. The TCA advocated for a cooperative Black and white government, and would recommend slates of candidates in support of this unified goal. They were usually effective at getting their members and other Black voters in Tuskegee to vote for the recommended slate.
The TCA also advocated for various community welfare projects and reforms in order to improve the quality of life for all Black residents of Macon County. They advocated for improved water and sewer service to Black neighborhoods and rural areas, improved streets, traffic signs and lights, sidewalks, recreational opportunities, equal health facilities, and police protection.
In 1957, the TCA accepted the call to lead Black Tuskegee’s response to Senate Bill No. 291. Sponsored by Senator Sam Englehardt, Jr., Bill No. 291 proposed to redraw the city limit of Tuskegee - transforming it from a neat rectangle into a 27-sided shape that would effectively gerrymander all the Black voters out of the city of Tuskegee. To “gerrymander” means to draw a political boundary in a way that benefits the politicians over the people who live in that area. Rather than voters choosing their representatives, gerrymandering empowers politicians to choose their own voters.
The “Crusade for Citizenship” united Macon County’s urban and rural Black populations in a successful effort to keep their hard-earned dollars out of the city that had cast them out. The Black boycott of white-owned Tuskegee officially lasted until November 1960, when the Supreme Court ruled in the case of C. G. Gomillion et al v. Phil M. Lightfoot et al. that the redrawn city limits were unconstitutional. Many of Tuskegee’s Black residents never forgot the sting of their city’s betrayal, and would not shop at white stores again, though. This was one of several nationally important court cases the TCA stewarded through the legal system in pursuit of civil rights.
Photo (top): Jessie P. Guzman and Charles Gomillion, c. 1950. (Tuskegee University Archives)
*Guzman, Jessie P. Crusade for Civic Democracy: The Story of the Tuskegee Civic Association, 1941-1970. Vantage Press: New York. 1984.
