(Charles Morgan, Jr., Southern Director of the ACLU in…
![“(Charles Morgan, Jr., Southern Director of the ACLU in 1966, upon seeing conditions in the Jefferson County jail): ...I knew that [Southern whites] would have annihilated blacks had they been more literate and less useful. In Hitler's Germany armbands identified Jews. Those with black skin could…” quote by Wayne Greenhaw](https://sms4smile.com/q/i/b0d/wayne-greenhaw-135027_black-skin_charles-morgan-jr-southern-director-of-t_1940035.jpg)
““ (Charles Morgan, Jr., Southern Director of the ACLU in 1966, upon seeing conditions in the Jefferson County jail): ...I knew that [Southern whites] would have annihilated blacks had they been more literate and less useful. In Hitler's Germany armbands identified Jews. Those with black skin could have been annihilated more easily. But they were the labor pool with which to break strikes. They served as the pickers of cotton, the diggers of ditches. They emptied bedpans and cleaned the outhouses of our lives. Uneducated, property-less, disenfranchised, and excluded from justice, except as defendants, they were no threat to whites. While they remained useful and didn't get 'out of line,' their lives were assured, for no matter how worthless lower-class white folks said blacks were, the rich, well born, and able upper-class whites knew that they and black folks were really the only people indispensably required by Our Southern Way of Life. (188)””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
Southern whites historically exploited black labor, viewing them as indispensable yet disposable, sustaining an oppressive social order.
In simple terms: Exploitation kept blacks both needed and oppressed.
Key Takeaway
Recognize and dismantle systemic oppression.
Themes
racism
exploitation
history
social hierarchy
injustice
Mood
somber
determined
critical
Type
Black skin:1
Judaism:0
Way of life:1
Southern Whites:1
Said Blacks:0
Annihilated Blacks:1
Whites Annihilated:0
Whites Knew:1
When to use this quote
- education reform
- policy change
- community activism
Key Concepts
structural inequality
power dynamics
historical revisionism
Questions to Reflect On
- How does this history affect today?
- What steps undo such oppression?
A Different Perspective
Complex historical context may be oversimplified.