I’m curious as to whether segregation was universal or were there parts of the South where people were more integrated. What types of business and organizations, if any, catered for an integrated crowd?
Neighborhoods. They weren’t the perfect bastion of integration or anything, but black and white neighborhoods were in close proximity to one another in Little Rock, Arkansas. This changed following the Little Rock school crisis in 1957 when whites started moving out of the city in droves.
Public Transportation. We’re all familiar with the bus company in Montgomery, Alabama were Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat and the subsequent boycott. Blacks and whites both used trollies and buses in many cities even if they were kept separate but sitting in different areas.
Retail Stores: Large department stores and even small butcher shops served both black and white customers.
I’m a little confused. If blacks and whites lived in separate neighborhoods, wouldn’t that be at least de facto segregation, even if those neighborhoods adjoined? What would come between those neighborhoods in Arkansas, other ethnic neighborhoods? Also, I don’t know of any cities where there were separate buses and trollies for blacks and whites; segregation meant segregated within a bus or trolly. Or am I missing something in your response? If so, I apologize.
Catholic schools? My mom taught in a Catholic school in Georgia that had been integrated since its founding (I want to say in the 40’s or early 50’s) and when the public schools integrated they looked at the Catholic schools to see how it was done.
Nearly all businesses were segregated in one way or another in the South. Some stores would cater to both Blacks and Whites (e.g., Woolworth’s), but would have separate rest room facilities, drinking fountains, and, of course, lunch counters.
There was plenty of de facto segregation, too, that that was a function of the fact that people tended to shop where they lived, and where they lived was segregated.
You would have Black neighborhoods and White neighborhoods. While they could be near each other, there were clear lines of demarcation – no White would move into a Black neighborhood, and no Black would be allowed to move into a White neighborhood.
There were very few fully integrated businesses in the South. The Whites would not shop at them unless there were other signs of the racial divide.
Was this true even of fast food restaurants like McDonald’s? How about gas stations on the highway or in commercial or industrial districts?
Yeah, it’s de facto segregation. However, whites and blacks were still closer to one another in southern neighborhoods during the era of Jim Crow. Following Brown v. the Board of Education, southerners adopted the northern method of segregating neighborhoods. i.e. They simply moved away. I think there were some areas of Little Rock where poor whites did live in the same neighborhood as blacks. Next time I’m at the library I’ll have to check the directories from the 1920s and 30s to see. (They listed blacks as “colored” in the directory back then.)
You’re not missing anything. It’s just that segregation was complex. A white person could get on a trolly in Little Rock and be seated right in front of a black person. Or stand next to one because there were no seats available.
In fact, Rosa Parks was only hassled for sitting up front when a white person wanted the seat, IIRC. (No seats in the back). She was uppity enough to refuse, which suggests it was not that unheard of for someone to sit up front, just to refuse to knuckle under when told.
I remember my family drove down to Florida about 1963(?) and the gas station restroom said “Whites Only” on the door. My dad asked if I knew what it meant, and of course at that age I had no clue.