Cox v. Louisiana 1965

AuthorDaniel Brannen, Richard Hanes, Elizabeth Shaw
Pages16-22

Page 16

Appellant: Reverend B. Elton Cox

Appellee: State of Louisiana

Appellant's Claim: That convicting him for leading a peaceful demonstration against segregation violated the First Amendment.

Chief Lawyer for Appellant: Carl Rochlin

Chief Lawyer for Appellee: Ralph L. Roy

Justices for the Court: Hugo Lafayette Black (in Cox I), William J. Brennan, Jr., Tom C. Clark (in Cox I), William O. Douglas, Arthur Goldberg (writing for the Court), Potter Stewart, Earl Warren

Justices Dissenting: Hugo Lafayette Black (in Cox II), Tom C. Clark (in Cox II), John Marshall Harlan II, Byron R. White

Date of Decision: January 18, 1965

Decision: Cox's convictions violated the freedoms of speech and assembly.

Significance: The Court said states cannot use public welfare laws to punish unpopular speech or to discriminate against minority viewpoints.

Stop segregation

In the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the U.S. Supreme Court declared segregation in public schools to be unconstitutional. Segregation was the practice of separating black and white people

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in different facilities. After Brown, however, segregation continued in public places such as restaurants, buses, restrooms, and water fountains.

Associate Justice Arthur Goldberg. Courtesy of the Supreme Court of the United States.

In the 1960s, African Americans such as Martin Luther King, Jr. led a civil rights movement to end segregation and achieve equality for African Americans. Public protests were a popular and important part of this movement. By gathering in public to oppose segregation and other unfair practices, protestors exercised the First Amendment freedoms of speech and assembly.

The government did not always like the civil rights protests. White Americans, who did not want African Americans to achieve equality, sometimes controlled governments. Some government officials were concerned that protests would get out of control and lead to riots and other illegal behavior. Efforts to silence civil rights protestors often interfered with First Amendment rights. That is what happened in Cox v. Louisiana.

Protests in Baton Rouge

On December 14, 1961, the Congress of Racial Equality ("CORE") organized a protest in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The protestors were twenty-three black students from Southern University. They picketed segregated lunch counters in Baton Rouge and urged people to boycott stores with

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such counters. The twenty-three students were arrested and jailed in the courthouse in Baton Rouge.

The following day, about 2,000 black students marched from Southern University to downtown Baton Rouge to protest against the arrests and segregation in general. Reverend B. Elton Cox, a member of CORE and a Congregational minister, led the students in their march. He instructed them to be orderly and peaceful.

When the group arrived downtown, two city officials approached Cox and asked him what his group was doing. Cox said they were protesting the arrests and segregation by marching to the courthouse to say prayers, sing hymns, and display signs. The officials asked Cox to disband the group...

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