Wading in for Equality

1. Set Focus
Pose this essential question: How did Jim Crow segregation affect the lives of Black Americans?

2. List Vocabulary
Share some of the challenging vocabulary words in the article. Encourage students to use context to infer meanings as they read.

• rampant (p. 19)
• egregious (p. 19)
• undeterred (p. 20)
• convened (p. 20)
• assailant (p. 20)
• galvanize (p. 21)

3. Engage
Have students share what they already know about Jim Crow laws. Ask: Why would wanting to swim at a beach lead to a violent struggle?

4. Read and Discuss
Ask students to read the Upfront article about the Biloxi wade-ins. Review why the article is a secondary source. (It was written by someone who didn’t personally experience or witness the events.) Then pose these critical-thinking questions and ask students to cite text evidence when answering them::

• What were the Biloxi wade-ins? Why were they important to the civil rights movement? (The Biloxi wade-ins were organized protests meant to call attention to, and defy, the racist laws that prohibited Black citizens from using public beaches in the Jim Crow South. According to the article, they were important to the civil rights movement because it was the first time in Mississippi’s history that Black people protesting as a group against segregation were prepared to die for the sake of racial equality.)

• What rationale does the article’s author give for his claim that “In Biloxi, the beaches were an egregious example of segregation”? (The author states that federal taxpayer dollars had gone into developing the 26-mile-long coastline along the Gulf of Mexico, which means that the beaches are public and owned by all tax payers. However, White waterfront property owners, with support of the local government, treated the beaches as if they were private property, specifically to keep Black citizens from using them.)

• How was the last wade-in, in 1963, similar to and different from the one on April 24, 1960? What can you infer about the impact of the wade-ins based on these differences? (At the April 24, 1960, wade-in, protesters were violently attacked by an angry mob of White people while the police did nothing. At the last wade-in, an angry mob showed up again, but the police protected the protesters. One can infer that the wade-ins had a positive effect on the legal rights of Black citizens but did not solve the hatred and bigotry at the root of Jim Crow laws.)

• Why is the last section of the article titled “A Forgotten History?” (According to the article, the wade-ins haven’t received as much attention as other civil rights protests, such as the Greensboro sit-ins and the Montgomery bus boycott.)

5. Use the Primary Sources
Project, distribute, or assign in Google Classroom the PDF The First Wade-In which features an excerpt from Dr. Gilbert R. Mason’s memoir. Discuss what makes the excerpt a primary source. (It provides firsthand evidence concerning the topic.) Have students read the excerpts and answer the questions below (which appear on the PDF without answers).

• How would you describe the tone and purpose of this excerpt from Mason’s memoir? (The tone can be described as serious. The purpose is to explain why and how the first wade-in came about.)

• What main ideas about the Biloxi wade-ins does Mason convey through his memoir? (The first main idea Mason conveys is how racism and Jim Crow laws prohibited Black people from using the beaches that were available to White people, and led to threats and violence against Black people when they tried to use them. The excerpt then explains the legal argument that informed the protests, describes the initial planning, and conveys the sense of danger and menace that the waders felt when they were confronted by the police for using the beach.)

• Mason writes that “Black maids or babysitters sometimes brought white children in their care to the beach without objection.” What does this detail suggest about segregation and life under Jim Crow? (This detail suggests that White people did not object to Black people having access to the beach as long as it was in the service of White people. This detail highlights that segregation was in place specifically to maintain the privileged status of White people.) 

• Summarize the argument between Mason and the police. What can you infer from this exchange about the Biloxi police at the time? (The police say that the beach is private property. Mason points out that there’s county property on the beach, which indicates that it’s public property. The police tell him to come down to the station. You can infer from this exchange that the police are determined to enforce segregation, even if it means being dishonest.)

• How can reading a primary source add to someone’s understanding of a historical event? (Students’ answers may vary, but they may note that a primary source can help people better understand a historical event by allowing them to connect to it on an emotional level.)

6. Writing Prompt
Research one of the events included in the timeline but not discussed in-depth in the article. Write a brief summary of the event.

7. Quiz
Use the quiz to assess comprehension and Analyze the Photo to practice visual analysis.

8. Classroom Debate
Is the U.S. still segregated?

9. Broadening Perspectives
Have students watch the video from The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture called #APeoplesJourney: From Sit-Ins To Wade-Ins (available on YouTube) and have students discuss how the Biloxi wade-ins fit into the broader desegregation movement.