Author Type

Graduate Student

Date of Award

1994

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Status

Version of Record

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Goings, Kenneth W.

Abstract

This paper challenges the belief that state of Florida was different from other southern states in terms of race relations during the modern civil rights movement. As an evidence, the study examines the racial changes that took place in Riviera Beach, Florida, in the 1950s and 1960s. Despite the 1944 Supreme Court decision, Smith vs. Allwright, it took almost two decades for the African-American community in Riviera Beach to elect its first African-American representative in the city government. Furthermore, not until African-Americans had achieved a majority in the city council in 1971, were there any significant changes in city services and employment for African-Americans. African-Americans were able to end discrimination in public accommodations only after demonstrations, sit-ins, and lawsuits. Again, despite the 1954 Supreme Court decision Brown vs. Board of Education, it took almost two decades to desegregate public schools in Riviera Beach and Palm Beach County.

Extent

101 p.

Comments

Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters|FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection|Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1994.|Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters

Identifier

FADT15067

Format

pdf

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