Interview with Solomon S. Seay

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Date
2006 (Creation date: 1987-05-08)
Main contributors
Elwood, William A; Kulish, Mykola
Summary
Part one. Shots of Beulah Johnson's Tuskegee house and neighborhood. At 3:40 change to William Elwood interviewing Mayor Johnny Ford outside Tuskegee municipal building about the impact of the Voting Rights Act, Gomillion v. Lightfoot case, Fred Gray, and being mayor for 15 years. At 12:05 change to Elwood interviewing civil rights attorney Solomon S. Seay, Jr., in Montgomery about Seay's background and education, his military service experience, and watching the top Brown v. Board of Education lawyers practice the case at Howard Law School. Part two. Seay recounts why he became a lawyer, his reaction to the Brown v. Board of Education ruling, what white leaders did in Montgomery to circumvent the Brown decision and keep schools segregated, and how both sides used the law to get what they want. Part three. Seay tells the history of the neighborhood of Madison Park in Montgomery and goes over cases he’s tried. Part four. Mr. Seay compares working on criminal cases to trying civil rights cases. He discusses Drake v. Covington County Board of Education, the Montgomery march, and voting rights. Disc 121. Footage of Seay's office, Montgomery outdoor scenes.
Contributors
Seay, Solomon S., 1931- (Interviewee); Elwood, William A; Kulish, Mykola
Subjects
African Americans -- Civil rights -- History; African Americans -- Education -- History; Discrimination in education -- Law and legislation -- United States; School integration -- United States -- History; Segregation in education -- United States -- History
Collection
William A. Elwood Civil Rights Lawyers Project
Unit
Robertson Media Center
Language
English
Related Items
Road to Brown : the untold story of "the man who killed Jim Crow."; William A. Elwood Civil Rights Lawyers Project
Notes
Source footage for the documentary, The road to Brown : the untold story of “the man who killed Jim Crow” (California Newsreel, 1990), about the life of Charles Hamilton Houston, his crusade for civil rights, and the events that led to Brown v. the Board of Education, the 1954 Supreme Court decision that declared the doctrine of separate but equal to be illegal.
Title supplied by cataloger.
Recorded at Montgomery, Alabama.

Creation/Production Credits

Digitized by: Cincinnati, Ohio : The PPS Group, 2006.

Access Restrictions

This item is accessible by: the public.