The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman | Historical Context

The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman Historical Context

The Civil Rights Movement in

Louisiana

In 1971, when Ernest Gaines published The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, the United States had just seen a time of great social and political upheaval. Throughout the 1960s, African Americans had been struggling to gain equality. Various types of protests, such as the demonstrations described in the novel, were helping to bring centuries-long practices like segregation and racial discrimination to an end. Civil rights were still in the forefront of many African Americans' minds in 1971. Gaines's home state of Louisiana became famous during the 1960s for two events: the New Orleans school integration crisis and the Bogalusa movement.

In its 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, the Supreme Court outlawed segregation in public schools. Nevertheless, by 1960 the New Orleans school board had still made no progress toward integrating its schools. That fall, Judge Skelly Wright forced the board to come up with a plan for...
(read more)