Nationwide Historic Context Study:
The Role of the National Guard in the
Civil Rights Movement
#07-366
Background:
The mission of the National Guard is rooted in the idea
that it is the privilege and responsibility of our able-bodied
citizens to be ready at all times to bear arms for the
common defense. Holding true to this mandate, the
National Guard was called to both state and federal duty
during the height of this country’s Civil Rights
Movement. As many published works document the
African-American freedom struggle of the modern civil
rights movement and its related historical sites, no such
study exists that specifically addresses the role of the
National Guard within the movement or their cultural
resources. Through research and field surveys, this project
establishes a context outlining the Army National Guard’s
presence during key civil rights disturbances of the 1950s
and 1960s, which in turn assists in understanding and
interpreting the significance of Army National Guard
properties, like armories, in relation to the Civil Rights
Movement.
Objective:
Charged with a mandate to identify, inventory, and protect
cultural resources, per Sections 110 and 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act, the National Guard, as
well as other Federal agencies, rely on historic contexts in
which to assess the historical significance of their cultural
resources. With compliance in mind, the objective of the
project is two-fold; first to develop a baseline historic
context examining the role of the National Guard in the
civil rights movement and secondly, to provide a process
by which to survey, interpret, and evaluate related
National Guard properties for historical significance
within that context.
Summary of Approach:
This project focuses on the development of a historic
context regarding the role of the National Guard in the
civil rights movement and the identification and
evaluation of any related National Guard cultural
resources within that context. Four states (Arkansas,
Mississippi, Alabama, and California) were chosen for
known participation of National Guard troops in civil
rights disturbances including school desegregation at
Little Rock Central High School (1957), The University of
Mississippi (1962), The University of Alabama (1963),
and riot control in Watts (1965). A comparison across
four states demonstrates the differences in the role of the
National Guard at the state level, participation in the
movement, and the differences in the movement in
separate states. The context serves as a framework within
which National Guard properties may be evaluated for
their significance within the civil rights movement and
establish thresholds of eligibility to the National Register
of Historic Places. Intensive archival research and site
visits pinpointed the National Guard’s actual physical
locations (armories, staging areas, command stations,
schools, etc.) during these incidents.
Benefit:
This project establishes a framework within which the
properties held by the National Guard, as well as other
Federal agencies, may be evaluated for their significance
in the Civil Rights Movement and provides a systematic
method to identify, inventory, and evaluate the cultural
resources relating to this context.
Accomplishments:
A baseline historic context of the role of the National
Guard presents the differences and participation of the
National Guard in civil rights disturbances across four
states’ during the 1950s and 1960s. Properties currently
owned by the National Guard relating to these incidents
are identified and evaluated for significance within the
developed context.
Contact Information:
Stacey L. Griffin, MA Heather R. Puckett, MA, RPA
Sr. Architectural Historian Statewide Cultural Resources Specialist
Panamerican Consultants, Inc. Alabama Army National Guard
924 26
th
Avenue East P.O. Box 3711
Tuscaloosa, Alabama 35404 Montgomery, Alabama 36109
Phone: 205.556.3096 Phone: 334.271.8181
Fax: 205.556.1144 Fax: 334.213.7669
REVISED 9/25/2008
