ABSTRACT
Debate over the potential power of social movements has focused on the Southern civil rights experience. This debate has neglected, however, the use of the Southern legal system to harass the civil rights movement. This paper identifies two forms of white response—legalistic and violent—to black protest, and examines their impact on major protest campaigns in several Southern communities. In cities where white officials used legal means and avoided violence, civil rights forces were defeated, underscoring the weaknesses of the movement in the face of such legal control. Final remarks discuss implications for the debate addressed by this paper.
