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1956 Nat King Cole's racist attack in Alabama...
1956 Nat King Cole's racist attack in Alabama...
Item # 725412
April 12, 1956
THE DETROIT FREE PRESS, April 12, 1956
* Jazz musician Nat King Cole attacked
* Municipal Auditorium in Birmingham
* North Alabama White Citizens' Council
* Southern Civil Rights - desegregation movement
The back page has three related photos regarding the Birmingham, Alabama stage attack on Nat King Cole by white supremacist with heading: "The Discord Was From the Audience" (see images)
Complete with 48 pages, light toning and minor wear at the margins, small binding holes along the spine, generally nice.
background: On April 10, 1956, the internationally acclaimed jazz pianist and vocalist Nat King Cole was the victim of a violent, racially motivated assault while performing before an all-white audience at the Municipal Auditorium in his hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. During the first of two scheduled shows, four members of the North Alabama White Citizens' Council—a white supremacist group—stormed the stage as Cole began his performance of "Little Girl," tackling him from his piano bench and causing him to suffer a minor back injury. While the attackers were quickly apprehended by police who had been alerted to a potential disturbance, the incident served as a chilling manifestation of the "Massive Resistance" against integration following the Brown v. Board of Education ruling. Despite receiving a ten-minute standing ovation from the audience upon his brief return to the stage, Cole was deeply shaken and later faced complex criticism from Civil Rights leaders for his initial willingness to perform for segregated crowds. This attack, coupled with the subsequent loss of national sponsors for The Nat King Cole Show due to racial prejudice, ultimately pushed the singer toward a more overt role in the Civil Rights Movement, famously remarking that "Madison Avenue is afraid of the dark" as he became a vocal advocate for equality.
Category: The 20th Century
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$48.00
