12 Heartwarming Stories About Famous Figures Who Refused Segregation

Clark Gable likely could not desegregate Hollywood because of the events in "Gone With the Wind".Gone With the WindGable needed help from a young African American extra to desegregate the set.A young African American extra named Lennie Bluett approached Gable about segregation.. Lennie Bluett, who was 18, named this extra. He approached Gable about the shocking segregation issue he found on set. Bluett saw the toilets set up for the cast were racially separated, which angered the young actor. Bluett tried to gather other older Black actors on set, but they feared losing the money needed for their families. Finally, with help from two other extras, Bluett found Gable and took the issue straight to his dressing room.

Gable agreed to see the problem affecting Black actors on set. He saw the segregated toilets.Gable felt angry about the segregation.Gable was shocked this issue appeared on his movie set. He immediately called the director.Gable phoned the director of "Gone With the Wind" and demanded inclusive toilets. The discriminatory signs were removed, and Gable and Bluett desegregated the set.The director told Gable that if the segregated toilets lacked racial inclusion, he would not play the lead role of Rhett Butler. Soon after, discriminatory signs separating African Americans were removed. Bluett and Gable's efforts desegregated the set.

The University of Colorado football team faced a challenge.The University of Colorado football team stood against discrimination.Segregation happened during the 1957 Orange Bowl. The team got selected for the Orange Bowl in Miami; this was a big deal since they had not played since 1937. Integration was slowly happening in America, but the South held onto old Jim Crow laws. College teams in the South remained unintegrated. Tension grew when it became known the Colorado team faced the Clemson Tigers. The Clemson Tigers strongly opposed playing a team with two Black players. Despite the tension from the team's integration, the Colorado University football team decided they would travel to Miami Beach to play the Clemson Tigers, even if the other team boycotted.

That was not the only problem the Colorado team faced.The Colorado team had to face segregation at Miami Beach., because Miami Beach was still segregated. The team decided they would not play the Orange Bowl unless all players could stay in the same hotel. The hotel where the team had to stay argued against letting the two Black players stay there. The team stood together again and refused to accept no. The white players stated that if the Black players could not stay at the hotel or enter the front door, they would only go where the Black players could go. The team’s friendship and courage showed that even college football teams could fight segregation.

Ray Charles pioneered soul music in American music history. Charles joined the civil rights movement. He became one of the first celebrities to reject Jim Crow laws in the South. Many people worldwide praise Charles for becoming a cultural icon. Charles showed Black people they had a voice and could control their own futures despite huge oppression and discrimination. Charles refused to play shows lacking racial integration.

A major event in his career that earned Charles respect occurred whenhe refused to play in Augusta, Georgia, in 1961. Charles learned the theater seating was segregated. He told those in charge he would not perform unless the crowd was integrated. Charles faced a lawsuit for this defiance and was fined for breaking his contract.Charles refused to perform in Augusta, Georgia, in 1961. When Charles learned the theater seating was segregated, he told those in charge he would not perform unless the crowd was integrated. Charles went on to be sued for his act of defiance and was fined for breach of contract.

Frank Sinatra was a top pop culture musician of his era. His music stays relevant today. Many know Sinatra led a troubled, dangerous life. This musician also fiercely supported racial inclusion and hated segregation. Sinatra played a large role in the American civil rights movement, helping the movement financially. During the 1950s, Sinatra held great power in entertainment. He started demanding that the orchestra backing him integrate racially.the orchestra that backed himSinatra's albums featured racial integration.

This move opened doors for Black musicians. Sinatra’s action also showed he was not prejudiced or racist. In Las Vegas, Sinatra performed often at many hotels during the 1950s and 1960s. He became one of the key figures in the desegregation of Las Vegas.These are key figures in Las Vegas desegregation.Sinatra soon learned Black performers could not stay in the hotels they played at. They had to stay in poor quarters in dangerous parts of Las Vegas. Sinatra got angry about this. He threatened to leave Las Vegas and never play at those hotels again. His actions helped desegregate Las Vegas.

Betty White became a well-known American celebrity, though she was not always as loved as she is now. In 1954, during the civil rights movement, White brought a young Black guest onto her show, knowing it might get her show canceled.This is The Betty White Show.The Betty White Show gave the young Black performer Arthur Duncan his big break as a tap dancer and entertainer. Accounts show Duncan appeared on three episodes ofThis is The Betty White Show., which drew heavy criticism from white audiences, especially those in Southern states.

When the first episode aired, US Southern states protested, threatening a boycott if Duncan left. White gave Duncan more screen time. White told her Southern viewers, “I’m sorry. Live with it.” White did not regret this decision.Her show ended in 1954.Duncan appeared on The Betty White Show.The Betty White Show.This allowed Duncan an excellent career. He is grateful to White for giving him a chance.

Josephine Baker became a global star. She rose above homelessness in the US and succeeded in Paris. Baker became a top performer in French history.Baker served as a World War II spy.Josephine Baker was a civil rights activist. After serving as a WWII spy, Baker returned to the US and faced segregation, similar to what she saw as a child in St. Louis.

Baker showed bravery by refusing US clubs that barred integrated audiences. Club owners needed to stop segregation if they wanted her to perform. Baker used her strength and determination against discrimination.Baker’s fight against discrimination and segregation earned her recognition from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People recognized Baker.

The Beatles used their powerful voices during the American civil rights movement. They opposed prejudice. Their music drew from African American music genres. The band did not care about racially segregated audiences during their shows. The band once said they always wanted to play for mixed-race crowds. Tension appeared during their 1964 performance in Florida after the Beatles learned that...The band wanted to play mixed-race crowds. Tension arose in Florida in 1964 for their performance at the 1964 concert at Jacksonville’s Gator Bowl.The plan to segregate the audience violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Beatles threatened to cancel the show.

The band refused to play unless African Americans could sit anywhere they wanted in the audience. During talks about audience segregation, John Lennon, a leading Beatles figure, said they never played to segregated audiences. He also stated the band would not start playing to segregated audiences at the Gator Bowl. Five days before the show, the Beatles issued an official statement to promoters: they would not perform unless theFive days before the show, the Beatles sent an official statement to promoters. They stated they would not perform unless the audience was racially integrated.Fans and the band pressured the promoters. The promoters had no choice but to follow the Beatles’ wishes.

Helen Hayes, a major American theater icon, opposed segregation during the civil rights movement. Hayes played a key role in theThe National Theater faced desegregation.Washington, DC. During the 1940s, the National Theater segregated its audiences, frustrating performers and fans. In 1947, the National Theater faced a lawsuit that started the desegregation movement. Edward Henderson accused the National Theater of racial discrimination when he sought a ticket for the show.Eagle RampantIn 1946, his lawsuit caused picketing by the Committee for Racial Democracy and the NAACP. These groups sought to end segregation at theater productions.

After months without success, the Actors Equity Association joined the CRD and the NAACP. Many theater actors felt disturbed, embarrassed, and disgusted by the segregation in Washington, DC. Helen Hayes, the Actors Equity Association vice president, suggested showing Washington, DC that integrated audiences were possible. Her ideas and actions helped desegregate theaters. Hayes refused to perform at the National Theater until it integrated. She also performed at an integrated theater that sold out two weeks before the show. Hayes did not play at the National Theater until it became desegregated and under new ownership in 1953.

Baseball remained segregated for many years in the 1940s. However, many Black and white people wanted the sport integrated. Brooklyn Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey took action by signing an African American player. This move started American baseball's integration of races. Racial intolerance was a big problem in baseball. Economic issues also pushed for segregation to continue. One of the significant economic contributors was the fact that major leagues rented their stadiums to the Negro Leagues when their home teams traveled.This rental arrangement with the Negro Leagues was a significant economic contributor.Major leagues rented their stadiums to the Negro Leagues when their home teams were on the road.

Integrating races would strain the Negro Leagues. Top players being drafted into major league teams meant the Negro Leagues would lack the funds or players needed to rent major league stadiums. Despite this economic problem and the lost revenue from the Negro Leagues, the Brooklyn Dodgers still decided to sign the talented African American Jackie Robinson. The Dodgers officially signed Robinson on October 23rd, 1945, and soon after, other Black players joined the team.

During the 1930s, Benny Goodman became the most popular jazz instrumentalist as the genre peaked in America. People called Goodman the “King of Swing” during his career and he became an international sensation. Many people do not know Goodman supported the civil rights movement. In the late 1930s, Black and white performers could not perform together. This ban was stronger in the South than the North, yet it was generally not accepted. Goodman played with two African American bandmates.

During the late 1930s, he could have faced custody forBenny Goodman performed with a racially mixed band.He did not care; he wanted to perform with the best musicians, regardless of race. Goodman's band grew so popular they added a fourth member, forming a quartet. Goodman’s racially mixed band could have led to hisHe was arrested below the Mason-Dixon line.He chose to keep making music, increasing his popularity, and avoided the South. His actions let more racially mixed bands start and grow their music.

In 1969, Mister Rogers and Officer Clemmons shared a kiddie pool on a hot summer day, soaking their feet andFred Rogers shared a towel.They dried off. They took off their shoes, removed their socks, rolled up their pant legs, and swished their feet together.

Although the...The Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed.This act ended segregation in public places, like swimming pools, but resistance came often. Rogers wanted this resistance to stop, so he led by example. He made a statement about inclusion during the civil rights movement.

"They didn't want Black people to come and swim in their swimming pools, and Fred said, 'That is absolutely ridiculous,'"Clemmons recalled...Clemmons recalled in the 2018 documentary.Fred Rogers won 'Won't You Be My Neighbor?'

Clemmons told WBUR that he first thought the scene would be much harder, with Rogers talking about Martin Luther King Jr., who had been recently killed. However, Clemmons saw that just asking a Black man to share his pool and towel made Rogers make a big statement. He said:

My God, those were powerful words. Sitting with him, I thought, “Oh, something wonderful is happening here. This is not what it looks like. It's much bigger.”

The Louis Armstrong..."Little Rock Crisis"The "Little Rock Crisis" began in 1957. Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus used the state's National Guard against a Supreme Court ruling to stop nine African-American students from attending Little Rock's Central High School, a school that was formerly all-white.

Jazz legend Louis Armstrong planned a State Department tour of the Soviet Union, supposedly to show America's democratic values. However, he felt sickened by the hypocrisy in the American South and annoyed by President Eisenhower delaying federal troops to fix the crisis.

Louis ArmstrongArmstrong spoke directly to TV cameras.He was booked to play a show from Grand Forks, North Dakota:

They ignore the Constitution. School teaches it, but parents tell kids they don't have to follow it; they say, 'we get away with it after a hundred years.' So, no one reports on each other. If the Soviets ask me what's happening if I go now, I cannot lie; that is one thing.

In 2007, Larry Lubenow interviewed Armstrong as a student reporter.Lubenow told NPR.Lubenow said the musician had much harsher opinions than what the press reported.

Armstrong called Faubus a bad mother. He stated that, for him, Ike and the government could fail. He sang his version of the "Star-spangled Banner" to him with crude lyrics: 'oh, say can you mothers - M-F - see by the M-F early light?' He was very angry.

Lubenow asked Armstrong for a quote he could print. Armstrong told him that Fabus was "an ignorant plowboy."

Armstrong canceled the USSR trip. Eisenhower sent federal troops before the month ended to escort African-American children to school.