Carl Braden

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Carl Braden
Born(1914-06-24)June 24, 1914
Peace Movement
SpouseAnne Braden
Children3

Carl Braden (June 24, 1914 – February 18, 1975) was a

trade unionist, journalist, and activist who was known for his work in the civil rights movement
.

Biography

Braden was born in New Albany, Indiana, and died in Louisville, Kentucky.

He worked for the

Knoxville Journal, the New York Daily News, the Chicago Tribune, the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, Newsweek, and the Federated Press
.

In 1948, while working as a reporter in Kentucky, he met and married fellow journalist Anne Gambrell McCarty.

Rhodes Scholar at New College of University of Oxford and 1980 graduate of Harvard Law School, where he preceded Barack Obama as editor of the Harvard Law Review.[3][4] Anita, born in 1953, died of a pulmonary disorder at the age of 11. Elizabeth, born in 1960, has worked as a teacher in many countries around the world, serving as of 2006 in that capacity in rural Ethiopia.[citation needed
]

The Bradens dedicated their lives to impelling whites into the cause of justice for all people, and especially fought racism.[5] After Carl's death, Anne Braden remained active in networks of anti-racist work. While raising their children, Carl and his wife

white supremacists
.

Early activism

In 1948, Carl Braden along with his wife Anne involved themselves in

Progressive Party for the presidency. Soon after Wallace's defeat, they left mainstream journalism to apply their talent as writers to the interracial left wing of the labor movement through the FE (Farm and Equipment Workers) Union, representing Louisville's International Harvester employees.[6]

The Wade incident of 1954

In 1954, directly confronting the practice of rigid racial segregation of residential neighborhoods, the Bradens assisted an African-American couple, Andrew and Charlotte Wade, who wanted to buy a suburban home but had been unable to do so due to housing discrimination. The Bradens purchased a house on behalf of the Wades in

Communist Party.[1] He was convicted on December 13, 1954, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Immediately upon his conviction, he was fired from the Courier-Journal, and he served seven months of his sentence before he was released on a $40,000 bond pending appeal – the highest bond ever set in Kentucky up to that time.[1][2] His conviction was then overturned.[2][7]

Carl's wife, Anne, carefully chronicled the ordeal and used it as the basis for her book The Wall Between, published in 1958.

1961 U.S. Supreme Court case

When compelled to appear before the

First Amendment rights. The case was heard before the Supreme Court of the United States as Braden v. United States
, 365 U.S. 431 (1961). The court ruled against Braden, saying his conviction was constitutional.

Braden was sentenced to a year in prison, and a drive for clemency in his case was led by Martin Luther King Jr. He was released after serving nine months of the sentence.[2]

Later activism

In 1967, the Bradens were again charged with sedition for protesting the practice of

strip-mining in Pike County, Kentucky. They used this case to test the Kentucky sedition law, which was ruled unconstitutional in federal court.[2]

The Bradens were

Civil Rights Movement's
most dedicated white allies.

The

James Dombrowski
were present at this reception honoring Wilkinson and Braden.

Death

Carl Braden died suddenly of a

heart attack on February 18, 1975, and is buried in Eminence Cemetery in Henry County, Eminence, Kentucky
.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Braden Denies Red Plot Intent Caused Sale of House to Negro". The Harvard Crimson. February 16, 1956.
  2. ^
    ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  3. ^ "James M. Braden". Lawyer Central. Archived from the original on June 25, 2018. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  4. ^ "James M. Braden". Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  5. ^ "The Carl Braden Memorial Center". 2011-08-07. Archived from the original on 2011-08-07. Retrieved 2018-03-17.
  6. ^ Catherine Fosl, Subversive Southerner (Palgrave, 2002).
  7. ^ Amy Steiger, "Moving forward, living backward, or just standing still?: newspaper theatre, critical race theory, and commemorating the Wade-Braden Trial in Louisville, Kentucky." Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed Journal 4.1 (2019): 5+ online

Further reading

  • Eskew, Glenn T. "Civil Rights History in Louisville and Kentucky." Ohio Valley History 10.4 (2010): 66–72.
  • K'Meyer, Tracy E. "The Louisville Civil Rights Movement's Response to the Southern Red Scare." Register of the Kentucky Historical Society 104.2 (2006): 217–248. online
  • Steiger, Amy. "Moving forward, living backward, or just standing still?: newspaper theatre, critical race theory, and commemorating the Wade-Braden Trial in Louisville, Kentucky." Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed Journal 4.1 (2019): 5+ online

Primary sources

  • Braden, Anne. Anne Braden Speaks: Selected Writings and Speeches, 1947-1999 (NYU Press, 2022) online.

External links

  • SNCC Digital Gateway: Carl Braden, Documentary website created by the SNCC Legacy Project and Duke University, telling the story of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee & grassroots organizing from the inside-out
  • Carl and Anne Braden papers at the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center
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