Eroseanna Robinson
Eroseanna "Sis" Robinson (1924–1976) was an
In addition to her activism, Robinson was a successful track runner. These two interests collided when she was chosen to represent the United States in a track meet against Russia and refused to participate because she felt she was being used as a "political pawn" by appearing alongside white athletes, giving the international community the false impression that white and black people were treated equally inside of the United States.[2]
Activism
Integration of Skateland
In 1952, Eroseanna Robinson worked at a community center in Cleveland when she decided that she would help to desegregate a public skating facility called Skateland. She pursued a non-violent plan. In her first attempt, she brought children—two black children and one white child—from the community center at which she worked, to skate. White teenagers harassed the children. Over the next few days, Robinson returned with friends who supported her cause but she was continually tripped and physically assaulted by white customers at Skateland. At one point, Robinson required urgent medical attention after she was shoved, causing her to break an arm. Skateland's management and security teams did not intervene on Robinson's behalf.[3]
War Tax Resistance
In early 1960, Robinson held another nonviolent protest by refusing to pay federal taxes as a way of showing her lack of support for the United States military. Her refusal to pay taxes caused her to be sentenced to a year of imprisonment, but she used the process as an opportunity to engage in nonviolent protest. When she was sentenced, Robinson had to be carried into the courtroom on a stretcher because she refused to walk. Once she was in prison, she held a three-month fast. She was force fed through a tube and then released nine months before her sentence was complete.[4]
Restaurant Integration
In 1961, Eroseanna Robinson travelled along
Legacy
Although not widely-known among other African-American civil rights activists, Robinson was instrumental in integrating several public spaces across the country in the early days of the
Her work to integrate restaurants along Maryland's Route 40 had international ramifications, as foreign diplomats would often travel the road in trips from
Robinson stands as an icon of the war tax resistance movement. The National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee, a grassroots movement with the aim of educating American taxpayers of their rights to resist making tax contributions to war efforts, touts Robinson as a foundational figure in their movement.
Social work, as a profession, has a history of leadership within social justice movements that dates back to the work of activists like Robinson.[6] Today, social workers carry on this legacy of activism through grassroots movements such as RISE.[7]
References
- ^ Riegle, Rosalie (2013). Crossing the Line. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books. p. 32.
- "Trio Ends Hunger Strike in Eatery Bias Case". Jet Magazine. 1961-10-12.
- "Tax Protest Turns to Jail Hunger Strike". The Chicago Tribune. 1960-01-29.
- ^ Wilson, Edmund (1963). Cold War and the Income Tax: A Protest. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. p. 52.
- ^ Wolcott, Victoria W. (2012). Race, Riots, and Roller Coasters: The Struggle Over Segregated Recreation in America. Philadelphia. p. 69.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Updegrove, R.L. (2014). Refusing to Be the Other: Barbara Deming's Experiments with Nonviolence (Thesis). Northern Arizona U. p. 33.
- ^ a b c d Wood, John W. III (2008). Wally and Juanita Nelson and the Struggle for Peace, Equality, and Social Justice: 1935-1975 (Thesis). Morgan State U. pp. 204–210.
- PMID 25929007.
- ^ Diaz, Fernanda (10 November 2010). "The New Generation of Activists: How Social Workers from RISE are Restoring Social Justice to their Profession". HuffPost. Oath Inc. Retrieved 13 April 2017.