James Peck (pacifist)
Encyclopedia
James Peck was an American
activist who practiced nonviolent resistance
during World War II
and in the Civil Rights movement. He is the only person who participated in both the Journey of Reconciliation
(1947) and the first Freedom Ride
of 1961, and has been called a white civil rights hero.
to Samuel Peck, a wealthy clothing wholesaler, who died when his son was eleven years old. He attended Choate Rosemary Hall
, a private boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut
. Even though Peck and his family had converted from Judaism to the Episcopalian Church, Peck was still considered a social outsider at Choate. Peck preferred the fellowship of scholarly intellectuals and in their company he developed a reputation as an independent thinker and at the same time adopted idealistic political doctrines. He enrolled and studied at Harvard in 1933. While studying at Harvard, Peck polished his skills as a writer and engaged in radical acts that ended up shocking his classmates and forcing him to become the outsider once again. Peck wrote that his mother "referred to Negroes as 'coons'" and he choose to defy her and his classmates by asking a black girl to be his date at the Freshman dance. He dropped out of school at the end of his freshman year when "his alienation from his family and the American establishment was complete." While in Europe, he became a merchant seaman. This experience helped him realize that he will always work for the bettering the civil rights issue, especially after work with interracial crews while at sea. After spending a few years in Paris he returned and joined the United States Navy
, and helped found what later became the National Maritime Union
in 1938. He was beaten during a 1936 strike.
During World War II
he was a conscientious objector
and an anti-war activist, like his friend Bayard Rustin
, and consequently spent three years in jail at Danbury Correctional Institution
in Connecticut (1942–1945). While in prison, he helped start a work strike that eventually led to the desegregation of the mess hall. Also during this time, he participated, as did many other conscientious objectors, in medical experiments, especially a yellow jaundice experiment which permanently damaged his liver. Peck viewed it as volunteering to help discover a cure for the disease and for humanity.
He assisted the War Resisters League
, and edited the Worker's Defense League News Bulletin. He also wrote a labor column for The Conscientious Objector.
After the war he became a "radical journalist," and joined the Congress of Racial Equality
(CORE) in 1946, where he worked as the publicity officer. He became increasingly consumed by the race issue especially after discovering and joining CORE. He was arrested with Rustin in Durham, North Carolina
, during the Journey of Reconciliation
in 1947 which was an interstate integrated bus journey through the South, which was also Peck's first undertaking with CORE and a precursor to the later Freedom Rides of the 1960s.
Peck was married to the former Paula Zweier for twenty-two years. She was a teacher of cooking and author of The Art of Fine Baking (1961) and Art of Good Cooking (1966). Paula Peck died in 1972. They had two sons, Charles and Samuel.
were detained in Asheville. On May 14, Peck was on the second Trailways
bus leaving Atlanta, Georgia
for Birmingham, Alabama
. The first bus, a Greyhound
, left an hour earlier and was burned in a firebomb
ing in Anniston, Alabama
, seriously injuring the passengers. An hour later the Trailways bus pulled in at the terminal in Anniston and eight Klansmen
boarded and assaulted the Freedom Riders. Peck, a frail, middle-aged man at the time, was severely injured in the beating and required fifty stitches.
Later, in Birmingham
, Peck and Charles Person (a black student from Atlanta) were the first to descend from the bus, into a crowd of Klansmen who, with the organizational help of Birmingham Public Safety Commissioner Bull Connor
, were waiting for the Freedom Riders. Howard K. Smith
, reporting on-the-scene for CBS
, described the ensuing violence on the radio, in words cited by John Lewis in his autobiography, Walking with the Wind: "Toughs grabbed the passengers into alleys and corridors, pounding them with pipes, with key rings, and with fists. One passenger was knocked down at my feet by twelve of the hoodlums, and his face was beaten and kicked until it was a bloody pulp." Lewis adds, "That was Jim Peck's face."
Peck was severely beaten and needed 53 stitches to his head.
Peck was taken to Carraway Methodist Medical Center
, a segregated hospital, which refused to treat him; he was later treated at Jefferson Hillman Hospital
.
. He continued his activism by demonstrating against the Vietnam War
. In 1966 he signed a vow of tax resistance in protest against the Vietnam War.
In 1975, Gary Thomas Rowe Jr. testified that he was a paid FBI informant in the Klan, and that on 14 May 1961 the KKK had been given 15 to 20 minutes without interference by the police. Peck filed a lawsuit against the FBI in 1976, seeking $100,000 in damages. In 1983, he was awarded $25,000, and by this time was paralyzed on one side after a stroke. Peck had been working for Amnesty International
until his stroke. By 1985, Peck had moved into a nursing home in Minneapolis, where he died on 12 July 1993, at age 78.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
activist who practiced nonviolent resistance
Nonviolent resistance
Nonviolent resistance is the practice of achieving goals through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, and other methods, without using violence. It is largely synonymous with civil resistance...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and in the Civil Rights movement. He is the only person who participated in both the Journey of Reconciliation
Journey of Reconciliation
The Journey of Reconciliation was a form of non-violent direct action to challenge segregation laws on interstate buses in the Southern United States....
(1947) and the first Freedom Ride
Freedom ride
Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated southern United States to test the United States Supreme Court decisions Boynton v. Virginia and Morgan v. Virginia...
of 1961, and has been called a white civil rights hero.
Biography
James Peck (usually called "Jim") was born in ManhattanManhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
to Samuel Peck, a wealthy clothing wholesaler, who died when his son was eleven years old. He attended Choate Rosemary Hall
Choate Rosemary Hall
Choate Rosemary Hall is a private, college-preparatory, coeducational boarding school located in Wallingford, Connecticut...
, a private boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. Even though Peck and his family had converted from Judaism to the Episcopalian Church, Peck was still considered a social outsider at Choate. Peck preferred the fellowship of scholarly intellectuals and in their company he developed a reputation as an independent thinker and at the same time adopted idealistic political doctrines. He enrolled and studied at Harvard in 1933. While studying at Harvard, Peck polished his skills as a writer and engaged in radical acts that ended up shocking his classmates and forcing him to become the outsider once again. Peck wrote that his mother "referred to Negroes as 'coons'" and he choose to defy her and his classmates by asking a black girl to be his date at the Freshman dance. He dropped out of school at the end of his freshman year when "his alienation from his family and the American establishment was complete." While in Europe, he became a merchant seaman. This experience helped him realize that he will always work for the bettering the civil rights issue, especially after work with interracial crews while at sea. After spending a few years in Paris he returned and joined the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
, and helped found what later became the National Maritime Union
National Maritime Union
The National Maritime Union was an American labor union founded in May 1937. It affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations in July 1937...
in 1938. He was beaten during a 1936 strike.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he was a conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
and an anti-war activist, like his friend Bayard Rustin
Bayard Rustin
Bayard Rustin was an American leader in social movements for civil rights, socialism, pacifism and non-violence, and gay rights.In the pacifist Fellowship of Reconciliation , Rustin practiced nonviolence...
, and consequently spent three years in jail at Danbury Correctional Institution
Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury
The Federal Correctional Institution Danbury is a federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut, north of downtown Danbury and from New York City...
in Connecticut (1942–1945). While in prison, he helped start a work strike that eventually led to the desegregation of the mess hall. Also during this time, he participated, as did many other conscientious objectors, in medical experiments, especially a yellow jaundice experiment which permanently damaged his liver. Peck viewed it as volunteering to help discover a cure for the disease and for humanity.
He assisted the War Resisters League
War Resisters League
The War Resisters League was formed in 1923 by men and women who had opposed World War I. It is a section of the London-based War Resisters' International.Many of the founders had been jailed during World War I for refusing military service...
, and edited the Worker's Defense League News Bulletin. He also wrote a labor column for The Conscientious Objector.
After the war he became a "radical journalist," and joined the Congress of Racial Equality
Congress of Racial Equality
The Congress of Racial Equality or CORE was a U.S. civil rights organization that originally played a pivotal role for African-Americans in the Civil Rights Movement...
(CORE) in 1946, where he worked as the publicity officer. He became increasingly consumed by the race issue especially after discovering and joining CORE. He was arrested with Rustin in Durham, North Carolina
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
, during the Journey of Reconciliation
Journey of Reconciliation
The Journey of Reconciliation was a form of non-violent direct action to challenge segregation laws on interstate buses in the Southern United States....
in 1947 which was an interstate integrated bus journey through the South, which was also Peck's first undertaking with CORE and a precursor to the later Freedom Rides of the 1960s.
Peck was married to the former Paula Zweier for twenty-two years. She was a teacher of cooking and author of The Art of Fine Baking (1961) and Art of Good Cooking (1966). Paula Peck died in 1972. They had two sons, Charles and Samuel.
1961 Freedom Ride
Before the Freedom Rides began, 16 volunteers, including Peck, traveled to Washington, D.C., at the beginning of April for two days of intensive training in nonviolent activism. Peck recalled that the orientations left the riders tired but ready for what lay ahead when the would start the ride down to the Deep South. Peck was a part of several of the violent occurrences including going from Chapel Hill to Greensboro, North Carolina. Here Peck and several other Riders had to switch to a Trailways bus because Greyhound line did not go between these two stations. Peck and the others boarded the first bus but it never left the station because after the driver asked several of the black members to move to the back, they were promptly arrested. Peck followed the police officers to the station and arranged bail. After arranging bail for two of his colleagues, Peck walked back and forth between the bus station and the police station, making sure the others were safe as they waited for the bus and that their baggage was not being vandalized. A few angry, white cab drivers who were watching the incident began to circle Peck. One of them punched Peck in the side of the head and warned him to mind his business. Peck was also arrested in Asheville for sitting in the "wrong" section of the bus. The bus went on to Knoxville while Peck and his companion Dennis BanksDennis Banks
Dennis Banks , a Native American leader, teacher, lecturer, activist and author, is an Anishinaabe born on Leech Lake Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota. Banks is also known as Nowa Cumig...
were detained in Asheville. On May 14, Peck was on the second Trailways
Trailways Transportation System
The Trailways Transportation System is an American group of 80 independent bus companies that have entered into a franchising agreement. The company is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia.- History :...
bus leaving Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
for Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
. The first bus, a Greyhound
Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and...
, left an hour earlier and was burned in a firebomb
Firebomb
Firebomb may refer to:* Firebombing* Incendiary device* Molotov cocktail* A season 2 episode of the television show Alias* "Fire Bomb", a song by Rihanna from her 2009 album Rated R...
ing in Anniston, Alabama
Anniston, Alabama
Anniston is a city in Calhoun County in the state of Alabama, United States.As of the 2000 census, the population of the city is 24,276. According to the 2005 U.S. Census estimates, the city had a population of 23,741...
, seriously injuring the passengers. An hour later the Trailways bus pulled in at the terminal in Anniston and eight Klansmen
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
boarded and assaulted the Freedom Riders. Peck, a frail, middle-aged man at the time, was severely injured in the beating and required fifty stitches.
Later, in Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, Peck and Charles Person (a black student from Atlanta) were the first to descend from the bus, into a crowd of Klansmen who, with the organizational help of Birmingham Public Safety Commissioner Bull Connor
Bull Connor
Theophilus Eugene "Bull" Connor was the Commissioner of Public Safety for the city of Birmingham, Alabama, during the American Civil Rights Movement...
, were waiting for the Freedom Riders. Howard K. Smith
Howard K. Smith
Howard Kingsbury Smith was an American journalist, radio reporter, television anchorman, political commentator, and film actor. He was one of the original Edward R. Murrow boys.-Early life:...
, reporting on-the-scene for CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
, described the ensuing violence on the radio, in words cited by John Lewis in his autobiography, Walking with the Wind: "Toughs grabbed the passengers into alleys and corridors, pounding them with pipes, with key rings, and with fists. One passenger was knocked down at my feet by twelve of the hoodlums, and his face was beaten and kicked until it was a bloody pulp." Lewis adds, "That was Jim Peck's face."
Peck was severely beaten and needed 53 stitches to his head.
Peck was taken to Carraway Methodist Medical Center
Carraway Methodist Medical Center
Carraway Methodist Medical Center was a medical facility in Birmingham, Alabama founded as Carraway Infirmary in 1908 by Dr. Charles N. Carraway. It was moved in 1917 to Birmingham's Norwood neighborhood. Its facilities were segregated according to skin color for much of its history and, in one...
, a segregated hospital, which refused to treat him; he was later treated at Jefferson Hillman Hospital
UAB Hospital
The University of Alabama Hospital , is a Level I trauma center hospital located in Birmingham, Alabama....
.
Aftermath
Peck was removed from CORE in 1965, according to him as part of a purge of whites from the movement then under the control of Roy InnisRoy Innis
Roy Emile Alfredo Innis is an African American civil rights activist. He has been National Chairman of the Congress of Racial Equality since his election to the position in 1968....
. He continued his activism by demonstrating against the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. In 1966 he signed a vow of tax resistance in protest against the Vietnam War.
In 1975, Gary Thomas Rowe Jr. testified that he was a paid FBI informant in the Klan, and that on 14 May 1961 the KKK had been given 15 to 20 minutes without interference by the police. Peck filed a lawsuit against the FBI in 1976, seeking $100,000 in damages. In 1983, he was awarded $25,000, and by this time was paralyzed on one side after a stroke. Peck had been working for Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
until his stroke. By 1985, Peck had moved into a nursing home in Minneapolis, where he died on 12 July 1993, at age 78.
Selected works
- Peck, James, "The Ship That Never Hits Port", in Cantine, Holly R.; Rainer, Dachine, Prison etiquette: the convict's compendium of useful information, Bearsville, N.Y. : Retort Press, 1950. (reprinted 2001, Carbondale : Southern Illinois University Press). Cf. pp. 46–71.
Further reading
- Gara, Larry; Gara, Lenna Mae, (editors), A Few Small Candles: War Resisters of World War II Tell Their Stories, Kent State University Press, 1999. ISBN 0-87338-621-3. Cf. p. 188 and various, on Jim Peck.