Ray Wells as Civil Rights Crusader?

Here is Dr. Monhollon's complete reply:

Ray Wells was city manager of Lawrence in 1967. Lawrence did not have a public swimming pool then. In the summer of 1967, a large crowd of young African Americans gathered downtown. What actually happened next is not clear, but what resulted was a concern among white residents and city officials that the crowd might erupt into a riot. Through the mediation of several black community leaders, the crowd dispersed after they were promised a hearing before the city commission. One of their many concerns was the lack of publicly-supported summer recreational opportunities. Within a week or so, city officials had leased temporarily an unused swimming pool on the city's southwest edge, cleaned it up, and opened it to all residents, regardless of race. This was the first time black children could swim in an integrated public pool in Lawrence. That same summer, Lawrence residents approved issuing bonds to construct a public pool downtown, near where the present municipal pool is located.

I suppose Mr. Wells, as city manager, deserves some credit. Perhaps he did some behind-the-scenes negotiating that helped bring the pool about. My own opinion--based upon my research--is that city officials had to be pushed into supporting an integrated public pool. I did not interview Mr. Wells, and the public record does not suggest a very large role for him in this matter. I think it's going too far to say that he alone was responsible for getting the city an integrated pool, or took the lead in lobbying for it. As I write in my book, "This is America?": The Sixties in Lawrence, Kansas, I think the biggest factors in the construction of a municipal swimming pool was the consistent efforts of civil rights activists in keeping the issue alive and lobbying for the pool, as well as the growing anger and resentment among the black community, in particular young African Americans. The perceived threat of violence was significant in garnering greater support for the pool bonds. Despite this, the bond issue only narrowly passed. Chapter five of my book deals with this issue in much greater detail, if you are interested.

Thanks again for your message. I hope this answers your question.

Rusty Monhollon

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Here is a description of "Taking the Plunge: Race, Rights, and the Politics of Desegregation in Lawrence, Kansas, 1960" from Kansas History the journal of the Kansas State Historical Society:

Although many things changed with regard to race relations in Kansas and the nation in the wake of the landmark Brown v. Board decision, the pace of that change was often painfully slow. Monhollon examines grass-roots civil rights activism in Lawrence during the 1950s and 1960s, focusing especially on efforts of the Lawrence League for the Practice of Democracy to force the integration of the city's privately owned swimming pool, the Jayhawk Plunge, during the summer of 1960. For some time, the efforts were resisted by "many Lawrencians who allegedly supported the principle of equal opportunity but who placed the right of an individual to associate and interact with womever he or she wished above the civil rights of African Americans." The Plunge was closed, but Lawrence did not get an integrated pool until 1969.

For more about Ray Wells career see: