Week 26 – CIVIL RIGHTS – Introduction

July 2, 2024 marks sixty years since the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964. Signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, the act officially outlawed segregation in businesses like theaters and hotels as well as in public places like libraries, schools, and swimming pools. The act also protected voting rights and made discriminatory employment practices illegal. This month, we highlight individuals who made change in Glynn County, both in Brunswick and on the islands. Some grew up on St. Simons like Sam Proctor, while others came from outside the United States like Maurice Ruddick. We will also highlight W. W. Law and Brunswick’s “Quiet Conflict,” which was recently recognized with a historical marker from the Georgia Historical Society.

A Jury of His “Piers” – The Trial to Keep Proctor’s Emporium

In the 1920s, St. Simons Island resident Sam Proctor owned and operated a business in the African American neighborhood known as South End. Called “Proctor’s Emporium,” the lattice-enclosed pavilion served as both a soft drink stand and, at night, a dance floor. When it opened, Proctor’s Emporium was the only African American establishment of its kind on St. Simons. The Proctors were a prominent local family, including Sam’s relative Willis Proctor who had a wealth of Gullah Geechee musical knowledge and was a leading member of the original Georgia Sea Island Singers. Sam shared Willis’s love for music and wanted to share it with his community.

At Proctor’s Emporium, located near the intersection of Demere and Arnold roads, summer Saturdays became celebrations. Sam hired a band who played music from about 8 p.m. until midnight, attracting many eager patrons. During the 1920s, business for the Emporium only grew. The completion of the causeway to Brunswick brought more potential developments to the island—including a nearby subdivision named “Ocean Breeze.” Summer vacationers on St. Simons often brought servants with them for the season, and the African American servants frequented Proctor’s Emporium. As the Ocean Breeze development expanded and crept closer to the dance hall, though, landowners and developers in the subdivision lodged a noise complaint and requested the closure of the business, leading to what became known as the only jury trial ever to be held on St. Simons.

More than fifty years after the trial, attorney Charles L. Gowen remembered its unusual aspects. On a summer day in 1927, he arrived to represent Sam Proctor at “Judge Postell’s courthouse” on St. Simons. The one-room building was packed with people, and the justices announced that the trial would be moved to the covered portion of the St. Simons Pier, which would accommodate a larger crowd and was cooler than the courthouse. Sam Proctor testified that his business was orderly, and that the music wasn’t unnecessarily loud. Gowen remembered that during his closing statement, “all the jurors suddenly jumped up, ran to the other side of the Pier, and some of them jumped into the ocean” to rescue a swimmer. Despite the interruption, the jurors returned to deliberate. After only a few minutes, the trial was decided in Sam Proctor’s favor, and he continued to operate Proctor’s Emporium until his death about a decade later.