Race and Gender Discourse Strategies: Creating Solidarity and Framing the Civil Rights

Movement
Author(s): Gerald M. Platt and Michael R. Fraser
Source: Social Problems, Vol. 45, No. 2 (May, 1998), pp. 160-179
Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the Society for the Study of Social Problems
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 Race and Gender Discourse Strategies:
Creating Solidarity and Framing
the Civil Rights Movement*
GERALD M. PLATT, University Amherst
ofMassachusetts,
MICHAEL R. FRASER, NationalAssociation and City
ofCounty
HealthOfficials, D.C.
Washington,

Usinga sociolinguistic
analysis thisessayexamines
ofcorrespondence, senttoDr.Martin
letters Luther
King,Jr.bysupporters andparticipants
in theCivilRights
movement. In theletters,
writers discourse
employ
toconstruct
strategies theirexperiences
ofthemovement andformulate as supporters
themselves andpartici-
pants.Theyalsoformulate their andframings
solidarity ofthemovement. Correspondents'race, andcir-
gender,
cumstances thewaysthey
influence create with,
solidarity andframe themovement. Thesefindings that
indicate
movement
CivilRights supportersandparticipants
heldbothprivate andsharedconceptionsofthemovement.
Theimplications
ofthese formovement
findings theoryarediscussed.

This is a studyof supporters'and participants'experiencesof the Civil Rightsmovement.

These experiencesare expressedin discoursestrategiescorrespondentsused in letterssent to
Dr. MartinLutherKing,Jr.Studiesofdiscoursein socialmovementshave recentlyappearedin the
literature,forexample Gamson's(1992) investigation ofpoliticalattitudesand Ellingson's(1995)
archivalresearchon abolitionism.Similarto Ellingson,we investigatediscoursein writtenlan-
guage; however,in contrastto his inquiry,we attemptto understandmovementexperiences
fromthe point of view of ideologicalrecipientsratherthan its producers.Unlike most other
studiesof social movements,we conceive of participants'experiencesas multipleratherthan
singular(Fraser1996; Lilleyand Platt1994; Plattand Lilley1994; Robnett1997; Schutz 1962).
Sociolinguistsuse the term "discoursestrategies"to referto linguisticand socio-cultural
interactivepractices used by speakers to express and interpretmeanings in conversation
(Gumperz 1982). We employa sociolinguisticanalysisof the discoursestrategiesused by cor-
respondentsto convey to Dr. King theirexperiencesof the movementin writtentexts.These
strategiesare observed in the letters'overall contentand within the socio-culturalcircum-
stances in which the letterswere written.Situated analyses of discourse strategiesgive us
confidence that correspondents'experiences of the movement are authenticallyrevealed
(Cicourel 1985, 1992).
Letterwritersdepictthese experiencesin the textstheywrote to King. In thispaper,we
focuson threetypesof participants'experienceswiththe movement:those partsof theircor-
respondence that express identificationswith movement doctrine;descriptionsof the net-
works that influencedtheircommitmentto the movement;and messages they sent to King
about the conduct of the movement. Correspondents'racial and gender identitiesand their

* We want to thank the MartinLutherKing,Jr.CenterforNonviolentSocial Change forpermissionto quote the

correspondenceto Dr. King. Special appreciationfortheirhelp is extended to the formerDirectorof the King Library
and Archive,Dr. Broadus N. Butlerand to Mrs. CorettaScottKing. This studywas supportedwithfundsfromThe Albert
Einstein InstitutionforNonviolent Social Change, Cambridge,Massachusetts.Additionalfundswere provided by the
both of
Dean of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Glen Gordon and Bruce McCandless of the Officeof Research Affairs,
the Universityof Massachusetts.We want to thankRhysWilliams,Fred Weinstein,Aaron Cicourel,Hank Johnston,and
several anonymous reviewersfor theirhelpfulcommentson earlier versions of this paper. Direct correspondenceto
Gerald Platt, Sociology Department,Universityof Massachusetts,Thompson Hall, Amherst,Massachusetts 01003;
e-mail: platt@soc.umass.edu

160 SOCIALPROBLEMS,Vol.45, No.2, May 1998

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 Race and GenderDiscourseStrategies 161

circumstances
act as reference
pointsfromwhichtheyconstruct
similar, move-
yetdistinct,
mentexperiences.

Theoretical Orientation
Smelser's(1963) conception ofa structurallygroundedvoluntarism influences our for-
mulations ofparticipants' relations tothemovement. Ellingson(1995) and Snowand Benford
(1988,1992)pointtothevitality oftheinteractive relation betweenmovement organizations,
ideologicaldiscourse, and participants' experiences.Ellingsonnotesthat"Bothspeakersand
theiraudiencesengagein theworkofinterpreting events..." (1995:110).Snowand Benford
supplement thiswiththeobservation thatthe"mobilization ofpotential constituents is highly
dialectical. .. thereis no suchthingas a tabularasa. . . intowhichnew and perhapsalien
ideas can be poured"(1988:204,emphasisin original).Also relevant, JoanScott(1988:53)
addsthatan analysisoflanguage:"offers a wayofthinking abouthowpeopleconstruct mean-
ing,abouthow difference ... operatesin theconstruction ofmeaning,and abouthow the
complexities ofcontextual usagesopenthewayto changesin meaning."
Our sociolinguistic analysisworkswithinthe contextof Smelser'svoluntarism and the
constructionist approaches.The interactive relationship betweenparticipants and themove-
mentcentersouranalysis.Consistent withSnowand Benford's (1988, 1992) observation that
movements are dialectical,we focusupon participants' interpretations of the movement as
theseare expressedin theirletters to Dr.King(see also Larafia,Johnston and Gusfield1994;
Marxand McAdam1994;Turner andKillian1987).
Froma participant's perspective, everyaspectofthemovement is interpreted in accord
withhis or her relevantpersonaland structural circumstances. Snow and Benford(1992)
highlight thispointbynotingthatmovement doctrine mustresonatewithparticipants' expe-
riencesand cultural backgrounds in orderforthemto employitin framealignment. Huntand
Benford(1994) also indicatethatthe discourseof personalidentity mustalignitselfwith
movement frames and theyadd thatmovement ideologyrequiresno singleidentity thatcul-
minatesin a consensual, homogeneous collective
identity. Insteadtheypointto theagencyof
participants notingthat:"identity talkcan relyon a universeofdiscourse thatallowsformul-
tipleidentity alignment interpretationsandexpressions .... [a] diversityofdiscourse ... andmul-
tiple articulationsofcollective identitieswithinan SMO [SocialMovement Organization] ...."
Theyconclude,"futureanalysescould investigate the variousattachments thatare made
withinan SMO" (Huntand Benford1994:496,511). Thisis sucha "future" analysis.A socio-
linguistic analysisof lettersprovidesinsightsinto correspondents' interpretive processes,
resulting in their"variousattachments" to,and experiences of,themovement.
In faceto faceconversational settings,meanings areinferentially achievedbyinterpreting
a variety ofcues.In written the
language auditory and visual cues involved in interpretation
are unavailable.Meaningful interpretationofwritten language therefore requiresa modified
sociolinguistics. Suchan approachmakesfiveassumptions aboutthecreationofmeaningin
written discourse.The firstoftheseis thatamongthemanyreasonsforwriting, correspon-
dentsare engagedin theconstruction ofselveswhilesimultaneously conveying to Kingtheir
descriptions ofthemovement and theirparticipation. Second,thesemeaningsare explicitly
and implicitly expressed in theircorrespondence. Third,thesemessagesare embeddedin,and
are cues to,revealing correspondents' constructedmeanings.Fourth,discoursestrategies are
influenced by ideational,material,and structural circumstances thatare relevantto corre-
spondents.'In thisanalysistherelevantaspectsoftheirliveswe willinvestigate are raceand

1. Our use ofrelevance is similarto Mills' conceptionof "vocabulariesofmotive" (1940) and Snow and Benford's
(1992:140-41; 1998:207-211) conceptionof "resonance."

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162 PLATTAND FRASER

raceandgender
identities;
gender canbeusedas pragmatic basesinflu-
(i.e.,extra-linguistic)
encingthe discoursestrategiesused by correspondentsto depictthe movementas meaningful
and resonantto themselves.
Our finalassumptionis that the socio-culturalcircumstancesrelevantto correspondents
also affecttheir constructionsof the movement. Socio-cultural,historical,and movement
eventsthatare relevantto correspondentsaffectthe meaningstheycreate.We do not assume
to know these contextsa priori:insteadtheyare discoveredin letters'texts.Thus,we ask how,
and in what ways, do circumstancesact as bases in the use of discoursestrategiesinfluencing
the constructionof meaningsin authors'letters?
We are engaged in discoveringcorrespondents'relevantpersonal and circumstantial con-
texts,and how these influencethe use of discoursestrategiesin order to shape movement
experiences(Schegloff1991:49-57). In particular,we examine the ways in whichparticipants'
framethe movementand createsolidaritywithit. Consistentwith our theoreticalorientation,
Gumperzand Cook-Gumperz(1982:3) suggestthat: "ideologyentersinto face-to-facespeak-
ing practicesto createan interactionalspace in which the subconsciousand automaticsocio-
linguisticprocessesof interpretation and inferencecan generatea varietyof outcomes ...."
Race, gender,and circumstancesare formulatedas correspondents'potentiallyrelevant
bases fromwhich theymay employpragmaticdiscoursestrategiesto constructtheirrelations
to the movement.It is the discoursestrategiesthatshape the characterof correspondents'sol-
idarityand framingof the movement.Race, gender,and circumstancesalso influencestrate-
gies used in lettersto justifywritingto King. We referto thisas the practiceof "legitimating"
writingto King. The practiceof legitimationsituatescorrespondentsin relationto King and
the movement.Legitimationis universallyused because the correspondentswere unknownto
King. Thus, the substance of legitimation,framing,and solidarityare the resultsof the dis-
course strategiesused by correspondents.

The Study: Selectinga Sample of LettersforAnalysis

Our sample of lettersare fromthe depositoryof correspondenceto Dr. King held at the
Libraryand Archivein the King CenterforNonviolentSocial Change in Atlanta.These letters
are organizedby the Centerin two categories:the MartinLutherKing,Jr.papers (MLK) and
the Southern ChristianLeadership Conference(SCLC) papers.2In both the MLK and SCLC
papers a "primary"series is devoted to correspondencefromnotable figures(frompersons
whose names the archivistrecognized)writingto Dr. King or to SCLC. The "secondary"series
contains lettersthat the archivistconsideredfromundistinguishedpersons (persons whose
names were unrecognizableto the archivist)and materialsof "lesser"importanceto the con-
duct ofthe movement.It is fromthe MLK and SCLC secondaryseriesthatthe correspondence
analyzed in thispaper were drawn.
When combined,the MLK and SCLC secondaryseries contain approximatelyfiftythou-
sand pieces of correspondenceand relatedmaterials.In these seriesthereare lettersconcern-
ing business,legal, and organizationalmatters.There are requeststo speak, write,visit;there
are requestsforsermonsand essays; and thereare personal requests,such as correspondents
askingforfavors,help, or forinformation. The serieshold briefnotes sentwithmonetarycon-
tributions.Theyalso maintainlettersregardingoutstandingexpenses and requestsforthepay-
mentofbills.
Amongthe correspondenceare lettersof supportforKing,frequentlydescribingauthors'
movementparticipation(these lettersconstituteabout seven per cent ofthe secondaryseries).

2. In an interviewthe archivistexplained that the MLK and the SCLC papers were indistinguishableexcept that
the correspondencein each were addressedto King or to SCLC.

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 Race and GenderDiscourseStrategies 163

Many of these were markedby the SCLC's staffas "kind"letters;meaning theyare lettersof
supportforDr. King and the movement.Not all the lettersexpressingthese sentimentsand
movementparticipationwere so marked. We used the "kind" letterreferenceas a starting
place from which to gather correspondencethat was supportive of the movement and
expressedcorrespondents'movementactivities.
As partofthisresearch,3,500 "kind"letterswrittento King between 1958 and 1968 were
photocopied.It took two researcherssix weeks to acquire the 3,500 letters.The researchers
skimmedall the documentsin the MLK and SCLC secondaryseries and copied every"kind"
letter,post card,telegram,etc.,thatappeared potentiallyrelevantto the research.This proce-
dure was followedwith the intentionthat a sample of letterswould be selected foranalysis
which the researcherscould laterassess in detailfortheirappropriatenessto the study.
Of the 3,500 pieces of correspondence,1,800 were writtenduringthe five-yearperiod
between 1960 to 1965. It is fromthisimportantperiodof CivilRightsactivismthatthe corre-
spondence forthis studywas selected. Among the 1,800 letters,many are lengthy(several
pages), othersare briefletters,post-cards,and telegrams.In selectinglettersforanalysiswe
requiredthat theybe legiblein orderto be interpretedand coded, theybe "kind,"explicitly
expressingthe author's supportfor the movement,they contain attributionalinformation
about correspondents,such as theirrace, gender,place of residence,etc., and they provide
substantiveinformationabout theirparticipationin the movement,such as involvementsin
movement activities,conceptionsof doctrine,depictionsof King's leadership,and so forth.
These criteriaresultedin a sample composed of a disproportionate numberof lengthyletters
with considerableinformation about each correspondentbut not always comparableinforma-
tionforall correspondents.Usingthe above criteriawe generateda studysample of 508 letters.
Our codingscheme was builtto capturesystematically basic informationabout the letters
such as the date on the letter'spostmark,how it was written(e.g., typed,handwritten,tele-
gram), the race, gender,and other demographiccharacteristics of the correspondent.Codes
also were establishedforthe substantiveaspects of letterssuch as the sentence tokensabout
doctrineand networks,conceptionsof King's leadership,descriptionsof movementparticipa-
tion offeredby the correspondents, and so forth.When informationwas missingit was some-
times possible to code substanceof interestto our analysis using inferentialtechniques.The
ways in which these techniques applied to the coding of race and gender are described in
the next section.

CodingRaceand Gender
Correspondents'self-identifying expressionsprovide the most directinformationabout
race and gender. For example, one author wrote "As a Negro workingfor freedomin the
South. " Other examples of self-identifications
include; "As the son of Negro sharecrop-
pers," ...
and "I'm a youngwhitegirlfrom ."
... however, were infrequent(see Tables 1 and 2).
Race and gender self-identifications,
Therefore,we did not limitour coding to such expressions.We also inferredidentitiesfrom
indirectexpressionsof gender and race. Inferenceswere also made frommore ambiguous
statementssuch as, "AlthoughI am not a colored person, I whole heartedlysupportyour
work in Birmingham."The race of this letterwriterwas coded as "probablyWhite." Refer-
ences to "my Negro kin" were also coded inferentially, suggestingthat persons using such
phraseswere "probablyBlack."
Authorswho used directexpressionsof gendersuch as, "Women like me supportyou in
all thatyou do Dr. King," were coded "female."The inclusionof Mr. or Mrs., common refer-
ences to "my husband and I", "as a daughter"or "as a son" also were used to code gender
directly.Genderedoccupationscirca1960 wereused as cluesto infercorrespondents' genderwhen
it was not explicitlystated.Letterslackingdirector indirectreferenceto gender were coded
using firstnames as proxiesto genderidentity,i.e., usingtypicalfemaleand male names as an

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164 PLAIT AND FRASER

Table 1 * RacialIdentification
ofCorrespondents

% of % ofAll
Racial Category Totaln Category Correspondents

Black, self-referential 22 21% 4%

Black, inferential 81 79% 16%
White,self-referential 120 36% 24%
White,inferential 211 64% 42%
Otherrace 4 1%
Not described 70 14%
Total 508 101%

Notes:
Percent ofAllCorrespondents doesnotaddto 100% due torounding.
Otherrace:Four(n = 4) correspondents as IndianorAsian.Becausethenumberofcasesin thiscate-
identified
goryis so small,theyarenotincludedin theanalysis.
NotDescribed:Theracialidentification
ofseventy (n = 70) correspondents
couldnotbe determined.
In thesecases
thecorrespondent eitherdidnotreport
theirraceoritcouldnotbe inferentially
determined fromtheircorrespon-
denceto Dr.King.

Table 2 * GenderIdentification
ofCorrespondents
% of % ofAll
RacialCategory Totaln Category Correspondents

Women, self-referential 9 4% 2%
Women, inferential 205 96% 40%
Men, self-referential 3 1% 1%
Men, inferential 245 99% 48%
Group letter,mixed gender 39 8%
Not described 7 1%
Total 508 100%

Notes:
MixedGender:Thirty-nine
Groupletter, (n = 39) letters
werewritten oftenhus-
bygroupsofcorrespondents,
bandsandwives.Sincegenderinthesecasesis mixed,theyarenotincludedintheanalysis.
NotDescribed:
Thegenderidentificationofseven(n = 7) correspondentscouldnotbe determined.
In thesecases
eitherdidnotreport
thecorrespondent theirgenderor itcouldnotbe inferentially fromtheirletters.
determined
Theyarenotincludedin theanlaysis.

index to gender.In cases where a letterwriter'sname applied to both women and men, such
as Pat, additional identifyinginformationincludingoccupation (when available) was com-
bined with the name and used to code the correspondents'gender.3The categoricalcoding
scheme used forrace is "Black,""probablyBlack,""White,""probablyWhite,""otherrace,"and
"missing."A similarsix categorycoding scheme with one categoryformixed-gendergroups
was developed forgender.
Insofar as was possible, we used self-identificationto analyze sentence tokens because
thisformof identification is closestto our theoreticalconceptionof relevance.It was not pos-
sible, however, to analyze sentence tokens solely by self-identified gender because too few
correspondents identifiedthemselves as
explicitly such.
That correspondentsdid not self-identify their gender in almost all the lettersis inter-

3. Whentheraceorgenderidentity ofa correspondentwas ambiguous, and

twocodersreadthelettertogether
raceorgenderwere
couldnotbe determined,
discussedthecodingissueuntila consensuswas reached.Iftheidentity
Iftherewas no directorinferential
codedas "missing." toraceorgenderincluding
textualreference genderappropriate
names,occupations, thesewerealsocodedas "missing."
oraddresstitles,

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 Race and GenderDiscourseStrategies 165

esting,especiallyin lightof the factthatmany self-identifiedtheirracial identity.Reading the

letterswith modern eyes, having witnessed and studied the rise of the modern women's
movementand salient gender consciousness-raising experiencesin the late 1960s and early
1970s, our initialexpectationwas thatwomen who wrote to King would make theirgender
identitysalient in their correspondenceto him. However, in reflectingon the findingthat
there were so few self-references to gender,it began to make sense to us thatgenderwould
not be a salientfeatureof the correspondent'sself-or at least not an aspect of theirselfthat
theywould make known to King in theirletters.Instead,the lack of genderidentifications in
the lettersmakes sense given thatwomen's organizingat the timewas just emergingout of a
"doldrumperiod" as a politicaland social force(Rupp and Taylor1987). That women defined
themselvesmostcommonlyin relationto theirhusbands or theirstatusas wives and mothers
is consistentwithprevailinggendernormsof the early 1960s. To expect thatgenderwould be
an expressed,salientfeatureof the correspondentsself,as it most likelywould be today,is to
assume thatcorrespondentshad a late 1990s take on gender,insteadof an early 1960s under-
standingof genderidentityand genderoppression.
Thus, only 4 percent (n = 9) of women and only 1 percent (n = 3) of men, or 3 per-
cent ofall correspondents theirgender.Withregardsto race, 21 percent(n = 22)
self-identified
of all Black correspondentsand 36 percent (n = 120) of all White letterwriters,or 28 per-
cent of all correspondentsself-identifiedtheirrace. Self-identifications
were infrequentand
most likelyto be made in termsof race, however,we focus our analysis on race self-identi-
fications,understandingthese to be the most accurate method of coding forrace as relevant
to the correspondents.Likewise, we would have wished to focus on gender self-identifica-
tions for the same reason. However, because so few correspondentsself-identifiedtheir
gender identities,and because gender was easily coded using names and titlessuch as Mr.
and Mrs. in the letters,we use inferentiallydeterminedgender in our analysis of networks.

AnalyzingCorrespondenceforDiscourse Strategies
In fundamentalways the letters'richtextsincorporateauthors'experiencesof the move-
ment. The 508 lettersin the database contain sentences, combinationsof sentences, and
phrases that clearlyexpress these experiences.Complete sentences and sentence fragments
expressingthe same or similarcontentand appearingin a single letter,were combined and
coded as sentencetokens.Sentencetokensare substantiveunitsexpressinga varietyof issues.
They formthe units for coding and analyzingcorrespondents'movementexperiences. Our
analysisis based on the coding of substantiveportionsof the letters'textsand discerningthe
strategiescorrespondentsused in theseportionsof theirlettersto King. Thus,we use the term
"sentence token" to referto text statements(includingsentences and/orparagraphs) coded
into the database. The sentence tokens under studyin this analysisare the textsegmentsin
the correspondencein which:identifications
withmovement doctrine aremade;descriptions
ofthenet-
worksthatinfluence theauthors'commitmentaredescribed;
and messages senttoKingabouttheconduct
ofthemovement areprovidedbycorrespondents.
Guidelinesforcodingthe textwere painstakinglydeveloped afterreadingand re-reading
the correspondenceto King. Afterextensivediscussions,a codebook was writtento document
coding decisions and standardizethe coding process. Although a discussion of the specific
ways in which sentence tokens were coded is beyond the scope of this article,a general
descriptionof the typeof statementsthatwere coded as doctrine,network,and message sen-
tence tokensillustrateshow the correspondencewas analyzed. In sentencetokensabout doc-
trine,writersemploy discoursestrategiesinfluencedby the relevantpragmaticcircumstances
and these shape theirsolidarityand framesin relationto the movement.Descriptionsof net-
works that influencecommitmentreturnthe analysisto the personal experiencesand socio-
culturalcircumstancesrelevantto the correspondent;these personal experiencesand circum-

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166 PLATT AND FRASER

stances are used to interprettheirsolidaritywiththe movement.4Messages to King about the

conduct of the movementprovide insightinto the ways in which correspondentsformulate
theircircumstancesin relationto the movement'ssuccesses,failures,doctrine,and strategies.
Ultimatelythen our analysis providesinsightsinto correspondents'conceptionsand experi-
ences of, and attachmentsto the movement; those they share with, and those that vary
among othermovementsupportersand participants.
In the 508 letters,a total of 408 identificationwith doctrinesentencetokenswere coded.
Doctrinal sentence tokens include mentionsof instrumentalissues such as those discussing
economic, political,and social progressfor"Negroes,"as forexample, equal votingrightsor
endingsegregation.Thereare also culturalissues noted,such as identifications withthe move-
ment's principles,e.g., equality,justice, liberty,freedom,or the creation of a more humane
and harmonioussociety.For example, the followingstatementwas coded as an identification
with movementdoctrinesentencetoken: the authorwritesof identification with a principled
aspect of the movement'sdoctrine-freedom:
Dr.KingtheFreedomRallywhichwas heldherein Montgomery youandMrs.King
was wonderful
bothmade a beautifulspeech,yes,Dr. King,I was one out ofthosethousandsand thousandsof
marchersthatyouled to thestatecapitolofAlabama.Dr.KingI was absentfromschool[thatday]
forone mainreasonand thatreasonwas FREEDOM!
Otheridentifications with doctrineinclude referencesto religiousdoctrinesundergirding
the movement such as Christianbeliefsin brotherhood,brotherlylove, and peace. Finally,
with nonviolence such as those associated with Gandhian doctrine
there are identifications
and tactics.Letterssometimesexpressed more than one doctrinalsentence token; all were
coded.
There are 142 networksentence tokens in the letters.Networksentence tokens include
mentionsof how respondentswere introducedand recruitedto participatein the movement.
Networksentence tokens remarkupon personal networks,such as familyand friendsinflu-
encingindividualsto join the movement.The influenceof externalnetworkssuch as solicita-
tions by mail, readingarticlesabout the movement,and media broadcasts,was also noted as
ways in which participantswere recruited.Institutionalnetworkswere also influentialin
recruitingcorrespondents to the movement.These includeinfluencesfromparticipation in reli-
gious organizations, churches, synagogues,and so For
forth. example an African-American
ministerindicateshis ties to the movementby way of church:
Dr. KingI am surethatyou willagreewithme thatGod has been a mighty shieldaroundyou
throughthepastyearsthatwerefilledwitheverydescription thedevilshoutedat youwithevery
thingthatwas inhisarsenalandtheonlyreasonthatyouarealivetodayisbecauseyouwerein the
centeroftheDivine..... Dr.Kingthechurchis beingchallengedtodayas anytimein history.
...
Godneedsa manlikeyouandthekindI am trying tobecome.
The 502 message sentencetokensincluded a varietyof issues correspondentswanted Dr.
King to know about or to address. Message sentence tokensinclude encouragementto King,
such as "don't give up!" or "keep strong."There were also practicaland strategicadvice mes-
sages that gave specificadvice to King such as "press for voter registrationin the South,"
"involvemore blacksin the movement,"or "onlypatronizeestablishmentsthathire us." Reli-
gious message sentencetokensinclude statementssuch as "God is on your side," "I praydaily
foryou and forvictory"or "I know God is watchingover you." There are message sentence

4. In the social movementliteraturemuch has been made ofthe influencesof networksin committingpersonsto
movements(Tilly1978:62-69; Snow, Zurcherand Ekland-Olson 1980; McAdam and Paulsen 1993). Analyzingthe texts
forinfluentialnetworksprovides us with correspondents'constructionsof the personal and structuralcircumstances
thatinfluencetheircreatingsolidaritywiththe movement.

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 Race and GenderDiscourseStrategies 167

tokens focused upon the agenda correspondentswould like King to emphasize. One corre-
spondentwrotethismessage of advice to King; it was coded as an advice sentencetoken:
in NewYorkaboutthethingsyou are doingin theSouthto helptheNegro
... we are so uplifted
raceand othersin general.Thepeoplein NewYorkareveryproudofyouand I am praying foran
opportunity to meetyou.Although we arelivingin NewYorktherearemanythingsthatshouldbe
changedhere.Allthebigstoresin Harlemshouldbe ownedbyus (theNegroes).A mancannotget
veryfarwitha job only,he needtohavebusinessenterprise. knownfigures
Nationally likeyourself
arein ourraceandshouldespecially encouragetheyoungcitizensas theyearnmoneytoputitinto
a businessso thattheywillbe ableto givejobsto ourpeople.

Assemblingsentence tokens transforms lettersinto coded sets of substantivestatements

about the movement'sdoctrine,messages to King, and networksthat influencedcorrespon-
dents' relationsto the movement.When we quote fromour sample of 508 lettersto illustrate
correspondents'formulationsof issues and theirvariation,we draw fromall coded sentence
tokens,notjust those aspectsof a letterthatserve our analyticintentions.
Discourse strategiesare linguisticinterpretivepracticesembedded in spoken sentences
used by speakers to express and understandmeaningsin conversation.They also are extra-
linguisticpracticesembedded in facial and tonal expressions,cultural,situational,and back-
groundinformationused to expressand understandmeaningsin speech (Gumperz 1982). In
our codingand analyses of writtentextswe interpretboth formsof discoursestrategies,how-
ever,we emphasizein our analysisextra-linguistic practicesused to constructaccountsof cor-
respondents' relationsto the movement.

Contextualizingand InterpretingDiscourse Strategies

in Correspondence
In an extended illustrationpresentedbelow we discussthe strategiesused by one corre-
spondentto legitimatewriting,create solidarity, and framethe movement.We also illustrate
how decipheringthe letter'smeaningsdepend upon understandingitsentirenarrativeand the
relevantpersonaland socio-culturalcircumstancesexpressedin it by the correspondent.5 This
examination focuses upon a letter from an African-Americanministerwho is actively
involved in the movementas Presidentof the Wilmington,Delaware NAACP.His race, posi-
tion,and the circumstanceshe is facing,both locallyand in relationto the movement'sactions
in Birmingham,act as the basis forthe discoursestrategieshe uses in his letter.The analysis
beginsby theoreticallysituatinglegitimating strategies.
Promptedby Williams'(1995) descriptionof organizationalefforts to legitimateculturally
sanctionedformsof commitmentto the "publicgood," we analogize correspondents'efforts to
constructsuch conceptions of commitments.These include commitmentsto public goods
which the author suggestshe and King share. Cultural,social, and personal attributescon-
structthese commonalties.Correspondentswho referto cultureemphasize shared religious,
moral, and value commitments.Also, consistentwith Williams' conception of "contract"
(1995:133-37) the movement'sgoals, doctrine,and actions,are formulatedas bases forshared
commitments.Finally,shared personal historiesand experiences are used as strategiesby
which the correspondentalludes to sharedcommitmentsand justifieswriting.
These threedomains are used by correspondentsin ways similarto Swidler's(1986) con-
ception of the use of cultureas a "tool kit."Authors' agenticwherewithalpermitsthem to
search theircultural,social, and personal worlds to findand employ strategiesthat construct
common commitmentsto justifywriting.These effortsare not unlike creatingsolidarityand

5. Our coding was influencedby Cicourel's (1985; 1992) conception of contextualizingdiscoursestrategiesused

by speakersto interpretintendedmeanings.

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168 PLATT AND FRASER

framingthe movement,and indeed theywill oftensegue over to the conductof these other
strategies.Legitimatingwriting,however,is focusedupon gainingKing's attention,accessing
his time,and justifying a stranger'sinvasioninto his privacy.Consistentwiththe construction
of theirmovement experiences,authors offera soliloquy about theirrelationto the move-
ment and to King,theydo not seek to initiatea dialogue withhim.
The African-American ministerbeginshis letterwitha sentencetoken thatembeds a dis-
course strategywhich legitimateshis writing.Followingthe salutationhe writes:"Please con-
tinue to restfullyassured thatmillionsof people of everynation and race are watchingwith
deep interestthe gallant fightwhich you and your valiant associates are waging against dis-
criminationand its counterpart,segregation."
At firstglance, thisopening sentencetoken appears a non-sequiturin relationto the rest
of the letter'ssubstance. However,a more carefulinterpretation indicatesthat in this initial
sentence token the ministersignifieshis, and others,moral supportforthe movement.The
words gallantand valiantin the sentence are synonymsforbrave to be sure. But unlike the
word brave, which connotes mundane formsof courage, they imply courtly,chivalrous,or
knightly braveryconjuringthe image thatmovementactivistsare on a moralcrusadeor errand.
The discoursestrategyimputedto the sentencetoken given the minister'simpliedmoral mis-
sion is thatof "expressingand offering moral support."
Withinthe previous sentence token the ministerestablisheshis culturalcommitmentto
the movement. In another sentence token he furtherlegitimateshis writingby expressing
shared social commitmentsto commonlyheld goals, tactics,and doctrine,simultaneously
implyingthathe and King hold similarmovementframes:
We hereinWilmington also havesomethingto celebrate againstdiscrimina-
in thewayofa victory
tion.The RialtoTheater, whichcontinuedto be theonlytheaterin Wilmington refusing to admit
Negroes, lastweek.... Theclimaxcametwoweeksago whensixAfrican-American
capitulated stu-
dentsat LincolnUniversity wereamongthosewhowerearrested [This]servedto
for"trespassing."
increasepressure on theownertosucha degreethathe threwin thetowel.

By the Springof 1963, the date of the minister'sletter,the describedpatternof the cam-
paign at the Rialto Theater had become routinized among SNCC and SCLC activists.It
involved young AfricanAmericans,nonviolentlyinvadingsegregatedspaces, initiatingwhat
King called a "creative tension," seeking to forceor negotiate desegregationby pressuring
White business and government elites. We do not wish to trivialize the courage of the
young people nor the potential violence against them in these circumstances.Instead we
wish to underline that the minister'sreport is for him a relevant circumstance that he
wants to share with King. In this sentence token he expresses to King their shared com-
mitment to nonviolent doctrine and tactics. The legitimation strategyin this sentence
token is in the minister'ssubtextual expression, "in this movement we share a social con-
tractto nonviolence." The ministerwill more profoundlyelaborate this expression when
he aligns his movement framewith King's in a message sentence token conveyingtactical
advice.
However,at thispoint in the letter'stextthe ministergoes on to elaborate relatedissues
by describinghis own involvementin the Wilmingtonintegrationcampaign. In doing so he
furtherequates himselfwith King by suggestingthat King's successes in Birmingham,occur-
ringat the same time,are similarto his own in Wilmington,even ifhis are on a smallerscale.
The author continuesby referring to King's Birminghamcircumstances,and formulating the
inevitablesuccess of theirstruggle:
The massivedemonstrations whichare beingcarriedout in Birmingham are boundto resultin
repercussionswhichGovernor Wallace,"Bull"Connor,andtherestofthatreprobate crowdwillnot
be abletoovercome. Thetideis againstthem,theyknowit,becauseitis soundingthedeathknellof
theiniquitoussystem whichtheyhavefoisted upona longsufferingpeople.

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 Race and GenderDiscourseStrategies 169

We inferthatthe legitimationdiscoursestrategiesembedded in the sentencetokenscited

may be summarizedas: he and King are African-American minister-coworkers in a covenant
forjustice;theyshare commitmentsto a morality,goals, actions,and doctrine(Williams1995:
130-38). Ultimatelytheir effortsmust result in an end to discriminationand segregation.
Given theirshared commitmentsto these "common goods," he surelyhas the rightto write,
makinga requestand providingadvice about the course of the movement.
In a message sentencetokenthe ministerfurthersignifieshis framingof,and his solidar-
itywith,the movement.He offersKing advice, the subtextofwhich identifieshim withKing's
and SCLC's ideologicalversionof the movement.His message counsels King to set up a bail
fundformovementparticipantsby appealing nation-wideforcontributionsas small as a dol-
lar.The correspondentcloses his letterby drivinghome theircomparability, and the mutuality
of theirsolidarityand framesby equating theirpersonal experiencesand circumstances.The
ministerwrites:"I have servedforeleven yearsas the Presidentof the WilmingtonBranch of
the NAACP,and am now a memberof itsExecutiveBoard. I am certainthatwe would be glad
to promotethisidea, which I trustyou will considerfavorably."
The many different discoursestrategiesembedded in the lettermay be understood,as we
have attemptedto illustrate,by situatingthemwithinthe entirenarrativethe authorconveys.
However,the minister'sadvice, especiallyhis attemptto convince King to establisha nation-
ally acquired bail fund,is interpretableby contextualizingit in relationto the socio-cultural
events occurringin Birmingham,which for the Wilmingtonministerare relevant circum-
stances.
The Birminghamcampaignof 1963, to which the authorrefers,was widelyunderstoodas
crucialto the survivalof SCLC and its ideologicaldoctrineof nonviolentdirectaction. Morris
(1993) demonstratedBirmingham'spivotal positionin the movement.Morriswrites:"King
and his colleagues wanted to set in motionmass movementsthroughoutthe South modeled
afterthe Birminghamcampaignto overthrowsouthernsegregation"(1993:623).
The BirminghamCommissionerof Public Safety,Eugene ("Bull") Connor, pursued a
course of repressiveviolence againstmovementactivists.Connor conductedmassivearrestsof
African-American youthwho attemptedto desegregate"lunchcountersand otherpublicfacil-
ities in the downtown stores"(Morris 1993:623). Their arrestsand jailing were part of Con-
nor's strategyto break the spiritofthe youthinvolvedand thus,to destroythe movement.The
Wilmingtonleader was thereforecallingforthe establishmentof a bail fundforthose arrested
in confrontations in orderto sustainthe movement'smomentum.
The Wilmingtonminister'sletterillustrateswell thatthe meaningsof the discoursestrate-
gies used by correspondentsare contextuallydependent upon-relevantpersonal and socio-
culturalcircumstancesexpressedin letters.It is by contextualizingthe minister'sadvice as it
fitsto his letter'stotal narrative,immediateevents,and to SCLC's doctrineof nonviolence,
thathis frameand solidaritywiththe movementbecome visible.

Race, Gender and Correspondenceto King

In the remainderof the analysiswe no longerdiscuss legitimationsentence tokens and
the strategiesused to justifywritingto King; we are aware thatthese exist. Instead we focus
the investigationon how race, gender,and circumstancesinfluencethe discourse strategies
used in threetypesof sentence tokens,and in turnhow the variationsin creatingsolidarity
and framingthe movementare expressed.

Doctrine
Identificationwith doctrinesentence tokens are ways in which correspondentswriteof
theirinterpretations
of movementdoctrine.African-Americans used theirrace to formulatea

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170 PLATT AND FRASER

discoursestrategyrelatingthem to the movementas ifrace and participationwere inherently

associated. Thus, Black correspondentsstressedtheirsolidaritywith the instrumentalaspects
(e.g., voting,jobs, etc.) of the movement'sdoctrinemore so than did White correspondents.
Many correspondentswho expressed this form of solidaritysympatheticallybut critically
framethe movement;they indicate that although they are supportersand participants,the
movement'sdoctrine,goals, or conductrequirespecificadjustmentsin orderto be more effec-
tive and to achieve widersocietalacceptance.
Black correspondentsalso identifiedwith the principledaspects of movementdoctrine,
such as achievingequality,justice,and freedom.TheyencouragedKing to workforracialinte-
gration.One use of race as the basis fora discoursestrategyis depictedin the following:"I am
a Christiancolored woman .... I believe in fullcitizenshiprightsand integrationof all public
places forall Americans.I admireyour intelligence,your bravery,and your stand on integra-
tion." This woman identifiesher race and gender,and uses these to frameher supportof the
instrumentalaspects of the movement (fullcitizenshiprights)and of the movement'sprinci-
ples regardingintegrationand equality.
White correspondentsused theirrace as the basis fordiscoursestrategiesto create rela-
tions to the movementbut theydid so indirectly;having identifiedthemselvesas White they
then describethemselvesin relationto the movementby way of mutuallyheld sentiments,
values, and beliefs.TheyseparatethemselvesfromotherWhiteswho do not share theirvalues
and who oppose integration.Whites frequentlyidentifiedwith the principledtenets of the
movement,and theyalso identifiedwith its religiousdoctrine.Occasionally,these correspon-
dentsattemptto createan ascriptivesolidaritywiththe movementby depictingthemselvesas
brothersand sistersin the struggleforjustice. One such correspondentwhose race and reli-
gion are relevantto his identitywritesto King,"I am whiteand a Catholicpriest."He expresses
his abhorrenceof SouthernWhites' resistanceto desegregation.He identifieswith religious
movementdoctrinesuch as Christianbrotherhoodas well as withprinciplesofjustice and he
continues:"But we shall overcomein the end; justice always does, I shall continueto prayand
work foryou and our 19.2 millionNegro brothersin the United States-that justice may be
done to them."
White correspondentscreatesolidaritywiththe movementby identifying withitsprinci-
ples and with its religiousand nonviolent doctrine.
Whites use slogans such as "freedom"and
"equality now" or "we shall overcome." They write of moral and politicalprinciplessuch as,
"universalbrotherhood"and "universalsuffrage."White supportersand participantswriting
to King during this period framedthe movementin termsconsistentwith SCLC's integra-
tionistdoctrine.Table Three illustratesthe identificationswithmovementdoctrineby race.

Table 3 * IdentificationswithMovementDoctrineby Racial Self-Identification

Self
Identified Identified
Self Total
Doctrine as Black(%In) as White(%/n) (%/n)

Instrumental 18% (3) 8% (3) 11% (6)

Principles 65% (11) 45% (18) 51% (29)
Religious 18% (3) 33% (13) 28% (16)
Non-violence 0% (0) 15% (0) 11% (6)
Total 101% (17) 101% (40) 101% (57)

Notes:
Total percentagesdo not add to 100% due to rounding.
Correspondentsmay have mentionedmorethan one identification withthe movement'sdoctrinein theircorrespon-
with the movementin all correspondence(n = 408)
dence. Table total is less than total numberof identifications
because thisanalysisincludesonly those correspondentswho self-identified as eitherwhite or black and expressed
withmovementdoctrine(57 correspondents
identification out of 143 correspondentswho self-identifiedtheirrace).

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 Race and GenderDiscourseStrategies 171

The strategicdifferencesby race in creatingsolidaritywith the movementare consider-

able; they are also substantialby gender.Women express commitmentsto the instrumental
issues facingBlack Americansand to the movement'sreligiousdoctrine;men stressthe move-
ment'sprinciplesand nonviolence.For example,47 percentof women used religiousdoctrine
in creatingsolidaritywiththe movementwhile 36 percentofmen did so. However,33 percent
ofwomen employeddoctrinalprinciplessuch as freedomand equalitystrategieswhile 43 per-
cent ofthe men did so.6
Black womens' concern with instrumentalmattersaffectingall African-Americans was
also expressedby notingtheirgenderoppressionwhich theyassociate withracialsubjugation.
In a rare statementof gender consciousnessforthe time,a Black female activistwritingin
1962, explicitlyembeds strategiesin her letterthatequate the two:
Whenwe metin Chicago,at [name]'saffair, I asked[name]foran appointment to talksomethings
over,whereinI couldbe ofservice, particularly in myown cityand state,whereourvoterregistra-
tionis so low.I don'tknowwhether[name]was reluctant tomeet,manytimesmenare,forfearof
repercussions. I hope thisis nottrue.I am sincere,and wantto be ofservice.... I trustthatthe
strength ofthewomenofcolor,willnotbe minimized, and thatwe belongin thefight as wellas
themen.I saythisbecausemanywomenhavebeenrelegated to thebackground insteadofbeing
allowedto exercisetheirabilitiesto do, in thisfight,
forequal opportunities.
I feelthatI voicethe
sentiment ofhundreds ofwomen....
Black and White correspondentscreated solidarityby aligningrelevantaspects of their
racial identitieswith different
movementdoctrine.Blacks noted instrumentaland principled
aspects of movementdoctrinein theirletters.Whitesfocused upon its religiousand nonvio-
lent doctrine.White correspondentsalso stresseddemocraticprinciples.It makes sense that
these movement ideologies would be relevantto Whites who do not experience the effects
of racismfirsthand; therefore,theyuse theirrace strategicallyto identifywith more abstract
movementissues. For Blacks, principlesand to a lesser degree religiousdoctrinewere foun-
dational; these doctrinesshaped theirinterpretationof the movement and moved them to
act in the name of what was right,fair,and just. However, instrumentalissues were also
deeply embedded in Black activists' correspondence as they constructed frames and
establishedsolidaritywith a movementreflectingtheireverydayencounterswith inequality
and oppression.

Networks
Networksentencetokensembed correspondents'accountsof constructing solidaritywith
the movement by way of personal and other connections.Three discourse strategieswere
used by correspondentsto describetheirnetworkingwith the movement:externalconnec-
tions,thatare impersonal(mail solicitationsforfunds,newspaper,magazine,and journal arti-
cles thatmobilizedparticipation);institutionalties (church,business,school, affiliations
etc.);
and personalrelations(friends,family,personaltiesin church,workplace,etc.).
An examination of networksentence tokens by correspondents'gender indicateshow
strategiesderivedfromgenderidentitieswere influentialin mediatingthe way letterwriters'
constructedtheirties to the movement.Women describedtheirconnectionto the movement
throughpersonalrelationships,and men describetheirnetworkingby way ofinstitutionalties
and externalconnections (see table 4). Men also wrote of leadershippositionsthey held in
institutionsthat had relationswith the movement and how these became convertedinto
mobilizingties. Women wrote of personal relationships,such as friendshipsin groupssympa-
theticto the movement and of personal relationshipsin theirchurches and how these ties
acted to mobilizethem.

6. Because of space considerationsthistable is not presentedhere; it is available fromthe authors.

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172 PLATTAND FRASER

An African-American woman remarksupon her personal connectionto the movement

by way of her father
who was a friendof Booker T. Washington.By contrast,a male executive
workingfora large insurancecompanypraisesKing and notes thatKing's visitto a company
dinner "awakened many people who heretoforewere sleeping through the revolution."
Anotherman, fromLos Angeles,remarksto King upon the way he originallyconnectedto the
movement, "I know that you would not rememberme but I met you here at Church, in
1947." A Black pastor fromNew York writesof his church's institutionalparticipation.He
remarksupon his church'snetworkwiththe movementby declaringto King:
We hereat [BaptistChurch]heardof yourprogramforhelpingdestitute Negrofamiliesin the
south.Wejoinedin thedayoffasting andraisedtheamountofthechecksenttoyou... as a result
we might. . do to assistyouin
.... Pleasedo nothesitateto callon me foranything
ofthateffort
yourprogram.
White male and female correspondentsdescribetheirnetworkssimilarlyto Black corre-
spondents-White women express networkingwith the movementby way of personal ties
and men by way of externaland institutionalties. A White woman wishes to raise her chil-
dren with Christianvalues and writesof her family'sties to the movement;she is introduced
to the movementthroughthe workofher daughter.She describesher daughter'sparticipation
in MississippiFreedom Summerin her letterto King:
We areCatholics involvedin theworkoftheapostalate tolivewith
in ourparish... [we are]trying
faitheachdayaccording to God'sWill.Bringingup ourfivegirlsclosetoOurLord,andwe pray,not
prejudiced.... Ouroldestgirlhas alreadydonesomeworkfortheMississippi SummerProjectand
a littlemartyrdom-a
has suffered neighborreadherout in no uncertaintermsaboutthisbeinga
communist scheme.Butshekeptsilentandwonhercase.
A White male college chaplain notes his school's support (institutionalnetwork) for
the movementand remarksabout the networksamong activiststudents,himself,faculty,the
church,and the movement.Many male ministersand other clergy,both Black and White,
wrote of the ways that they were drawn to the movement throughreligiousconventions
where King spoke, as well as throughthe movement'sappeals in theirown congregations.A
rabbi whose given name is conventionallymale writesof his connectionto the movement
throughhis congregation.He goes on to commenton his participationin the Selma to Mont-
gomery March, therebyexpressinghis religiouslygrounded integrationistframingof the
movement:
In morethanthirtyyearsin therabbinateI have neverbeenmoredeeplystirredbythepervading
and overriding
religious in everyonewho marchedwithyouand
spirityoucreatedand inculcated
heardyouspeaklastThursday in Montgomery. to
To havebeena partofthatmajesticassemblage,
havefeltthethrobbing,almostpalpable,unityofpurposewhichboundus together-Christianand
Jew,Whiteand Negro,youngand old-was one ofthehighest momentsofmylife....
Gender relatednetworksexpressedin the correspondencereflectthe relevantstructural
arrangementsof the 1960s. Male correspondentsin discoursestressinstitutionaland imper-

Table 4 * NetworkIdentificationsby Correspondent'sGender

Network
Type All Women(%/n) All Men (%/n) Total(%/n)

Externalnetworks 11% (6) 21% (14) 17% (20)

Institutionalnetworks 23% (12) 55% (37) 41% (49)
Personalnetworks 66% (35) 24% (16) 43% (51)
Total 100% (53) 100% (67) 101%* (120)

Note:
*Does not add to 100% due to rounding.

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 Race and GenderDiscourseStrategies 173

sonal ties because these were theirconnectionsto the social world. Male correspondentsalso
emphasize institutionalnetworksbecause theyheld positionsof power in institutionssuch as
churches,businesses,and schools;these are the relevantcircumstancesfromwhich theycould
interpretthe formsof movementsolidaritytheycreated.
Thatwomen authorsmentionpersonalnetworksratherthan institutionalones, especially
personal networksin the church,is also the resultof the gender constraintsof the historical
period. This should not imply that women were not active in the religious life of their
churches. Such an observationwould be contraryto the well recognized involvementof
women, especiallyAfrican-American women, in the churches.Rather,both Black and White
women interpretedtheirrelationshipsto King fromtheirculturallyand circumstantially rele-
vant 1960s positionsas wives, mothers,churchhelpers,volunteers,and membersof church
committeesorientedto genderrelatedtasks (e.g., the women's "auxiliary"),ratherthan from
positionsof institutionalpower thattheydid not occupy.7

Messages
Correspondents sentmessagesto Kingabout themovement.Messagetokensprovideinsights
into how correspondentsframedthe movement.Embedded in theirmessages they express
how theywould ideallyformulateand pursue the movement.Race, more than gender,acts as
a basis forinterpreting strategiesinfluencingmessages to King. Table 5 depictsmessages by
self-referential
racial identification.
Black correspondents offeredKing theiradvice,help, and assistance.An African-American
woman writes:
TodayI was viewingtelevision and I criedthinkingofall thebrutality in theSouth,and
happening
in Selma,Alabama,and dearSir,I listenedto yourspeech,whichas always,I believecomesfrom
theuttermost depthsofyourheart... [however]youletfallsomewords,althoughmeantforthe
werenotquiteunderstood
segregationists as such,by thoseofour whitebrethren,who are now
side
tighting by sidewith us. Some ofthem mistookyourmeaningwhenyouutteredthesewords
'whenwe arein thelegislature theywillbe in thecottonpatch.'ThesearewordsmeantforGover-
norWallaceand hiskind... butletthoseofourwhitebrethren knowdearReverend, thatin our
heartswe love themmostdearly, and letnota reporter bythenameofEricSevereidor anyother
broadcast
reporter, to theworldthesewordsagain.
Her message framesthe movementsimilarlyto the rabbiquoted above; she conceives an
integrated,holy communityof Blacks and Whitesworkingtogetherforjustice,however,she
takes the libertyof advisingKing to adjust doctrinalexpressionsso thattheymay not be mis-
understoodby the public.This "holycommunity"message also demonstrateshow Blacks were
more likelyto send religiousmessagesto King. The strategiesin religiousmessageswere used
by African-Americans to frame the movement as a Christianimperative,the point being
stressedthattruebrotherhoodcould onlybe obtainedwhen all were treatedequally.
White authorsalso offeredreligiousmessages,but were more likelyto convey messages
of encouragementand thanks,and demonstratethat theyshared common doctrinalground
with the movement.A Whitewoman notes her movementsolidaritythrougha message sen-
tence token thatstrategicallyexpressesher commonground:

7. Carole Edelsky (1993:219-221) notes that when conversationsare organized in "floors"that are "collabora-
tive,"ratherthan "singly"held, the playingfieldbetween women and men is leveled. Women participatein talkequally
with men. "Collaborativefloors"may personalizethe organizationof talkin a manner similarto personalizednetworks
and thus women's participation,in movementsand talk, is facilitatedby such social organization.Recent publications
focusingon the contributionsof African-American women in the Civil Rightsmovementsuggestthe importanceto the
movement of women's personal ties, behind the scenes, grass roots,and collaborativeactivities.See Belinda Robnett
(1996; 1997) and VickiL. Crawford,Jacqueline Anne Rouse and Barbara Woods (1990). See also Mary King's (1987)
personal account of her movement participation.Review too Aldon Morris's (1984) characterizationof the roles of
Black women in the Civil Rightsmovement.

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174 PLATTAND FRASER

I am a whitecitizenfromDetroit. I finditappallingthatoursocietyis suchthatone feelscompelled

to saythat'I am white'or 'I amblack'ratherthensimply'I am a citizen.'Somehowwe havegotten
mixedup and twistedto thepointwherewe mustmakethedistinction. I wantso verymuchDr.
Kingtospeakmyheartfeltthoughts toyouandtocongratulate youon thewonderful workyouare
doingforyourpeopleand forthenationto tryand bringthisnationto therealization thatthereis
onlyone race-the humanrace!
That common ground was a frequentmessage in lettersfromWhites but less so from
Blacks is not surprising.White correspondentsemployed strategiesthat related them to the
movementand supporteditsgoals by viewingthe movementas occurringforthe benefitof all
races and not forBlacks alone. By demonstratingtheircommon bond with the movement,
Whitestold King how the movementwas relevantto them and theirlives. The large number
of Whitesthat offeredtheirencouragementand thanksin sentence tokens deliveredin their
lettersto King carriedin them a similarstrategy;throughtheirencouragementand thanks
they showed how theyabhorredthe segregationiststatusquo, and shared an interestin the
movement'ssuccess.
Messages sent to King reflectthe ways correspondentsframethe movementand them-
selves as supportersand participants.Black women and men involved themselveswith the
movementby offering theirreligiouslygroundedsupport
advice and assistance,demonstrating
of King. White correspondentsportrayedthemselvesas activistsin a moral crusade forjustice
and equality forall humankindbased on a common understandingof these principles.They
formulatedtheirencouragementas importantto show King that not all Whiteswere against
the movementand theywere not sittingidlyby but ratherwere activelyinvolved.

Correspondents'Experiences in Lightof Discourse Strategies

We have argued that correspondentsconstructtheirparticipationby employinggender,
race, and circumstancesto createconceptionsof the movementand theirrelationto it. These
do not exhaust the ways in which participantsand supportersemploy strategiesto construct
theirmovement experiences.However, the uses of these strategiesdo provide insightsinto
ways in which letterwritersconstructthe movementforthemselves,how they attendto it,
how theymake it resonantto theirrelevantidentitiesand circumstances,how theycreatesoli-
darityand framethe movement,and how theydepictthemselvesas supportersand participants.
People stimulatedby specificmovementdoctrineand activitiesare moved to offertheir
services,advice, practical,and moral support.Correspondentsattendingto the movementsee

Table 5 * Message Typeby Racial Self-Identification

Selfas
Identified Self
Identified Total
MessageType Black(%/n) as White(%/n) (%/n)

Advice 18% (4) 4% (2) 9% (6)

Encouragement/thanks 28% (6) 41% (19) 36% (25)
Religious 32% (7) 21% (10) 25% (17)
Common ground 23% (5) 34% (16) 30% (21)
Total 101%* (22) 100% (47) 100% (69)

Notes:
Does not add to 100% due to rounding.
Correspondentsmay have mentionedmore than one message typein theircorrespondence.Table totalis less than
total numberof message statementsall correspondence(n = 502) because thisanalysisincludes only those corre-
spondentswho self-identified as eitherwhite or black and expressed identificationwith movement doctrine(57
correspondentsout of 143 correspondentswho self-identified theirrace).

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 Race and GenderDiscourseStrategies 175

aspects in it that are relevantto theiridentitiesand theircircumstances;thus theyformulate

the movementin these terms.They are moved to contributeto the movement;theirimmedi-
ate responseis to do so by writinga letter.In the letterstheydescribeaspectsofthe movement
theyfindrelevantto theirrace, gender,and circumstances,and theyemploythese to formu-
late theirsolidaritywithand framingof it. They use strategiesbased in personalattributesand
socio-culturalcircumstancesrelevantto them to constructforthemselves,and forKing their
movementexperiences.
This interpretive processconstitutesthe movement.Fromthe perspectivesofparticipants'
and supporters'the movementis a vitalshifting, developing,and evolvingorganizationaland
culturalobject.It involvescorrespondentsas activeagentsin creatingit as such. Thus, the let-
ter writersas participantsand supporterscreate,recreate,and elaborate the movementas a
multidimensionalobjectby makingdifferent aspectsof it salientand resonantto themselves.
This constructiveprocess is recursiveand inseparable for the correspondentsand the
movement. The multidimensionalcharacterof the movement and supporters'and partici-
pants' experientialframesare inseparable;theyrecursivelycreate,recreate,and elaborateone
another.The processis well describedby Hunt,Benfordand Snow when theynote thatframing:
... suggestsa keyrecursive relationship:
framing processesproduceframes whichthencondition
ensuingframing processes.Framingconceptsthusunderscore the dynamicqualityof movement
beliefsystems
participants' byfixing attentionon thedialectical
interplay betweeninterpretivepro-
cessesand cognitivestructures.
Personaland collective
identitiesare,in part,a productor outcome
ofthisdialectical
interplay....framing and identity
construction processesare interconnectedin a
dynamic,almostrecursive fashion.(1994:192,203-204)
We suggestthatviewingmovementsas multidimensionalmandates a focuson the inter-
active processesbetween supportersand participantsand the aspects of movementorganiza-
tion and doctrinethey find relevantto their identitiesand circumstances.This interaction
createssolidarityas participantsconstructtheirown framingof the movement.As theydo so
they perpetuate,recreate,expand, and change the multidimensionality of the movement,
making it ever so complex, includingthe splinteringof organizationsunder an ideological
umbrella.8
Persons who exist in common statuses and circumstancesand share relevancies can
exhibitinterpretive commonalities.It is Black women and men, White women and men that
existin sharedand yet separatedsocial situationsthathave the potentialforsharedand sepa-
raterelevancies.Ultimately, however,it is the existenceof sharedrelevantpersonaland socio-
culturalcircumstances,and not the structuresalone, thatare employedby correspondentsas
the bases forthe discoursestrategiesused to constructthe movementand theirrelationsto it.

ImplicationsforTheory
Benford(1993b:210) pointsout that,"... interpretive scholarshave tendedto neglectthe
historical,cultural,and structuralcontextin which movementconstructionsof realityoccur."
Benford'sinsightis similarto those of Geertz(1983), Rosaldo (1989), and Schutz (1962) who
insistthatsocial analysisbe "situationspecific"or fitto participants'"local knowledge."Citing
C. WrightMills, Benfordcontinues,".. . Mills (1940) contendedthat motivesare 'situated.'
That is they 'vary in contentand characterwith historicalepochs and societal structures'"
(1993b:210).

8. Benforddescribeshow thissplinteringoccurredin the nuclear disarmamentmovementand how it resultedin

doctrinalconflictamong social movementorganizationsin a SMI (Benford1993a). A similarprocess caused the breach
between SNCC and SCLC in 1966 which resultedin the withdrawalof public supportwhen Dr. King spoke out against
the Vietnamwar and when he criticizedthe UnitedStatesforBlacks' and Whites' conditionsofpoverty(King 1967).

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176 PLAIT AND FRASER

Benford'sremarksimplicitlyreferto a dominantsociologicalformulationwith which he

and his co-workersare now struggling. This is an assumptionthat the explanationof coordi-
nated action requires an ahistoricaland universallyshared unity of participants'subjective
perspectivesand motivations.At theirroot,such explanationsconceive coordinatedaction as
dependentupon persons' invariantlysharedinterests,ideas, motivations,and outlooks.These
approaches assume it is by way of such sharedperspectives,eitherpreviouslyextantor situa-
tionallyconstructed,that individualscoordinatetheiractions and orientthemselvesto com-
mongoals.
We concur with Benford'sremarks,adding that our sociolinguisticanalysisof the corre-
spondence to Dr. King suggeststhatmovementparticipantsare multivocal.They are commit-
ted to, and they construct,variegatedconceptionsof movements.We conceive of activistsas
reflexivelyconstructingthe movementby aligningrelevantfeaturesof theirpersonal identi-
ties and socio-culturalcircumstanceswith it. Their agency influencesthe constructionof
movementframesby fittingits structuraland culturalfeaturesto theirrelevantpersonal and
social circumstances,makingthe movementforthemselvesa resonantpersonal,social,and cul-
turalobject,simultaneouslyreproducingthe movementas a collectiveand public object.
A movementtherefore,is not a singleentity;ratherit is a layeredobject thatis privatized
and shared. Johnston,Larafia and Gusfieldsuggestthat movementidentityexists at several
levels; forthem it is individual,collective,and public (1994:12-20). Benfordadds that what
existsas sharedin movementidentitiesis the resultof constructive"processesin a never-end-
ing recursivechain" (1993b:210).
Consistentwith these remarkswe inferfromour analysis that correspondents'private
identitiesare the outcome of two processes.Identitiesare historicallydeveloped,the resultof
the acquisitionof the language of selfin the Meadian sense, and in which,forportionsof our
sample, race and gender are centered.These selves are elaboratedthroughinteractionwith
the doctrine,events, and social circumstancesof the movement;interactionsthat resonate
with correspondents'personaland socio-culturalcircumstances(Mills 1940; Platt1980:83-88;
Smelser 1963:16, 79-130).
Collectiveidentityis the agreed upon dimensionsofthisprocess;it is aspectsofthe move-
ment that are shared (Johnston,Larafiaand Gusfield1994:15). This shared definition,how-
ever, is not entirelyderived fromorganizationalmovementframesnor frompreestablished
ideological positions that movement leadershipattemptsto superimposeupon participants.
Instead the shared aspects of movementidentitiesare as Melucci proposes,the "outcome of
self-reflectionmore than a given ." (citedin Johnston,Larafiaand Gusfield1994:17).
... evidence to supportsuch claims. The lettersdemonstrate
The lettersto Dr. King provide
that movement activistsengage in definingthe movement for themselves,simultaneously
constructingprivateand collectivemovementframes.Correspondentscreateda privatecon-
ception of theirmovement experienceswhile constructinga collectiveidentity.The coordi-
nated collectiveaction occurringin these circumstancesis only partiallythe resultof shared
interestsor ideas imposedupon participantsby a movement'sorganization.Coordinatedactiv-
itiesare the outcome of the interpretive processesbased in discoursestrategiessituatedin rel-
evant personal and socio-culturalcircumstances,and these are fashionedto activists'private
and collectiveidentities.Withinthe contextof these privatizedand shared identitiespartici-
pants committheirpersonalenergiesto the movementand orienttheiractivitiesto the move-
ment on the basis of their own conceptionsof it. Only insofaras their interpretations are
influencedby similarrelevantpersonal and social-culturalcircumstancesdo they construct
shared movementframes.
In theircorrespondenceactivistswere multivocal,sometimesspeakingas individualsand
at other times in harmony with other movement participants.They were experientially
diversewhile simultaneouslycommittedto a collectiveidentity.They accomplishboth by way
of the discoursestrategieswe found in these letters.Their diverseand similarcommitments
are to a structurallyand culturallymultidimensionalmovement.Diverse and shared commit-

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 Race and Gender Discourse Strategies 177

ments tie supporters and participants to the movement by way of separate and overlapping
frames and conceptions of solidarity. Participants contribute to collective activities by simulta-
neously attending to their own and to shared interests and ideas, and while doing so they con-
struct and reconstruct a multidimensional movement. And by engaging in movement
activities they make its public identity visible.

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