Terry v. Adams

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Terry v. Adams, right here in Fort Bend County. Now, if you want to understand how a small, unofficial club of good ol' boys nearly kept an entire county's Black population locked out of democracy for generations — and how a farmer and a businesswoman decided enough was enough — well, pull up a seat, because this story has some miles on it.

First, a little background. After the Civil War, parts of the South developed what they called the "white primary" system. These were unofficial, pre-election polls — just private enough to dodge the law, just powerful enough to shut African Americans out of any real political influence.

The U.S. Supreme Court had already been chipping away at this system through a series of significant Texas voting rights cases in the first half of the twentieth century. But Fort Bend County had its own particular arrangement, and it had been humming along for a long time.

The outfit responsible was called the Jay Bird Democratic Association. Now, the Jay Birds weren't an official political party — oh no, they were careful about that. They ran what they called "straw elections," their own little pre-primary to handpick the Democratic nominees for local office.

And here's the thing about Fort Bend County: most voters there consistently pulled the lever for Democratic candidates. So whoever the Jay Birds blessed with their nomination, well, that person was just about guaranteed to win the general election. The whole enterprise was whites-only, and that was precisely the point.

Then came 1950. Willie Melton, a farmer, and Arizona Fleming, a businesswoman — both African Americans in Fort Bend County — began a suffrage movement. They were done watching from the outside.

Their movement led to legal action, and a man named John Terry, along with other Black county residents, agreed to lend their names as plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit. The defendants were A. J.

Adams and other officers of the Jay Bird Democratic Association. The case went to U.S. District Court in Houston.

The court looked at what the Jay Birds were actually doing and called it like it saw it: the Jay Birds were operating as a political party, and therefore they were subject to state and federal laws protecting voters' rights. The ruling came down in favor of the plaintiffs, and it meant that African Americans in the county could vote in an upcoming Jay Bird primary election. A genuine crack in the wall.

But the Jay Birds weren't done. They filed an appeal, and in 1951, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals heard it — and overturned the original judgment. One step forward, one step back.

The crack had been plastered over. So in 1952, local supporters reached into their own pockets and raised the funds to take it higher. All the way to the top.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in January 1953. And in the case that became known as Terry v.

Adams, the Court upheld the original ruling — the plaintiffs prevailed. By 1959, the Jay Bird Democratic Association had suspended activities. Sometimes the tallest tale of all is just the truth, told plainly: a farmer, a businesswoman, and a county full of people who refused to be counted out — and in the end, they weren't.

What the marker says

During the first half of the 20th century, the U. S. Supreme Court heard a series of significant Texas voting rights cases which collectively ended the “white primary” system established in many areas of the South after the Civil War. White primaries were unofficial, pre-election polls barred to African Americans that effectively prevented them from having any political influence. In 1950, African Americans Willie Melton, a farmer, and Arizona Fleming, a businesswoman, began a suffrage movement in Fort Bend County that led to legal action. John Terry and other black county residents agreed to lend their names as plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit filed against A. J. Adams and other officers of the Jay Bird Democratic Association. The Jay Birds functioned as a whites-only political organization that operated unofficial “straw elections” to select Democratic nominees for local elections. Since most Texans consistently voted for Democratic candidates, any nominee selected by the Jay Birds invariably won in the general elections. The case was heard in U. S. District Court in Houston, and the court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, because the Jay Birds were operating as a political party and therefore subject to state and federal laws protecting voters’ rights. The ruling enabled the county’s African Americans to vote in an upcoming Jay Bird primary election. An appeal filed by the Jay Birds was heard in 1951 by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, who overturned the original judgment. In 1952, local supporters raised funds to enable an appeal to be filed. The U. S. Supreme Court heard arguments in January 1953 and in Terry v. Adams upheld the original ruling in favor of the plaintiffs. By 1959, the Jay Bird Democratic Association had suspended activities. (2009)