Ralph McGill

the long version

Ralph McGill's life and work (1898-1969) show how an individual becomes committed to the cause of civil rights and social justice. In Vienna in 1938, while still a sportswriter, McGill felt a "calling" to fight intolerance, hatred, and racial prejudice. He assumed his eventual role of "the conscience of the South" in stages. He became an editor of the Atlanta Constitution, but for years struggled to master political and economic commentary. Until 1948 McGill believed a long period of economic prosperity and social stability would be necessary before desegregation could successfully come to the South. Realizing that change was imminent, he tried to serve as mediator between races and regions. In 1953, after rejecting Christianity for thirty-six years, he reclaimed his faith, rejoined the church, and began to argue for a new pattern in race relations. The 1957 school desegregation crisis in Little Rock was another turning point. There, he said, the South forfeited its last chance to change on its own and would now be forced to accept federal coercion. National syndication of his column in 1957, along with countless speeches and articles, enabled McGill to become the nation's preeminent interpreter of the South.