A Calamity of Souls

In the late 1960s, the struggle for civil rights was being fought on two fronts: the legal front and enforcement. By 1968, the year A Calamity of Souls takes place, there had been many important legal victories. Segregation in schools ended with Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964, and the Voting Rights Act passed in 1965. As referenced in the novel, Loving v. Virginia was ruled on in 1967, allowing for Black and white people to marry. However, despite all the landmark Supreme Court rulings and laws being passed, the Black population still battled injustice and inequality, as the nation failed to enforce legislation, especially throughout the South.

Martin Luther King, Jr., a key figure in the effort to enforce these new laws through boycotts and protests, was assassinated less than two months prior to the beginning of the novel. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Legal Defense Fund (LDF)—both of whom DuBose works for—were choosing court cases and locations throughout the country to push back at the lack of adherence to the nation’s new laws.

The novel reflects the chaos and resistance of the late 1960s, and the society depicted in Freeman County, Virginia is typical of the time. Despite new legislation, law enforcement continued to abuse Black citizens, as seen with Jerome’s arrest and the subsequent violent harassment of DuBose and Jack. Additionally, court rooms continued to be dominated by white judges and juries, and citizens like Hilly either actively participated in or simply ignored the racism occurring around them. Black citizens struggled to get jobs, become educated, and rise up from the cyclical poverty leftover from enslavement and Jim Crow.