Protest article, February 22, 1941

This article is about a collection of lawsuits, which the Vanguard League supported, that local citizens filed because they were turned away from movie theaters based on their race. The lawsuits totaled $4,000 and targeted the Loew’s and Broad movie theaters in Columbus, Ohio. Filing lawsuits were a popular form of protest, especially with the Vanguard League. This form of protest pushed to help stop racial profiling and denial of access based only on race. Constance Curtis Nichols was born Constance Jean Curtis in 1907 in Marietta, Ohio. Her father, who was a barber, pushed for all of his children to go to college. Constance originally wanted to go to Marietta College, to attend business school, but subsequently was turned away because they did not admit African Americans at the time. She ended up at the Ohio State University’s School of Business, graduating in 1931 as the only black woman in her class. While a student, Constance began her civil rights activism, becoming a member of the Inter-Racial Council, and organizing for the Democratic Party and the NAACP. After being turned away at a local movie theater, Constance and her companion Frank Shearer, formed the Vanguard League in 1940. Even after the league disbanded in 1950, Constance remained active in the Columbus chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality, ran for city offices, and wrote about racial inequality. While professionally she was a businessperson, Constance wrote plays and poems throughout her life, even wining first prize for one of her poems at the State Fair. Constance passed away in March 1989 in Columbus, Ohio. Constance Curtis Nichols and Frank Shearer formed the Vanguard League in 1940. The group first met at Mrs. Nichols home to discuss possible solutions to problems that the community faced in regards to racial discrimination. The League would file legal lawsuits against businesses that would discriminate against African Americans. They would also regularly schedule “pickets” to petition local business and organizations that participated in racial discrimination. These lawsuits and petitions continued throughout the 1940s; however, by 1950 the League’s numbers had fallen, because many members left to join other organizations, as more formed during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Though the spirit of the Vanguard League would remain in the city of Columbus, and throughout all of the organizations that the founding members went on to join