Carl Braden

Released
Date of birth:24. 06. 1914
Date of death:18. 02. 1975
Age:60† Deceased
Gender:Male
Race:White
Era:1960s
State:Kentucky
Address:3001 KY-146, La Grange, KY 40032
Support
Civil Rights Anti-Racism
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Biography

Carl Braden was a trade unionist, journalist, and activist who was known for his work in the civil rights movement along with his wife Anne Braden.

In 1954, the Bradens assisted an African-American couple, Andrew and Charlotte Wade, who wanted to buy a suburban home but had been unable to do so due to housing discrimination. The Bradens purchased a house on behalf of the Wades in a white neighborhood and deeded it over to the Wade family. White segregationists immediately lashed out — burning a cross into the lawn, throwing rocks, shooting at, and eventually bombing the house. Carl Braden was charged with sedition. Although housing discrimination was illegal, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling specifically on a case in Louisville, Buchanan v. Warley, in 1917, charges were brought against Braden for hatching a communist plot to stir up a race war. A friend of the Wades was also charged with bombing the house to make it appear to have been done by others. No charges were filed regarding the other incidents. Braden rightfully denied the accusations. He was convicted on December 13, 1954, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. His conviction was then overturned.

In 1951, when compelled to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), Braden refused to answer questions posed to him, saying the questions violated his First Amendment rights. The House Un-American Activities Committee (also called HUAC) was a committee within the United States House of Representatives dedicated to identifying agents of Fascism or Communism, ideologies deemed "un-American". The case was heard before the Supreme Court of the United States as Braden v. United States, 365 U.S. 431 (1961). The court ruled against Braden, saying his conviction was constitutional. Braden was sentenced to a year in prison, and a drive for clemency in his case was led by Martin Luther King Jr. He was released after serving nine months of the sentence.

The Bradens were dedicated to the freedom struggle their entire lives, serving as allies willing to put everything on the line.

Cases

Charges: Contempt of Congress.
Incarcerated: 1961
Sentence: Sentenced to twelve months; served about nine months in federal prison (1961–1962). Verdict as recorded: Yes — conviction affirmed 5–4 by the Supreme Court in Braden v. United States (1961), decided with Wilkinson v. United States. Charges as recorded: Contempt of Congress — for refusing, on First Amendment grounds, to answer questions before the House Un-American Activities Committee (Atlanta, 1958) about his civil-rights associations.
Convicted: Yes
Charges: Sedition (Kentucky) — for helping Andrew and Charlotte Wade purchase a house in a segregated Louisville neighborhood, 1954.
Arrested: 1954
Sentence: Fifteen years, of which he served approximately eight months before obtaining an appeal bond; the conviction was overturned in 1956. The year is entered at year precision; his exact admission and bond dates are unresolved in the catalog record.
Convicted: Yes — convicted 1954, fifteen years; served approximately eight months before appeal bond; overturned 1956

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