Austin's unusual strategy of advocating for the majority of blacks to have a voice in society succeeded in galvanizing a broader segment of the African American community in Durham to act for social change.
Myrdal defined the black press as an instrument of the "Negro upper classes" for spreading conservative values, and establishing group control and identity.
Louis Austin worked tirelessly to shape The Carolina Times into a vehicle for change for the African American community.
Austin's honest and straightforward approach gave him credibility and strong support in Durham, North Carolina and throughout the state.
Louis Austin worked towards achieving racial equality for blacks, regardless of their socio-economic status, by approaching discriminatory policies with a new, confrontational strategy.
[6] Throughout the 1930s, Austin displayed his commitment to the African American masses in Durham through his efforts to bring about social and political change in many different areas.
"[7] While Austin and the other black lawyers lost in court, according to Jerry Gershenhorn, the case was significant in the larger context because it marked a turning point in the African American struggle for equal rights and social injustice.
Beginning in the late 1920s, Austin worked to directly confront restricts, such as literacy tests, that white supremacists imposed in order to keep blacks from voting.
Throughout the country, the black press applauded their victory as a turning point for African American involvement in politics: "For the first time in the history of the South, two colored men were elected to office on the Democratic ticket.
[12] Another pivotal turning point in black political influence occurred in 1935, when Austin joined with Shepard and Spaulding to form the Durham Committee on Negro Affairs, known as the DCNA.
The campaign revealed the hypocrisy in America's supposed "war for democracy" abroad and attack on the Nazi's discriminatory ideology by publicizing racial oppression at home.
From the outset of World War II, Austin relentlessly attacked the government for "all forms of discrimination, and advocated for equal access for blacks in all branches of the armed forces.
At an October 1942 meeting amongst black leaders in Durham intended to work on issuing a Durham Manifesto, conservative leaders such as Spaulding, Shephard and Young, expressed their disagreement with "the principle and practice of compulsory segregation in our American society;" however, they worried that if they endorsed outright rejection of racial segregation in the manifesto, it would create white backlash.
"[16] The race riots of 1943 -- which erupted in over forty cities including Durham -- also factored into the growing sentiment amongst black activists to tone down their criticisms.
However, Austin remained determined to the Double V strategy, and instead, used the violent uprisings to further his criticism by publicizing the harm that segregation was causing throughout the country.
One method Austin advocated was telling every African American to write letters to their mayor, their governor, and their president, and peacefully declare their frustrations through the power of words.
Throughout the war, Austin taught other African Americans the importance of pursuing nonviolent methods when fighting segregation, such as publicly voicing their concerns instead.
"[18] After World War II, Austin continued to directly confront issues African Americans were facing, and began to see some results from his hard work.
Austin recognized the importance of joining with the younger generation of activists because they would be the face of the new movement, and it was crucial to steer them in the right way.
In the 1950s, when the NAACP wanted to increase its membership, particularly to attract more young participants, The Carolina Times played a key role in getting people to join.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Austin joined with a new generation of activists in support of the desegregation of public schools, lunch counters, and restaurants, equal access to employment opportunities, and voting rights.
In June 1957, Austin ran an outspoken editorial about the organization: [T]his newspaper senses a stagnation that is beginning to creep over the Durham Committee on Negro Affairs which, if allowed to continue, is certain to spell its doom….
Davidson stated, "If the civil rights movement of the 1960s was a second American Revolution, as some have called it, then Louis Austin was, especially in the crucible of North Carolina, its Thomas Paine, his stirring rhetoric pointing the way toward freedom at a crucial moment.
[24] Austin, alongside Douglas E. Moore and Floyd McKissick, continued to push the DCNA to pursue more forceful actions during the modern civil rights era.
[25] While Austin rallied the masses to join with the new generation of activists in order to affect change, he denounced the black nationalist and separatist organizations that arose in the late 1950s and early 1960s and thought unlawful tactics were a necessary means to achieving their goals.
Austin believed that, "The pen is mightier than the sword," and throughout his life whenever he felt angry about racial injustices, he voiced them in The Carolina Times instead of resorting to violence.
Austin displayed these sentiments in an editorial in the Times: "we call upon every Negro of sound judgment in this country to throw his support to that segment of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and other civil rights organizations that believe in and intend to practice law and order.
The Carolina Times printed that "The United States Supreme Court opened a historic term October 2, with the swearing of the first Negro justice in its 178-year history.
Austin taught Fuller to take on the upper class in the black community with the same zeal and uncompromising spirit that he used in confronting the white power structure.
"[32] Equally important, by rallying African Americans to register to vote, Austin created a black political movement in Durham that continues to grow.