I was a white graduate student at Emory University in Atlanta. I was impressed by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who had moved his SCLC HQ to Atlanta. I was approached by members of the Appeal on Human Rights to sign petitions and attend meeting about the civil rights movement.
I joined SNCC in the fall of 1960. My first demonstration was on election day 1960 in Decatur, Georgia. I then demonstrated on a regular basis at Rich's Department Store where I saw Dr. King "reviewing" the troops from The Ramparts (the federal post office building).
My two greatest memories were: the day the Klan came, around Christmas 1960. They pushed me around and called me a "white nigger" — which I remain! Next, I met Malcolm X at our "victory" celebration in March 1961. He confused us all by denouncing integration and nonviolent protest.
I came to see gray as well as black and white in the struggle for social change. I completed my Ph.D. at Emory and am a History professor at Salem College, Winston-Salem, N.C. I am a native of New Jersey and a graduate of Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania.
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