I joined Friends of SNCC at Columbia University when I came there in '64 as a freshman. In March of '65 five of us, led by Bill Strickland, went down for the second Selma March, the one that made it to Montgomery. We raised money and collected food in Atlanta, then arrived in Selma the day before the March. We knew as we crossed that bridge, that a turning point was reached.
Like many of those that were there, I've remained an activistColumbia Student Strike in '68, support work for PATCO in '81, activist and officer in the National Writers Union for years. Now we have a new civil rights movement fighting for the rights of immigrants and to protect the rights of all of us. Currently, I'm with NJ Civil Rights Defense Committee, fighting to end the immigrant detentions and deportations, and help put out an occasional newspaper, Workers Democracy. May Day, 2006 looks to be another big turning point, the birth of a new mass movement, with a new generation of activists. Hopefully this movement will grow strong enough to finish the job begun in the '60's.
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