Interview with Joan Trumpauer mulholland. She recalls taking part in the 1961 freedom rides, attending tougaloo college, and serving at the Mississippi State penitentiary with other activists. This interview is part of a project on the Civil Rights Movement initiated by congress in 2009, conducted by the Smithsonian National museum of africanAmerican History and culture, the american full like american folklife center. Joan i was born in washington, d. C. And raised in arlington, virginia, basically a mile down the road in apartments, which at that point was the only place in Northern Virginia that would rent to jews. This was the early 1940s, folks had come from new york, looking for government jobs. They wanted out of the boarding houses and they can move to buckingham and that was about it. What did your dad do . Joan they had those government jobs. My father came from southwest iowa, during the depression. My folks met at the midnight shift at the post Office Building in the elevat
Just trying to get some fix on where we were and what we were about to do. I was trying to be slow and heavy so my anxiety would not get too high on me. I felt my temperature increase. I could feel my collar sweating, coming off the side of my face. I did not have to always ask joe what he was thinking. We looked at each other and both of us looked at the calendar at the same time. We just started to walk towards the counter, without a single word. That is how it happened. And we took our seats. University of massachusetts hammers professor, Tracey Parker, joins us now on cspan and cspan 3 for a discussion about the lunch counter citizens of 1960. Tracey parker, who were the greensboro for and why did they decide to sit down at that woolworths lunch counter on that february day in 1960 . Thank you for having me. Those greensboro four were four young men who were just College Freshman at North Carolina and tea state university. The three of them had met and high school, and so they alre
In the semester where were talking about the Civil Rights Movement. Weve been looking at that for a couple of sessions now. The interesting thing about teaching the Civil Rights Movement is that its perhaps the era that most americans think they know the most about. Weve talked a little bit about this and we will talk some more about this. Just because folks think they can quote a few sentences from Martin Luther kings speech in washington or know a little bit about rosa parks is civil disobedience on the bus. Even having some visual images in our mind of people being brutalized by fire hoses and dogs. Theres a real kind of visual narrative that comes to all of this. We often think that we know a lot about this movement. One of the challenges for those of us who are learning the movement and connecting it to this much longer history of a black activism was, is theres a point where we almost have to unlearn some stuff before we can learn some stuff. Thats what i our reading is for today
Funeral service was held in Atlanta Georgia for the late congressman john lewis. President bill clinton, george w. Bush, and barack obama were in attendance and spoke about john lewis and his legacy as a lawmaker and a civil rights icon. Johns story began on the tiny farm in troy, alabama, a place so small he said you could barely find it on the map. Chickens. About the i did a little research. Rise morning, he would before the sun to tend to the flock of chickens. He loved those chickens. Attended tom and their every need. Even their spiritual ones. John ties, married, and preached to them. [laughter] claimed one for family supper, john refused to each one of his flock. Going hungry was his first act of nonviolent protest. [laughter] he also noted in later years that his first congregation of chickens listened to him more closely than some of his colleagues in congress. [laughter] thought chickens were little more productive. At least they produced eggs. [laughter] citizens in the nas
News with Norah Odonnell, his wife, lillian, who died in reporting tonight from atlanta. 2012, and on a night thawe back at how the couple odonnell good evening and thank you for joining us on this historic night here in atlanta, lived it for more than four decades. The longtime home of civil rights icon john lewis. For 44 years, john lewis had a were standing in front of the strong presence at his side, his Ebenezer Baptist church where today former president s, the wife, lillian. Though it may not have been love speaker of the house, and at first sight, says xernona friends and family all came clayton, who introduced them. Together to say good bye. I asked her what did she think of john . The Senior Pastor here called she said, i guess hes all lewis a true American Patriot right . Who loved america until america learned to love him back. That wasnt good enough for me. I said, i gotta work on this three former president s spoke, one. But it was president obama who odonnell when they m