I was active in Presbyterian campus ministry at the University of Colorado. Rev. Wally Toevs, campus chaplain, went to Hattiesburg, MS and to Selma earlier than the [Selma to Montgomery] march. When the call went out for people to come to the last day of the march, I went on the bus. It seemed like going to church on Easter, so along with two other students, Richard Krushnic and Pam Maurer, I signed up for the SCLC-SCOPE project in the summer of 1965.
We attended the orientation in Atlanta and then were assigned to Greenville, Butler County, Alabama. We worked on canvassing, mass meetings, voter education, and a little community organizing, as the guidelines suggested. Our field staff person was R.B. Cottonreader. We had one experience with demonstrating (a two day period) and were tear gassed. We finally got our demands met, one of which was to get a list of who had passed the registration requirements. These had to meet Alabama laws until the federal Voting Rights Act passed Aug. 6.
There was only one more day for registration before I had to leave to begin seminary. I attended San Francisco Theological Seminary, San Anselmo, CA. Students from there had done logistics on the Selma march and worked in Camden, Wilcox County, Alabama. Camden Academy was a Presbyterian school. Students, including me, worked in Oakland, CA, in 1966 and took part in some activities in connection with the Farmworkers organizing movement in Delano, CA. We also participated in anti-Vietnam war activities. These things shaped my lifelong concern for peace and justice.
Lately, I have attended two 50th reunions, one at the seminary in April and the SCLC-SCOPE reunion in Atlanta. I made a video for Marshfield Community TV (www.marshfieldtv.com/archives) It was posted March 3, 2015, and is about page 35-40 in their archives. I have done several programs for church and community in connection with this.
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