Tesitmony: I received a "scholarship" from CORE in the summer of 1961 while attending the Encampment for Citizenship at the University of California, Berkely. The purpose was to study Non-violence. The workshop was held in Fairfax County Virginia. Our group learned under the tutelage of Gordon Carey, Assistant Director of Core and James Farmer, the National Director. At that time the Freedom Rides were taking place in Mississippi. It was my hope as well as others that we would be able to participate in the ongoing "Rides" in Mississippi. We were informed that this was not possible. It was important that ongoing social action take place throughout the South in order to bring Jim Crow laws to an end. We attempted to integrate public facilities, restaurants, in Alexandria, Va. A group of six of us were arrested and sentenced to six months in jail.
I spent the next thirty-four years as a teacher, assistant principal and principal in the South Bronx. I taught a course in Social Action for the Ethical Culture Youth Organization as well as various college courses on teaching the Urban Disadvantaged.
My experiences with CORE taught me that Social action takes place daily in our lives and involves the small "battles" to represent and do what is right. That this is represented through PTA's, little league, and the myriad organizations that exist in our daily lives and brings groups of people together.
My family and I always tried to live in "mixed" racial and religious communities. I always wanted to be an example to my children as to how people should be treated in a just and fair society.
The Encampment for Citizenship and the Civil Rights Movement gave me a grounding of how my life should be lived. I have never regretted my involvement in either organization.
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