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THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN EAST LANSING AND EDGEWOOD VILLAGE

1962 THROUGH 1968 AND BEYOND"

Author: John S. Duley Editor: Dr. Dale Herder

Graphic Designer: Pazau Moua

VILLAGE MONITOR PRESS Village Monograph II

August 24, 2014 6213 Towar Garden Circle, East Lansing, Ml 48823

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THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN EAST LANSING AND EDGEWOOD VILLAGE

1962 THROUGH 1968 AND BEYOND

In the 1950s and 1960s there were two powerful social issues: peace and social justice that began to grip our country. These issues were: ending the war in Vietnam, and _ the Civil Rights Movement. These movements won the commitment of young people and adults-a commitment to risk your life to bring about social change. It was a commitment that often meant jail time, physical violence against you: attack dogs, powerful fire-hoses that slammed you against the walls of buildings to prevent you from using your legal right of protest, and in some cases, even death. We must remember these times of great courage, celebrate our accomplishments but know that there is work that is yet to be done. We must continue to "keep our eyes upon the prize" of economic and social justice for all. ..

Context: Time-line of the Civil Rights Movement:

1955 Montgomery, Alabama Bus Boycott begins 1957 Southern Christian Leadership Conference organized, Martin Luther King Jr. elected President Dr. King recruits James Lawson, a divinity school student at Oberlin College, recently returned from India where he served for three years with the Methodist Church and studied Mahatma Gandhi's non-violent direct action methods. Dr. King encouraged Mr. Lawson to transfer to Vanderbilt University Divinity School and train young people in Gandhi's methods.

September 1957; P resident Eisenhower sends Federal troops to Little Rock, Arkansas to assure the enforcement of the Supreme Court's decision regarding the desegregation of public schools.

1960; North Carolina A & T College students seek to be served at the lunch counters in the Woolworth Store in Greensboro, N. C. in a Sit-In demonstration The first demonstrations by students trained by James Lawson in Nashville. Tennessee were held. The core of these students became the backbone of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Council (SNCC). They were

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Diane Nash, John Lewis, Marian Berry, James Bevel, Hosea Williams, Bernard Lafayette, Paul LaPrad, and Angeline Butler.

September 1961: The Inter-State Commerce Commission prohibited segregation on inter- state buses and in bus depot facilities. Freedom Riders, organized by James Farmer of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) begin testing the system. When the lead Greyhound Bus arrived in Anniston, Alabama it was destroyed by the Klan. The Riders were severely beaten and refused further transportation onto New Orleans. A decision was made by James Farmer to discontinue the project. John Lewis got in touch immediately with Diane Nash and insisted that SNCC continue the Freedom Riders, which they did. His position was that if we allow them to stop us with violence we will never succeed in the Movement.

1963: The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

The East Lansing Civil Rights Movement

In 1962 a group of people had been brought together by Truman Morrison and members of his church who were beginning to work on the most glaring Civil Rights issue in East Lansing: the refusal to rent or sell homes in East Lansing to People of Color. This group, the East Lansing Citizens for Human Rights, (ELCHR) consisted of MSU faculty members Al Blum, David Gotlieb, Gordon Gray, Doug and Betty Hall, Ben Hickok, Stan ldzerda, Milt Rokeach; some graduate students, Doug and Judy Trout, Jerry Wish, clergy such as Bob Gardener, Bud Day, George Jordan, Truman Morrison; and other citizens such as Irv and Christi Nichols and my wife, Betty.

Petitions were circulated, anecdotal evidence of discrimination gathered, and some personal exploration done on the issue. Jerry Wish, a graduate student, had worked with Bob Green, an African-American faculty member in the College of Education, in his effort to buy a home in East Lansing. Bob would see a house he was interested in. He would make an appointment to see the house, and if he liked it, he would later call to make an appointment for his wife, Lettie, to see it. He would be told that an offer had already been made on that property and the realtor could not show it to him again. Jerry would make an appointment to see the house and would be encouraged to make an offer on it.

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When EN and Christi Nichols came to East Lansing in 1958, the first real estate broker they talked to indicated that they would not have to worry about the value of their new home because no homes in East Lansing would be sold to Negroes.

The City Council received petitions, generated in response to this and other manifestations of blatant racism, submitted to them by the ELCHR. In response to these petitions and the appearance of many interested citizens to speak to the issue, the City Council voted to create a Human Relations Commission on June 17, 1963. The letter accompanying the petitions was signed by Truman Morrison; Wally Robertson, pastor of Peoples Church; Ed Roth, Rector of All Saints Episcopal Church; Mr. and Mrs. Roger Lind; Mrs. D. E. McFarland; George Axinn; Frederick Alexander; Walter H. Mount; John and Alice Jane Brattin; Charles Holter; Gertrude and Carson Hamilton; John Coffman; and Susan Hamilton.

The legislation creating the Commission was enacted September 18, 1963. Eight of the nine members were appointed at that time. They included Dr. Stephanie Barth, Department of Zoology; Dr. Robert Green, College of Education; The Reverend Wally Robertson, Peoples Church; Dan Learned, attorney; Thomas Schepers, banker; Mary Sharp, homemaker; Dr. H.C. Tien, psychiatrist and Jim Ehinger, realtor. Dr. Tien was designated as the chairperson.

At the first meeting of the Commission, Dr. Tien invited all of the real estate agents working in East Lansing to appear before the Commission and indicate their policies in regard to the sale or rental of housing in East Lansing. Several of the most active agents made a presentation which essentially indicated that they were simply acting as representatives of their clients and carried out whatever instructions were given to them as to whom the properties should not be shown. At the end of these presentations, Dr. Tien, stood up, with the written statements in his hands, tore them in sheds, saying, "These are all lies."

Having thoroughly embarrassed some the most highly respected members of the community, he was dismissed as the chair and member of the Commission. Dr. Stephanie Barth was appointed Chair by the City Council. Max Struthers, local businessman replaced Dr.Tien, and Robert

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Morgan, an African American graduate student was appointed as the student representative.

The work of the East Lansing Citizens for Human Rights then centered around getting the East Lansing Human Relations Commission (HRC) to recommend the adoption of an open occupancy housing ordinance to the City Council. This involved attending and speaking at the meetings of the Commission, circulating petitions supporting the passage of an ordinance and public demonstrations

As a part of these activities, I was working with Maxie Gordon, a student, who was President of the MSU Chapter of the NAACP. In preparation for demonstrations in favor of the ordinance we were working at a table recruiting students near the Beaumont Tower when Maxie noticed President Hannah walking home for lunch from Linton Hall to the Cowles House. Realizing that Dr. Hannah was Chairman of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, Maxie thought the President might want to speak a word of encouragement to the students we were recruiting. He caught up with PresidentHannah, explained what we were doing, and invited him to speak with the students. The President thanked him for the invitation but indicated that doing so was against his principles in relating to the City of East Lansing, "I don't tell them how to conduct their affairs and they don't tell me how to run the University." This surprised us due to the pride the University had in the work it was doing with African countries and the number of professors, graduate students and families who were coming from Africa to Michigan State for further education.

As the time approached for a vote to be taken by the HRC on whether or not to recommend to City Council the passage of such an ordinance, it became clear to the supporters of this action that the outcome of the vote was uncertain. We knew we had four votes: Bob Green, Mary Sharp, Wally Robertson, and Bob Morgan ... We did not have any understanding of how the other members of the Commission would vote. From our perspective most of the other members tended to be conseNative and Jim Ehinger, the realtor, was under the most pressure to vote against the recommendation. To our great surprise, and with deep appreciation for his courage, it was he who broke the tie in our favor. The vote was taken on May 12, 1964.

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The City Council on June 15 accepted the report of the Commission, listened to comments by the public, and adopted a do-nothing resolution favoring equal opportunity for all persons. Some people thought that this was a significant triumph. It wasn't until four years later, through protests, sit-ins, picketing and the election of new members to the City Council, that on April 9, 1968, following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., that the City Council adopted an Open Occupancy Ordinance.

During the time between May 1964 and April 9, 1968, many demonstrations of support for the passage of the Ordinance were held to encourage the City Council to act upon the recommendation of the East Lansing Human Relations Commission.

In May of 1965 sixty-nine students sought to attend the meeting of the City Council to encourage passage of this legislation. The Council Chambers were so crowded that the Council could not meet. The Police emptied the building of the students and they proceeded to continue their protest by sitting down in the middle of Abbott Rd in front of the City Hall blocking traffic. They were ordered by the police to clear the roadway but they refused, were arrested and taken to the County jail by MSU buses.

They were released the next morning. President Hannah was in Washington, chairing the United States Civil Rights Commission, when the demonstration occurred. Later that week Dr. Hanna invited a group of faculty to meet with him to help him understand these students. I joined them and we were assembled in the Board Room in Linton Hall. Stacked on the conference table were the file folders of these 69 students. Confronted with the President's questions, the faculty began leafing through the folders. They discovered that many of the students were Merit Scholars, members of the Honors College, or doing very well in their studies.

Summary of developments in Vietnam: 1954, President Eisenhower develops the Domino Theory-ff Vietnam goes Communist, it will create a domino effect making it more likely that other S. E. Asian countries will become Communist-we must maintain the status quo. The President arranges for a fifteen million dollar grant for France to help. In 1956 France was defeated by Communist insurgents and leaves. U, S., Great Britain,

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France and Diem, the leader of Vietnam, reach accord in Geneva to keep Vietnam from becoming Communist. 1959 Ho Chi Minh begins infiltrating southern Vietnam. 1962 US uses Agent Orange to make trails visible. 1964 three PT boats attack a US Destroyer near the Bay of Tonkin. Congress gives LBJ full authority to go to war with North Vietnam. 1965 US air raids begin and continue for three years in and around Hanoi and the first US combat troops are brought in. By the end of 1965 there are 200, 000 US forces in Vietnam. Protests against the war begin heating up. In 1965 the first University-wide teach-in against the war was held at U of M in March and by May they were happening all over the country.

During 1967 a number of changes took place in East Lansing. The protests against the Vietnam War had increased. Lynn Jondahl had come to East Lansing to work with Jack Harrison in the Christian Faith and Higher Education Institute and had organized and directed a project called Vietnam Summer. He recruited David Stockman, an undergraduate in James Madison College, who later became Director of the OBM (Office of Budget and Management) for President Reagan, as a summer intern to run the project. This involved volunteers going door to door to invite people to a home in the neighborhood for an evening of discussion on the War in Vietnam. One of the results of this program was the decision to develop a more positive activist program to work for social change in the Lansing area. This resulted in the creation of the Greater Lansing Community Organization (GLCO) in the fall of 1967

In January 16, 1968, a membership drive was held with coffees being hosted in the homes of Terry and Nancy Black, Don and Mary Montgomery, the Martin Millers and our home. At the first quarterly meeting of the GLCO on January 22 several task forces were formed:

Welfare Rights Organization Bryon Lyles Tenants' Rights Council Ben Canaday Public Housing and Education Allan Schmid Peace and Draft Counseling Joe Tuchinsky New Politics Party Morris Waxler MSU Institutional Policy Lauren Harris

The Interim Committee consisted of H. Lynn Jondahl, David Raskin, the Reverend Truman Morrison, Thora Gunn, David Stockman, Sue Sattel, Alice Jane Brattin, Mark Rilling, June and Phil Johnson, Lauren Harris, Jocyelyn Tien, and Betty, who served as the secretary.

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During the 1967-8 academic year, GLCO became a well-established, broad based community organization for which Betty served as the staff person. Lynn Jondahl served as the CEO and President of the Board. The Peace Education Center, the draft counseling program, the Listening Ear Crisis Center, Edgewood Village were all the direct results of the work of GLCO. These three institutions still exist today and have made a positive contribution to the life of the Lansing Area. The fourth task force resulted in the entry into political life of Lynn Jondahl, David Hollister, Earl Nelson and Robert Carr. The public service of these men has had a lasting positive impact on the life of this community and its members.

For the purpose of this monograph I want to describe the development of one of these four: Edgewood Village, which was a direct outgrowth of the Task Force on Public Housing.

WHO WEARE

Edgewood Village is a 135 unit property built to seNe low and very low income families, many being single parent families, and individuals who pay 30°/o of their income to live here. There are 35 Single bedroom apartments for seniors and handicapped individuals, 100 2, 3, and 4 bedroom townhouses for families. There are 401 people living in the Village, 189 children and 212 adults including 10 refugee families.

Built by Edgewood United Church in 1970-73 Sold to the Greater Lansing Housing Coalition 1994 1997 Computer Learning Center established for residents,

children, and Head Start Parents --to create a more level educational playing field for children and more employment opportunities for residents

March 9, 2009: Edgewood Scholars Program begun-a 7 year college prep program for 5th graders. (2014: there are 28 Scholars enrolled in the program)

August 9, 2009: Children's Park and Picnic Area were created through a Community Build with the financial help of Miracle of Michigan, and many donors.

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May 2011: 80 ft. x 40 ft. Community and Youth Garden created with assistance: financial and volunteer, from the Greater Lansing Food Bank Community Garden Project

Scholarship program established with the Meridian Township Rotary Club in which they honor the Scholar recommended by the Edgewood Village Scholars Program Committee, as the outstanding scholar of the year with a $1,000 scholarship.

2013: 4500 square foot passive solar LEED silver certified Village Network Center was dedicated.

May 2014: 65 PV Solar panels were installed generating electricity for the building and the sale of surplus electricity to Consumer Energy Co.

SERVICES PROVIDED: Transitions to a fuller life Youth ages 0 to 5: The Head Start Program on the campus of Edgewood Village served 17 of the 21 three and four year children in 2013.

Youth 6-18 years of age: There is an After School Tutoring Program in which retired teachers from Peoples Church and 40 MSU undergraduates serve as tutors, supervised by 5 American Read persons. These tutors have permission from parents to learn from teachers what help their students need. The youth have the use of the computer lab for homework and supervised recreation. Exstensive summer camping programs are provided, as well as the utilization of STEM programs provided by MSU and the Information Technology Empowerment Center (!tee). They also participate in the MSU Gate Programs for gifted students.

Edgewood Village Scholars Program: 28 (52o/o) of our 5th graders through 11th graders have become a part of this ,intensive college prep program.

Adult Residents: They have the use of the computer lab to register their resumes with Michigan Works and for accessing Craigslist. They are also encouraged to seek further training for better paying jobs through LCC and other training programs.

Seniors: Pot-Luck suppers with Reminiscence Programs offered by William Nelton, Outreach Director for the Capital Area District Library, as well as weekly visits by the Bookmobile, a Book Nook refreshed each .,

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month, and a health program including a visiting nurse, physical therapist, and a nutritionist. They also have the community gardens where they can grow fresh vegetables for a better diet and get good exercise. They enjoy weekly movies on a big screen TV and Board Game nights.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAM

Head Start: We lease our two classroom day care center to Head Start, for one dollar a year, with which they serve 60 youth and their parents throughout the three country area, including residents of the Village. This is worth $60,000 a year to the Capital Area Community Service Head Start Program in matching fur:ds.

The Towar Garden Community Recreation Center: We support the summer recreation program provided by the Township with supplemental funds and share a common Hoop House for starting plants

.Bridge Card Project at theTownship Farmers Market: This is done In collaboration with volunteers from the Okemos Presbyterian, Okemos Community, and Haslett Community Churches. We have facilitated the use of Bridge Cards (Food Stamps) to enable folks to take advantage of the "Double Up Food Bucks" program which enables them to get an equal amount of fresh produce raised in Michigan to the food purchased off of their bridge cards. 2012 was the first year we did this and we were able to make $5,000 worth of fresh produce grown in Michigan available and thus healthier diets, not only to our residents but, to all of the folks in Meridian Township using Bridge Cards. 2013 saw a 24°/o increase in the use of DUFB tokens

Since our work was and is inspired by our involvement with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the Civil Rights Movement, we continue to honor him, keeping his memory alive for the children and residents of the Village, and, we see ourselves, in small ways, seeking to further his dream of social and economic justice for all.

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TIME LINE

• 1970: $3,000,000 grant from HUD/MSHDA and began building Edgewood Village.

• 1973: Village completed and occupied. EUC hired Betty Duley to be its first Program Officer and Meridian Township hired her as its Human SeNices Information Officer. She got the College of Osteopathic Medicine to bring in a clinic for the Village and surrounding residents, insisted on the creation of a Day Care Center run by professionals, and created a Tenants Union. She worked there until the spring of 1975.

• Spring 1975: MSHDA was deeply dissatisfied with the work of the management company and was about to take over the property. Dick Jackson, a member of the Edgewood United Church, was hired over the objection of MSHDA (he had no previous experience in project management). He turned the property around despite bad work by the contractor, huge vacancies, homes trashed by residents when they departed. He saved the Village from being sold off to some developer.

• January 1976: Patty Johnson of Edgewood United Church continued to manage the property until Mr. Silverman, Co-developer with EUC, took over and hired a management company.

• 1989 The two classroom day care center was leased to Head Start, with the responsibility to maintain the building, for $1 a year.

• 1989 February. A group of citizens concerned about housing for the homeless got permission from EUC and, aided by Karl Gotting, took over the dormant but still viable Edgewood Village Non-Profit Housing Development Corporation renaming it the Greater Lansing Housing Coalition (GLHC).

• In 1993, when Edgewood Village was 20 years old, the developer, Mr. Silverman, had contractual rights to turn it into middle class rental property of sell it to a non-profit.

• December 29 1994 Karl Gotting arranged for the Greater Lansing Housing Coalition (GLHC) to purchase the Village as a subsidiary.

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(The Greater Lansing Housing Coalition is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, having built or rehabbed over 200 houses, sold them to people working. sometimes at two, minimum wage jobs, owns over 247 rental units for the homeless, very low income folks, and seniors living on Social Security, and has been improving the quality of life in the Baker-Donora neighborhood for a number of years.)

• 1997 an 8 station computer lab was created in the Village as a Neighborhood Network Center, recommended by HUD, to help the residents become more employable and give the children a more level playing field educationally.

Having completed the installation of the computer lab at Edgewood Village, it seemed appropriate to expand this type of learning experience to others. Over the next three years, through a large collaborative effort in the Greater Lansing area, aided by Mayor Hollister of the City of Lansing, a proposal was developed for the City of Lansing to develop "free access to the Internet" for the Greater Lansing Area. This was derailed by the crisis faced by the Lansing School District and the desire of the Mayor to rescue the school system. The "Free Net" would not be a major emphasis in the Mayor's 1997 Program. Other folks joined the collaborative and decided to develop the Closing the Digital Gap Program for the unemployed, under­employed, and Head Start parents. For the next three years efforts were made to obtain large multi-year grants from national foundation sources with no success.

After four years of planning and building strong local partnerships and seeking many large multi-year grants it looked like it wasn't going to work. People were tired of the meetings and ready to admit we were not going to be able to pull it off. But. we developed local resources, raised $90,000 by December 2000 and launched the program in January 2001.

• 2004 a satellite of Closing the Digital Gap (CTDG) was brought to the Village to provide residents and Head Start parents from the Tri-County area with computer training and ownership.

• The Truman Morrison and Karl Gotting Community Outreach Memorial Fund and Program (EVCOP) were created. This includes the after school youth tutoring program and all of the actives provided through the Village Network Center.

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• 2009: The Village Scholars Program, a seven year college prep program, beginning with sixth graders was begun. And, with the help of Miracle of Michigan Recreational Equipment Co., a $40,000 Children's Park and Picnic Area, was created.

• 2011: The 80 ft. by 40 ft. Community and Youth Garden was developed with the aid of the Greater Lansing Food Bank Garden Project.

• September 7, 2013 the LEED Certified Passive Solar Village Network Center was dedicated and open for use, thus completing the Village Commons.

• January 3, 2014 a contract was entered into with Eugene Townsend, General Contractor and lhman Inc. to install solar panels on the roof of the Network Center to provide electricity for the building, and on January 16 a fifteen year contract was entered into with Consumers Energy's Experimental Advanced Reusable Project (EARP) providing for the sale of surplus electricity to Consumers Energy Co.

• May 23, 2014: the solar Panels were installed and operational. We are now selling electricity to Consumer Energy @ $.20 I kilowatt.

INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT I. KMG Prestige Management Co. provides a superb collaborative,

friendly, caring, efficient staff and over $60,000 in in-kind contributions per year.

II. Michigan State University a. Center for Service Learning/Civic Engagement provides 40

tutors each semester and personal support b. America Read Students: 5-7 each Semester c. Residential College of the Arts and Humanities provides

students, faculty, and staff every semester through Community Engagement courses and volunteers, and our initial involvement in the Asan, S. Korea Middle School ESL program ..

Ill. Lansing Community College: Member of Community Outreach Program Committee (COPC)

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a. Provides on-side assistance to residents each semester for admission and course selection

b. Village Scholars participate annually in Leadership Academy

IV. Capital Area District Library: Member of COP a. Book Mobile, Book Nook management b. Reminiscent programs

V. Head Start: active recruitment of residents. I. Capital Region Community Foundation: 3 years, summer camps,

youth garden, inspiring speakers $14,680 II. Lansing Area Community Trust Fund 2 years, $5,000 Scholars

Program, $7,241 for Staff. Ill. Miracle of Michigan, playground $14,000 plus donated staff time for

build.

VI. Greater Lansing Food Bank Garden Project, staff training, volunteers and $1,000 2011, $500 2012

VII. Dart Foundation: New computer lab $25,000 and $5,000 for ltec STEM workshops.

VIII. Great Lakes Cap Fund, $30,000 three year $10,000 support for Scholars Program Staff, $10,000 per year 2014

IV. Great Lakes Cap Fund: $30,000 grant for the development of the Leadership Academy and program development.·

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ADDENDUM

The contribution of the students and faculty of Michigan State University and people of the Lansing area to the national Civil Rights Movement through the MSU-Rust College Student Tutorial Education Project in Holly Springs, Mississippi from 1965 -1968 is a very important part of our heritage and has significantly influenced the shape of our life as a community. Therefore its history is included as a part of this monograph.

In 1962, Mary Ann Shupenko, of Detroit, Michigan, enrolled as a freshman in the College of Education. In the fall of 1963 she returned to MSU and took Bob Green's course, "Race and the Schools." She offered to babysit for the Green family. The relationship developed into a very important one for both she and the family. The Green family provided Mary Ann with very personal support during this rough period of the loss of her mother.

Mary Ann joined the campus NAACP and learned about the need for volunteers for Freedom Summer in 1964, saying, "I was very idealistic, and I saw this as a way to make a significant contribution to change something that was very wrong with our country."

In July 1964 Mary Ann was assigned to work in the Freedom Office in Canton, Mississippi. She reported, "We had multiple roles. I often ran the clerical side of the office in the morning ... In the afternoon I taught in our Freedom School. I was shocked by the text books that the students were given ... the history books presented a very racially biased account of the history of the South, the Civil War and slavery, all of it presented the Negro race as inferior. We provided them with less biased books. Sundays were for visiting the churches and encouraging voter registration.

Many people up north thought of us as courageous, but it was the pastors and the persons who provided housing for us, who were truly courageous. We, and they, always knew that we could go home, but they were permanent residents, and folks in the South have long memories. The family I lived with had a cross burned in their yard three times. The physical threats were very real. We felt very isolated and cut off from any community of support." (From an interview with Ms. Shupenko October 23, 2006)

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In October 1964, in the midst of the struggle for the enactment of the Open Occupancy Ordinance, Bob Green called me. He said, "Reverend Duley, this is Bob Green. I just got a call from a student of mine who dropped out of school this term to work on Voter Registration in Mississippi. She wants me to come to Canton for a rally with Jim Farmer. You get the money and we will go."

I did not know Bob Green well. I had worked with him on racial issues, but I was not a close personal friend. I did not even have the presence of mind to say, "Let me check with my wife." It would not have done any good anyway. I got the money and we went.

We flew into Jackson, rented a car and drove the sixteen miles to Canton. On the way, Bob got the idea that Michigan State University ought to do something educational for the Movement. We joined the rally in an open field outside of Canton. James Farmer, Director of the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE), challenged those present to register to vote and carry their neighbors and friends to the County Court House so they could register.

In many ways Canton resembled Selma, Alabama. It was isolated, and the same forms of oppression and dominance were used to keep blacks "in their place." Besides this, the bodies of the three murdered civil rights workers, Goodman, Chaney and Schwerner, had recently been found in Philadelphia, Mississippi, some 54 miles east of Canton. The rally was really tense with walkie-talkies being used to keep the leaders informed of the activities of the sheriff and his deputies. The rally came off without incident, and Bob and I were housed in the home of one of the black ministers in a small town on the outskirts of Canton. We sat up late that night, with the blinds drawn, talking with the pastor and some of the voter registration volunteers about the voter registration efforts and the intimidation tactics used to keep blacks from registering to vote.

As Bob and I got ready for bed the radio was reporting thunderstorms, heavy rain and the possibly of a hurricane. About 4:00 in the morning I was awakened by the storm and told Bob I thought we ought to head for the airport if we were going to beat the storm and be able to get out of Jackson. We got to the airport by 5:00 a.m., turned our rental car in, and rushed to the ticket counter, only to learn that the airport had just been

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closed. Bob turned to a young white man standing next to him at the counter and, without hesitation, said, 11Where are you headed? 11 He replied, 11 Louisville. 11 Bob said, 11 Do you have a car? Let's drive to Memphis." We left immediately and headed up 1-65, stopping only once on the way for gas.

At the rally, following up on Bob's idea that M.S.U. ought to make an educational contribution to the Civil Rights Movement, we asked the leaders and participants about Black colleges that were having difficulty, financially and educationally, because their students and faculty were participating in the Movement. Most of the people with whom we talked suggested we visit with the people at Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi. On the way home, Bob and I decided to follow up on that lead and see how M.S.U. might help.

In November, Bob Green called President Dr. Ernest Smith of Rust College, and asked if the College would welcome some help from MSU faculty and students. A visit was arranged. Soon Bob and I were back in Mississippi·, along with Laura Leichliter, an undergraduate who was the Director of Academic Affairs for the All-University Student Government (AUSG), and Frank Bianco, a graduate student who was the Coordinator of the Student Education Corps.

We were picked up at the airport in Memphis by two young men from Rust College. The next morning we were met by Dr. Ernest Smith, the retiring President, and Dean William McMillan, who had recently been recruited from Bethune Cookman College to save the College from losing its accreditation. In 1960 the State of Mississippi decreed that all colleges would meet the same accreditation standards. The black colleges were given five years to make the changes necessary for accreditation. For Rust College this meant reorganizing and upgrading the library, hiring more faculties with Ph.D.'s, and improving the administrative procedures of the College. During the previous three and one half years not much had been done. In addition, much of the financial support for the College, which was largely from Methodist Churches, had eroded. The churches wanted assurances from the President and the Trustees that none of the faculty members or students were participating in the Civil Rights Movement. This is something the President would not and could not do, even though the churches were withholding contributions in order to force him to keep the students and faculty members under tight control.

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At the end of our two-day visit, we had an invitation from President Smith and Dean McMillan to work with Rust College by providing the following:

• An MSU librarian to the College for five weeks during the summer to begin reorganizing and cataloging the Library, with the possibility that additional books might be provided by Michigan State University.

• A graduate student in Business Administration to set up new admission and record keeping programs for the College.

• M.S.U. Professors to teach courses in the summer term for returning teachers desirous of improving the quality of the education in the segregated schools and so the MSU professors' credentials could be counted as part of the Rust College staff credentials.

• A five week Residential Study Skills Improvement Institute for the entering freshman class in order that they might be better prepared to take full advantage of the education offered at Rust College.

• A community cultural and recreational program for Marshall County's 8 to 18 year olds.

The invitation was presented to the AUSG Board at Michigan State University for endorsement by the four of us. The Board agreed to sponsor the program. This meant we were free to recruit students and faculty and raise money on campus for the program.

Laura Leichliter served as the Student Coordinator and interviewed all of the student applicants. Twenty three undergraduates were recruited to serve as student teachers. A ten week orientation program was provided for the MSU volunteers which included the development of curriculum and teaching materials with the aid of MSU faculty members. Dean McMillan visited Michigan State University to provide an orientation to the college and the mores of Holly Springs, Mississippi. During Dean McMillan's visit, Bill Nelton, a student in Library Science, interviewed with him and spent the spring semester before we arrived working on up-dating the Rust College Library.

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Dr. Frank Beeman, Director of the Michigan State Intramural Athletic Program and his wife, Pat, carried the major responsibility for working with the MSU volunteers in the recreational and cultural aspects of both programs. He also worked, over the four years of the program, with the Rust College staff developing plans, making a proposal, and securing federal funding for a new intramural sports building. The following MSU faculty members spent the full five weeks teaching in the 1995 summer session: Milt Powell and Ben Hickok, of the American Thought and Language Program; Stanley ldzerda, Director of the Honor College; John Foss, Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Wilbur Brookover, College of Education; and Mrs. Jean HaNey, an M.S.U. librarian. Ruth Hart directed the reading program. She was a public school teacher and a graduate student from the University of Wisconsin. Jack and Marilyn Downs were public school teachers from East Lansing who also participated with us at Rust College.

Bob Green suggested, because I was a 11 Reverend, 11 I should write Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., an airmail special delivery letter inviting him to launch this program, now called the STEP Project: 11Student Tutorial Education Program. 11 I indicated in the letter that I would call him within a week to ten days to answer any questions he might have about the program. When I called, I was told by his secretary that Dr. King would come to MSU on February 11, 1965. The January 28 issue of the State News, MSU 1s student newspaper, carried a front page article about Dr. King 1s planned visit, a description of the STEP Program, and a notice indicating that applications were being received for students to design and carry out the study skills improvement curriculum.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. came to MSU on February 11, 1965, to launch the STEP Project. He came to us out of the midst of the Selma struggle, telephoning Selma from the Lansing airport prior to journeying to the University. He was emotionally and physically exhausted when he arrived, collapsing when he got to the College of Education. Bernard Lee, his traveling companion, reassured the faculty members that he would be all right if allowed to rest briefly and if he could have a cup of tea. He recovered and was on stage before a packed crowd of 4,000 students and faculty. He began by talking about the importance of the STEP Project and relating it to the whole Civil Rights Movement, including what was happening in Selma.

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On March 7, 1965, the participants in the voter registration project in Selma, Alabama, set out from Brown Memorial Chapel on their intended march of protest to the capital in Montgomery. When they were crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge over the Alabama River on the outskirts of Selma, the 400 marchers were tear gassed, ridden over by deputies on horseback and beaten with Billy clubs--all in full view of the American and worldwide television audiences. The leaders of that march were John Lewis, now member of the U. S. House of Representatives, and the late Hosea Williams.

Bob Green called again, and he, Truman Morrison and I responded to Dr. King's call to the "Community of Good Will" for supporters to join in the march to Montgomery. The five-day march was delayed until full logistical support could be developed and support secured from the federal courts for the march. We helped maintain the line of March in front of the Brown Memorial Chapel around the clock, faced by Sheriff Jim Clark and his deputies, equipped with gas masks and Billy clubs. The night before our arrival, James Reeb, a young Unitarian minister, along with two of his colleagues, were attacked by men in Selma. Reverend Reeb was so badly beaten he died in the hospital. The environment pulsated with violence; I was more fearful on the way to and in Selma than I ever was as a medic in the 70th Infantry Division in the European Theater during WW II.

We returned to East Lansing to continue our preparation for the STEP Project. During the 1965-66 school year, Bob Green took a leave of absence from Michigan State University to work with Dr. King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference for a year as an educational consultant. He worked with Andy Young, Dorothy Cotton, and Sempter Clark in the Citizenship School at the Quaker Conference Center, in Dorchester, Georgia, just north of Savannah preparing young people to go back to their home communities in Mississippi and register people to vote, Later, after James Meredith was shot on the first day of the Meredith "March against Fear" from Memphis, Tennessee to Jackson, Mississippi Dr. King asked Bob to assume a leadership role in the March for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

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The second year of the M.S.U. Rust College STEP Project was in progress during the March. Bob Green came to Rust College a week before the March reached Jackson. He invited the M.S.U. STEP volunteers to join the last day of the March. Even though all of the_ participants had committed themselves to engage only in this education project while in Mississippi, many of the students requested permission to join the last day of the March. We held a meeting to discuss the issue and decided to permit participation in the last day of the March, which was on a Saturday, a non-teaching day. My only stipulation was that those who were under 21 years of age and wanted to go had to have permission from their parents. Everyone returned safely by midnight that Saturday.

STEP ran for four summers involving 100 students and about 15 faculty members. In 1966 one of the Rust College students, Paul Herron, the member of a share-cropper's family, was invited by Elwood Lenny, a MSU volunteer to work in his lab at MSU the following summer. Paul did, and stayed until he had his PhD in Microbiology and Psychology and became an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Medical School of the University of Tennessee in Memphis. He called me in 2005 saying he wanted to document the impact of this experience on the MSU and Rust College students. During the next two years he secured the addresses of 77 of our student volunteers, sent them surveys and got 71 responses. At the end of the first summer he lost his Intern and was writing grants to foundations for funding. I asked for a copy of his proposal and took it to President Simon who agreed to fund it on one condition: when the study was completed she would host a reunion for the former MSU students and faculty. On Dr. King's birthday weekend in 2007, Paul delivered a power point presentation of his research and 51 of the students and 4 of the faculty along with their significant others were able to attend. Dr. Ron Dorr, James Madison College professor and Dr. Dale Herder, former Provost of Lansing Community College, each interviewed six of the former student volunteers as to the impact of this experience on their careers and community involvements. Five of them risked their lives or careers in working for justice, five made the world a more humane place through their work or community involvement and two made the world a more humane place through their profession of teaching.

At the 2007 reunion of STEP volunteers hosted by President Lou Anna K Simon, David Hollister, a two time participant in the Project, was interviewed by

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Dr. Dale Herder; Excerpts from this interview provide a personal account of the events of that time period.

Dr. Dale Herder: : "If we use that last sentence, 'It was a life transforming experience' as a focal point, was there a particular experience that stayed with you from your experience in STEP?"

David Hollister: "Well there are several: I came back from the first experience in 1966 and got deeply involved in social justice issues. John Duley, Truman Morrison, Lynn Jondahl and a group of people started the Greater Lansing Community Organization that looked at housing issues, and education issues, and fairness issues, in fact I was on the way to a Greater Lansing Community Organization meeting the night, April 4th in '68, when Dr. King was killed. That event began a transformational period for me; I decided that I would get involved in Bobby Kennedy's campaign for President. Kennedy was killed in June, right after the California primary, and a group, probably 12 or 13 of us. got together after his funeral in the Student Union. The question was, "Do we leave this country and go to Canada?" There were a lot of people doing that then. So, we confronted that issue and decided to stay and try to change the situation by getting involved politically. We were sitting at a big table and we went around the table, people saying, 'Well I'll run for state senate,' 'I'll run for the legislature,' 'I'll run for this.' It came around to me and I was the last one at the table, and I said, 'What's left?' 'Well,' someone said, 'County Commissioners will be elected in '68.' My response was, 'What does it take to become a County Commissioner?' We had a document that needed 20 signatures to get a person on the Primary ballot.

I was leaving for Mississippi the next week so I went to Cristo Rey Community Center. I got the signatures, submitted the document and took off for Mississippi. While I was in Mississippi I got a letter saying, 'Congratulations, you are the Democratic nominee for County Commissioner.' No one else had filed ...

Coming back from Mississippi the second year, I got elected, along with another democrat, Grady Porter, to the Ingham County Board of Commissioners. We were a Commission of nineteen republicans and two democrats. The first night Commissioner Porter and I introduced two resolutions; one to stop the war in Vietnam and the other to support the Grape boycott of Cesar Chaves. We were seen as disruptive." (Four years later the Commission was controlled by democrats and David Hollister was on his way to serve in the Michigan House of Representatives for the next nineteen years.)

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Dr. Dale Herder: "Do you think you as a human being have been changed or shaped by the STEP experience?"

David Hollister: "The 30 seconds I spoke with Dr. King, was probably the most significant event in my life. Before that I had an intellectual understanding of deep commitment but hearing his message and engaging his eye contact fundamentally changed my life. He has the essence of a leader. I've always felt that you need four things to be a strong leader. You need a clearly defined goal and he articulated his social justice goal. You need a clearly define strategy and he articulated nonviolent direct action but you can't act without two other critical components, one is a sense of hope and King gave people hope and fourth, and probably most important, you need courage. If you're in a leadership role and don't have hope, courage, strategies and goals it will tum on itself. I have always tried to take that experience with Dr. King and then the years in Mississippi and internalize them."

It is important to celebrate our accomplishments, as Dr. Preston Williams, Houghton Professor of Contemporary Theology and Social Change of the Harvard University Divinity School said at the dedication of the Village Network Center on September 7, 2013. He also reminded us, "The work to eliminate social and economic injustice is not yet done."

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