50th Anniversary A Celebration of the Continuing Struggle for Voting Rights

Saturday, February 28, 2015

1:00PM to 3:00PM

Swyer Theatre, Empire State Plaza Albany, New York

Honorary Committee

Albert DeSalvo Douglas Bullock Mike & Kay MacLaury Albert F Gordon Hon. Daniel P. McCoy Nancy Willie Schiff & Peter Schiff Alice Brody Hon. Darius Shahinfar Paul & Suzanne Murray Ann & Donald Eberle Hon. Judy Doesschate Ray Newkirk Anonymous(1) Hon. Kathleen M. Jimino Rev. Christopher DeGiovine Barbara Zaron Hon. Pat Fahy Rev. Dr. Lynn Ashley Barry Z. Davis Jaye Holly & Judy Yeckley Rev. Sam Trumbore Betsey Miller Jean E. Poppei Richard and Dawn Dana Chuck & Barbara Manning John & Peggy Sherman Social Action Committee Congressman Paul D. Tonko Marcia & Findley Cockrell Congregation Beth Emeth David Quist & Britany Orlebeke Mark Mishler & Renee Hariton Steve & Jeanette Gottlieb Deboray Dewey Martha Swan Wanda Fischer Donna Crisafulli & Mary Applegate Alice Richard Kuhnmunch Mayor Kathy Sheehan

Sponsors

Unitarian Universalist Funding Panel M & T Bank

Honest Weight Food Coop Siena College Angel Bed & Breakfast Underground Railway Project Center for Law and Justice Scanlan Communications

Capital Region Unitarian Univ. of NY Albany Public Schools United Employees First Unitarian Univ. Society of Albany Albany County Central Federation of Labor

New Covenant Presbyterian Church Alice Green & Charles Touhey

Other Donors

Paul & Mary Liz Stewart, David Preston, Bernie Mulligan, William Phillips, Gary Thompson, Dan & Nancy Berggren, David Munro, Patricia Barbanell, Randy Rosette Jensen, Tom Baker, Kay Connolly

PANELISTS

Nell Stokes-Holmes was born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama. As a young woman she partici- pated in the historic that launched the national . Since moving to the Capital Region in 1963 she has been active in many community organizations. She serves on the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Scholarship Committee of the Capital Area Council of Churches, having been its chair for 18 years. Nell volunteers with the 15 Love Reading Program at Giffen Elementary School in Albany and with the League of Women Voters. She is also a poet and a playwright.

Anne Pope is a native of Shubuta, Mississippi. Soon after arriving in Albany she joined the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). For 20 years she was president of the Albany branch. She has also served on state and national NAACP panels. She is vice-chair of the Martin Luther King, Jr., and Lecture Series at Siena Col- lege. Anne has long been active in community affairs and is a strong and consistent voice for equal representation and treatment for citizens of color.

Patricia Barbanell was a Freedom School teacher in the 1964 Mississippi pro- ject. She earned a doctorate from Columbia University and embarked on a career in education. She has decades of experience in integrated arts education, multicultural programming and tech- nology integration. Dr. Barbanell has presented at scores of professional conferences, has been published in arts, technology, and multicultural education journals, and has served on several NYS Education Department advisory committees. She is past president of both the NYS Art Teachers and the NYS Council of Educational Associations.

Mark Mishler is an Albany civil rights attorney. He has successfully litigated cases involving police brutality, first amendment rights, discrimination in housing, employment and public accommoda- tions, as well as numerous criminal trials. Mark received his law degree, with honors, from Boston College School of Law in 1981. In addition to his practice, Mark is a community activist, having worked on issues such as police misconduct, voting rights, labor rights, strengthening public schools, and in the solidarity movement against apartheid.

Paul Murray is Professor of Sociology at Siena College. In 1966 he was a summer civil rights vol- unteer in Madison County, Mississippi. During the 1970s he was a statistical consultant on voting rights cases for the U.S. Department of Justice and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights under Law. He has published numerous articles about civil rights for professional journals and reference works. From 1990 to 1994 he served as an elected member of the Albany City School District Board of Education.

MARTYRS OF THE SELMA STRUGGLE Capital Region Residents Who Marched in Selma

Jimmie Lee Jackson was a 26 year-old father of a young daughter and a deacon in his church. Susan Butler is a retired New York City teacher living in retirement in Chestertown, New York. In 1964 she On February 18, 1965, he joined a protest in Marion, Alabama, together with his sister, went to Mississippi as a volunteer in the Freedom Summer project where she taught young children in a Free- mother, and grandfather. When police and state troopers broke up the march demonstrators dom School. She learned about the March 7 attack on civil rights marchers attempting to march from Selma to ran to nearby houses and stores for safety. Jackson and his family sought refuge in Mack’s Café. Montgomery while watching “Judgment at Nuremburg” on television. She and Al Gordon flew to Alabama Troopers followed them and began beating Jackson’s mother. As he tried to protect her, troop- where they stayed for two weeks, living in a home in the black community, and participating in daily mass er James Fowler shot Jackson twice in the stomach. He died eight days later. Speaking at his meetings and demonstrations. In April 1968 she and Gordon represented the United Federation of Teachers funeral, Martin Luther King called Jackson, “a martyred hero of a holy crusade for freedom and human dignity.” On March (UFT) at a memorial march for the recently assassinated Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., by striking Memphis sanita- 7 civil rights organizers began a march from Selma to Montgomery to protest Jackson’s murder. tion workers.

Albert Gordon is a retired New York City teacher and gallery owner now living in Stephentown, New York. In

1961 he became a Freedom Rider and was arrested while attempting to desegregate the Jackson, Mississippi, Greyhound bus station. He was convicted of “breach of peace” and served 39 days in Mississippi’s notorious Parchman Prison farm. In 1965 he returned to the South, with fellow teacher Susan Butler, to participate in the Rev. was a Unitarian minister who left his wife and four children in Boston to answer Martin Luther King’s call for people of faith to join the Selma demonstrations. After eating dinner at a voting rights demonstrations led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Gordon and Butler were arrested while trying to local restaurant, Reeb and two other ministers were attacked by men armed with clubs. He suffered a picket outside the home of Selma Mayor, Joe Smitherman. On March 21 they walked the first seven miles of fractured skull and died from his injuries two days later. His murder raised a national outcry against the Selma to Montgomery march. racism in the Deep South. King praised Reeb saying, “James Reeb symbolizes the forces of good will in Reverend John “Jack” Johnson was born in Shubuta, Mississippi, in 1909. In 1931 he moved to Albany where our nation. He demonstrated the conscience of the nation. He was a witness to the truth that men of he met and married Dorothy M. Charles. Together they raised seven children. From 1932 to 1990,he transport- different races and classes might live, eat, and work together as brothers.” ed over 100 families from Shubuta to Albany. He became known as a modern day Harriet Tubman. In 1952 Elder Johnson founded St. John’s Church of God in Christ, now pastored by Rev. McKinley B. Johnson, Sr. In 1965 Rev. Johnson returned to the South to join Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in the historic Selma to Montgom- ery march. Rev. Johnson went home to be with the Lord on July 4, 2004.

William “Will” Scanlan was a Roman Catholic priest of the Brooklyn Diocese when he flew to Alabama to par- Viola Gregg Liuzzo was a Detroit housewife and mother of five who came to Alabama to help with the Selma to Montgomery march. On March 25, 1965, after the conclusion of the march, she drove back to Selma with ticipate in the final day of the Selma to Montgomery march. At the time he was assistant superintendent of a young black man as a passenger. A car carrying four Ku Klux Klansmen tried to force her off the road and Catholic schools in Brooklyn. When he told his boss he would be absent from his post because of his trip to opened fire. Two shots hit Liuzzo in the head, killing her instantly. Her companion escaped by pretending to Selma, he was told, “I can't support what you're doing, but you can have the day off,” Dressed in his clerical be dead. Three men were tried for the crime, but despite eye witness testimony, no one was convicted of garb, he joined his two pals, Fathers Jim Regan and Charlie Cushing, officially suited up as well. Early in the her murder. morning of March 25 they boarded a plane bound for Montgomery, Alabama chartered by clergy of all faiths. The three priests from Brooklyn joined the last leg of the journey, singing and walking for the rest of the day to the Alabama Capitol, surrounded by thousands of others. Scanlan was released from his priestly vows by the Vatican. In l968 he married Mary Sheehan, of New York. The couple later moved to the Capital Region where they raised two daughters. Will Scanlan died on January 5, 2011.

Keynote speaker: Colia Liddell LaFayette Clark Selma Voting Rights Time line 1933 Amelia Platts (Boynton) helps establish the Dallas County Voters League (DCVL) to encourage African American voter registration in Selma.

1940s & 1950s Amelia and Sam Boynton and organize classes to help black Selma residents pass literacy tests, but few are al lowed to register.

January 1963 SNCC organizers and Colia Liddell come to Selma and work with the Boyntons and local teenagers to revive voter registration efforts.

October 10, 1963 Freedom Day in Selma. 350 blacks wait in line at the court house to register. In three hours only twelve people are allowed to take the test.

July 9, 1964 Judge James Hare issues an injunction forbidding any gathering of three or more people sponsored by civil rights organizations.

January 2, 1965 Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) come to Selma to lead voting rights demonstrations.

Celia Liddell Lafayette, Clark has spent a life time in activist work in the areas of civil February 18, 1965 During a night march in Marion, Alabama, Jimmie Lee Jackson is shot twice by a state trooper. He dies on February 26. rights, human rights, women’s rights, workers’ rights and rights for homeless and youth. In 2011, Colia traveled to Selma, Alabama to receive the Freedom Flame Award. While in Sel- March 7, 1965 “ Bloody Sunday.” 600 nonviolent marchers are attacked by state troopers and sheriff’s deputies as they cross the . ma, she was inducted into the National Voter Rights Hall of Fame. During the civil rights era, Colia founded the North Jackson Mississippi NAACP Youth March 8, 1965 Martin Luther King issues a call for religious leaders to join him in Selma. Hundreds respond to his summons.

Council. This Council provided thousands of youth for the 1963 marches on downtown Jack- March 9, 1963 Three Unitarian ministers are attacked leaving a Selma café. Rev. James Reeb dies two days later. Three men are arrested son. She also served as special assistant to Medgar Wylie Evers, NAACP for but acquitted of murder charges. the State of Mississippi. March 9, 1963 Martin Luther King leads a second march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, but turns around to avoid another confrontation. In June 1962, Colia joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) working in Hattiesburg, Jackson, Cleveland, Indianola, Ruleville and Greenville, Mississippi building March 15, 1965 President Lyndon Johnson addresses Congress calling for a Voting Rights Act. leadership for the voter rights movement. Colia married Bernard Lafayette in 1962. In Febru- March 17, 1965 Judge Frank Johnson authorizes a march from Selma Montgomery. ary of the following year the couple traveled to Selma, Alabama, to set-up the Alabama Black

Belt covering seven Black Belt Counties of Alabama. While in Ala- March 21, 1965 3,200 marchers leave Selma on the first day of the five-day march. Only 300 people complete all five days. bama, Colia was given a special assignment to work on Birmingham with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In 1964-65 she worked with Dr. King in Chicago. March 25, 1965 25,000 people join Martin Luther King in Montgomery for the last day of the march. That night is shot by four Ku Klux Klansmen. They are later acquitted of murder charges. Today Colia wears many hats. She is a member of Dignity and just returned from Conference on the African Diaspora in Libya, North Africa. She is Second Vice President of the Free August 4, 1965 Voting Rights Act is passed by Congress. Charitable Public Law Library of Harlem and television producer for the Manhattan Neigh- borhood Cable Network in New York City. In 2010 Colia was the Green Party candidate for August 6, 1965 President Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act. the US Senate from New York. Bloody Sunday in Selma SELMA 50 PLANNING COMMITTEE ~~~~~~~ Keynote speaker: Mark D. Morrison-Reed SELMA 50th Celebration Mission Statement

The Selma 50th Celebration commemorates the voting rights demonstrations in Selma, Alabama; honors those who participated in this struggle; educates about the importance of the right to vote; and calls attention to current challenges to voting rights. We dedicate our- selves to ensuring that all citizens can freely exercise their right to vote.

Barbara Baxter is a former member of Teamsters Local 294, Albany, N.Y. where she was employed 18 years at Montgomery Ward & Co. She served 24 years as a committed teacher’s aide at the Albany School of Humanities in the computer lab. Addi- tionally she served on the Executive Board for Albany Public Schools United Employees for over 20 years and during the last The Rev. Dr. Mark Morrison-Reed earned his M.A. from the University of Chicago and D.Min from Meadville Lombard three years served as Grievance Chairperson. She is currently an ACCFL Delegate, NYSUT RA Delegate, & Retiree Council 10 Lombard Theological School. He served as co-minister with his wife, Donna Morrison-Reed, in Rochester, NY and Toronto, member serving on the Ambassador committee for new members. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs Canada. Currently he is an Affiliated Faculty at Meadville Lombard and Coordinator of its Sankofa Archive. In addition he of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 2Cor.9:12 writes and leads workshops. In much demand as a preacher he has spoken at nearly 200 UU congregations and conferences in Canada, the U.S. and Europe. Donald “Soulman” Hyman is a Singer, Writer, Elder, Actor, Teacher, who was groomed in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. An alum- Dr. Morrison-Reed's most recent book, The Selma Awakening: How the Civil Rights Movement Tested and Changed Unitarian nus of Long Island University, Hyman teaches at Myers Middle School and the College of St. Rose. He is currently host and pro- Universalism came out in May 2014. It follows the meditation manual entitled Voices from the Margin (2012) and Darkening ducer of cable TV show “Albany Tempo Spectrum” on Channel Albany and Open Stage Media in Schenectady. His upcoming the Doorways: Black Trailblazers and Missed Opportunities in Unitarian Universalism (2011). His previous books include play “I Search the Heart, I Try the Reins” deals with the journey of African American women from slavery to Congresswoman Been in the Storm So Long, In Between: Memoir of an Integration Baby, which is in its fifth printing, and his first book Black . His current work in progress is “Walls of Salvation, Gates of Praises” deals with the role of the African Ameri- Pioneers in a White Denomination—now in its third edition— has been in print for over 30 years. He has also written dozens of can church in social justice issues in 1860 and 1951 in the Capitol region. articles. Among these: the entry on the “Unitarian Universalist Association,” in The Encyclopedia of African-American Cul- Virginia Lanier was born and raised in Jones, Alabama, located 14 miles east of Selma. She was part of the great migration to the ture and History, edited by Jack Salzman, David Lionel Smith, Cornel West. New York: Macmillan Library Reference USA, northern states to flee segregation and discrimination; Settling in Upstate NY in the early 1960’s. She had a long career atBlue 1996; a poem “Let Me Die Laughing (1991),” which has appeared in a half dozen anthologies including a French translation; Cross and Blue Shield of Northeastern NY and retired after 26 years. Not one to sit idle, she then went on to work in the Albany and “Föhn Within,” which tells of his years as an Afro-American teen in Switzerland, appears in Ticking Along with the Swiss City School District for 19 years and retired in 2014. (1988). Morrison-Reed co-edited the English translation of a collection of columns about Shinto written by the Rev. Yukiyasu Yamamoto Chief Priest of the Tsubaki Grand Shrine that was published in 2009. Paul T. Murray is Professor of Sociology at Siena College where he has taught for the past thirty-five years. His areas of speciali- zation include race relations, collective behavior, and research methods. In 2004 he was awarded the Jerome Walton Award for Alongside writing, community service has been a central concern. While serving as a parish minister in Rochester, New York he was a member of the Monroe County Human Relations Commission and chaired its Task Force on Police-Community Rela- Excellence in Teaching by Siena College. Dr. Murray received his Ph.D. in Sociology from Florida State University. He is the au- tions. In Toronto he was the first person of color to become the President of the Family Service Association of Metropolitan thor of The Civil Rights Movement: References and Resources (1993) and numerous articles dealing with civil rights in scholarly Toronto. FSAMT, which serves people in over 24 languages, is the largest such agency in Canada. He has helped construct a journals and reference works. From 1990 to 1994 he served as an elected member of the Albany City School Board. community center in Honduras and is a patron of Child Haven International which runs 8 homes for impoverished children in Rev. Sam Trumbore has served the First Unitarian Universalist Society of Albany since the fall of 1999. He received his educa- the Indian sub-continent. Within Unitarian Universalism he has served on many committee, commissions and boards, including tion for ministry in Berkeley, California at Starr King School for the Ministry. He is Past President of St. Lawrence Chapter of the the Commission on Appraisal and the Ministerial Fellowship Committee. He has served as President of the Canadian Unitarian Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association and the Unitarian Universalist Buddhist Fellowship. He is past President of a Capital Council, and is currently the UUA Ambassador to congregations in Amsterdam, Basel, Geneva and Paris. Region faith based community organizing project called ARISE, A Regional Initiative Supporting Empowerment. Rev. Trumbore continues to serve in various non-profit leadership and support roles in the Capital Region of New York. He is also active with the West Hill Minister’s Fellowship and Interfaith Impact of New York State. Rev. Trumbore is married to Philomena Moriarty In 2003 Starr King awarded him a S.T.D.; in 2007 Meadville Lombard presented him with a D.D. and in June 2009 the school honored him with its Distinguished Alumni Award. Trumbore and together they have a grown son Andrew finishing his education at SUNY Potsdam. TH SELMA 50 ANNIVERSARY STUDENTS INVITED TO RECEPTION FOR CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT VETERANS Welcome Invocation—Supt., Pastor McKinley B. Johnson, Sr. Greater St. John’s Church of God in Christ Autumn Walker—Russell Sage College “Wade In The Water” The Sweet Pilgrim Praise Team & Friends Songs of Selma Juanita Taab—Skidmore College

Capital Region Youth Orchestra Dioni Daley—Union College Myers Middle School

Tribute to Capitol Region Selma Veterans Hanif Cropper—Siena College Mayor Kathy Sheehan Sarah Jones—Guilderland High School Panelist

Nell Stokes-Holmes Isabel Pottinger—Albany High School Anne Pope

Patricia Barbanell Christine Bloecker—University at Albany

Paul Murray

Kaelyn Wood—University at Albany Mark Mishler

“Oh Freedom” Nadia Jackson—University at Albany Lucile Taylor

Keynote Speaker: Colia Clark Waheera Mardah—College of St. Rose

“Steal Away” Imani Carrisquillo & Sheilah London Patrick Gareau—Hudson Valley Community College College of Saint Rose

Keynote Speaker: Mark Morrison-Reed Marcus Bazemore—Schenectady County Community College

“Dr. King’s Eulogy for Reverend James Reeb” Toussaint Santicola Jones—Myers Middle School Donald Hyman