F i r s t
i n
F r e e d o m :
Q u o t e s
Helena Hicks, ’55, Participant in the Read’s Drug Store Sit-ins in Downtown Baltimore, 1955
Clarence Logan, ’66, Leader of Many Civil Rights Direct Actions as Head of the Civic Interest Group
Anita L. Turks-Hunter, ’64, Arrested and Jailed during the Northwood Theatre Demonstration, 1963
Walter Dean, ’62, First Student Arrested in the Northwood Shopping Center Demonstrations
The Rev. Douglas B. Sands Sr., ’56, Participant in the Read’s Drug Store Sit-ins, 1952–55
“The Sorrells, my father’s family, have been a part of Baltimore since the late 1700s. We have had lots of family members who’ve participated in significant political and civil rights activities. So you might say it was part of the family tradition to do that.
“I came back to Morgan from the service. I had been overseas, and I was stationed in the South. And there, I experienced some things that made me question why I was wearing a uniform and going overseas to talk about freedom and justice for all when I didn’t have it when I came back here. And I sort of made a pledge to myself that I was going to try to (find) my freedom in this country.
“I’m proud of what I did. We didn’t do it for publicity. We did it for that cause.
“At the time, I was the editor of the student newspaper, The Spokesman. I remember the explosion of civil rights activities in this nation. We were part of that Movement. Was I afraid of the consequences? No. I believe that is the duty of citizens to participate in activities to enhance society…. I participated in demonstrations at the Ford Theater when I was about 10 years old. I have always been concerned about social and political issues.
“It was a life-defining experience, and that’s one of the things I’m grateful for today…. At Morgan I was in a community of people who had a desire to do a certain thing, and it became our objective to do it together. And when I look back at it, I see the kinds of things that we have lost because the Civil Rights Movement does not exist today as it did then.
“(My activism) turned me into the kind of person that since that time has never been afraid of challenging the status quo…. I want today’s students to know that they are able to do whatever they need to do to make the world a better place. They don’t need any organization. They don’t need anybody else’s sanction or permission. They can do it. It only takes one person to step out there.”
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“I want students today to know that, in a way, the struggle continues not just for African Americans but for many minority people. And they should take a look at the Civil Rights Movement and the kinds of tactics it employed. (Those tactics) still may be relevant to the changes that need to be made today.”
“I was thinking not too long ago that the college students of today would have a hard time appreciating what that felt like. What I would want them to know is all of us had to have someone to pave the way for some of the freedoms they have. There have been some very small steps taken in the area of civil rights. Racism is still alive and well, no question. But we had to stand on the shoulders of those who went before us. And I would ask that they learn some things, not so much how to go to jail but how to maintain their dignity while trying to capture the freedoms that the constitution allows.”
“(Morgan has) a very rich history, some of which has not been recorded. I want all students, from the elementary school to the university, to study our history. It is vital. Those who do not know their history are bound to repeat it.”
“One of the problems with the Civil Rights Movement as it affects black people now is the loss of the sense of community, and the other is the loss of the appreciation of direct action. We now believe that elected officials will do things for us. Back then, if you wanted something, you had to do it yourself, and we had to do it together.”