Selma Sparks Campus Civil Rights Fervor

Reaction to Selma
Shown in Dispatch
From 5&3 Writer

Ed. Note: The following dis-
patch was sent from Selma,
Alabama, Monday morning by
5&3 associate editor Bob Ho-
dierne.

Four of us, Henry Wilhelm,
John Phillips, Harold Fuson and
I, decided Tuesday afternoon of
last week that we had to go to
Selma. We left that night.

It was a ZUrhour ride in Wil-
helm’s well-traveled. nearelegene
dary VW. We stopped in Mont-
gomery Wednesday night, At that
time demonstrators were Still
standing on the capital lawn.

The next morning we drove to
Selma, a wealthy town of some
28,000. It's an old town with old
customs, The customs are hard to
change and that, perhaps as much
as anything, is why it was chosen
for this drive.

The news releases from Selma
give a fairly accurate description
of what has happened here. That’s
not the whole story,

One drives into Selma and ens
ters a never-never land. it’s kind
of an Alfred Hitchcock version of
Alice in Wonderland.

The area where the Negroes
live and the area where the dem-
onstrations take place — a three
block by three block federal hous-
ing project encompassing Brown's
Chapel AME Church and a Bap-
tist Church —- is a World unto it-
self, separated from the city by a
line of city, county and state po-
lice. People here can’t help re-

SELMA—
(Continued on Page 1)

Ed. Note: Special thanks
go to Jim McIntyre, John w.
Johnson, and Rick Seifert,
whose assistance in the busi-
ness operations of the SM}
this week enabled us to put
out this special lZ-pago is-
sue.

editor Bob Hodierne.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SELMA'S CONTROVERSIAL Public Saieiy Director Wilson Baker, lett. corironis SCLC's or.
C. T. Vivian as Vivian attempts to lead marchers to the Dallas County Court House lés‘l’ Fri-
day. Reaching with his tape recorder microphone to catch Baker's words is 5&3 associate

 

G nnell College

9mm

Oldest College Newspaper West crib. Mississippi

 

Vol. LXXll

Grinnell, lowa, Friday. March 20, I965

No. 2|

 

By Don Winney

“Non-violent love in action
is a reality today, whatever
qualifications are placed on it,
It demands my attention."
Rev. Robert Dewey thus sum-

 

 

Human Significance of the Space Age
Subject of Phi Beta Kappa Lecture

Walter Roberts,
the National Center for Atmos-

director of

pheric Research at Boulder,
Colo., will give two addresses
at Grinnell next week as Phi
Beta Kappa visiting scholar.

Dr, Roberts, internationally
known solar astronomer, will
speak on “The Human Signiiiv
cance of the Space Age" at 8
p. m. Thursday in Herrick
Chapel, under sponsorship of
the Grinnell chapter of Phi Beta
Kappa. Seniors newly elected
to membership in the national
honorary scholastic society will
also be announced,

Next Friday at 4:15 p.rn, in
the science lecture room, Dr.
Roberts will address the divis<
ion of natural sciences senior
colloquium on the question “Can
Man Control the Weather?"

A research associate atHar-
vard University since X948 and
professor of astrogeophysics at:

the University of Colorado
since 1957, Dr. Roberts was

WALTER room’s

director of the High Altitude
Observatory.
He was chairman of the Solar

PHI BETAKAPPA—
(Continued on Page 9)

 

« ference

 

marized Wednesday night his
experiences in Selma, Alaba-
ma. His talk was the kick—off
of a series of dinners on civil
rights sponsored by the Board
of Religion.

"Songs and chaotic impresA
sions are whirling around in
my head," he said, “I’ve had
seven days of Southern fried
chicken, and I weep at the re-
markable graciousness of Dr.
Vivian and all the rest. My
mind and heart are back in
Selma. What I have learned
there, I'm not sure I can de-
scribe or accept or believe. But
I know that non-violence is a
viable alternative to brutality
and barbarism and that it
holds great hope to all men.”

Dewey described the South
ern Christian Leadership Con-
(SCLC)—its role and
philosophy. “To the SCLC,” he
said," the issue is not just the
Negro or voting rights, but the
issue is man. The issue is how
:to change the structures of
evil so that all men can be free.
The flagrant injustiCe to the
Negro is the immediate focal
point, and the effort is to raise
this issue of conscience to the
level of humanity‘s consci-
ence."

Dewey was impressed by the

total commitment of everyone
in SCLC to non-violence. In a

 

Dewey Tells Impressions of Selma,
Kicks Off Dinners on Civil Rights

tense and dramatic confronta-
tion, as in Selma, works can
very easily provoke violence;
SCLC leaders, though, cau-
tioned everyone and main-
tained a tight control at all
times on the demonstrators.
These marchers themselves
showed a "tremendous sense
of rellowship, of community,
and humor, They Weren’t con-
fined: they confined the pod
lice.” ,

Dewey termed Clark’s posse
“ludicrous” against this non-
violent army, “He's more
scared than I am,” Dewey
heard a little Negro say while
looking at the 'mamnioth bulk
of an armed state trooper.

But ludicrous or not, violence
occurred, and Dewey ex-
pressed some reservation at
the nonrviclent approach. say-
ing, “Nor would I pretend it
works altogether. The demon-
strators were a motley crew;
there was terrible frustration,
impatience, and emotion —
and very high, tremendous fa-
tigue."

“There is a very significant
power at work here for King
has a great deal of understand
ing," Dewey said. “He taps that
power with an amazing sense
of responsibility for everyone
involved. King believes the
knife of injustice is poised at

 

Special 8&3 Issue
Studies Situation

A combination of factors brought
interest in the civil rights mow
ment, and especially the voter reg-
istration drive in Alabama, to 1
high level on campus this week.

Four Grinnell students undef-
took a journey to Selma to looli
into the situation and report it to
the 58:3. (See story at left and
pictures on pages 6 and 7.)

A local minister represented his
state conference in demonstra-
tions in Selma. (See below, and
interview page 2.) He also an-
ranged for C. T. Vivian of SCLO
to speak to the college commu.
nity via long distance telephone.
(See page 7.)

Seventy—five Grinnell sludem
called for federal intervention in
Selma by demonstrating in Del
Moines. (See story and picture all
page 5.)

Angry British Ploy
Will Be Presented ‘

“Look Back in Anger" by
John Osborne, one of Britain’l
most important contemporary
playwrights, will be presented
four times this weekend in th‘
Arena Theater.

The performances. which
are directed by Ned Donahue
(speech and theater), will
at 2:30 and 3:00 Sunday, a
at 8:00 Monday and Tuesday
evenings.

Of the play, the New Yolﬁ
Herald Tribune said the fol-
lowing: “The hero in John 0.4
homes ‘angry’ play is a vio-
lently embittered young tyrant:
who keeps his devoted wife in
an attic hovel, sneers at her
mother as an appetizing lump
of worm-bait, does her physi.
cal violence, betrays her ch.
instant another pair of arm.
coils about his neck. You lard
asked to believe that two wom-
en love this VOICano of cease-
less, sputtering venom. You
believe it! The truth about thlg
conscienceless sadist is that
he is absolutely alive."

Donahoe explained that tlic
main characters are two peo-
ple who are angry in different
ways. They find themselves in
a world without defln 'ons.
and what is the choice?

The cast consists of Mike Al‘-
now, as Jimmy, an angry
young man; Lucia Lynner. an
Allison, his wife; Max Helrgott.
as Cliff, their buddy; Deli
Burnstine, as Helena, a friend
of Allison’s and Dick Reicfh
mann, Allison's father,

Advance reservations will b]
required for each of the pets
formances

the aorta of this nation. He in
lieves that if you want to pug
sue the values of truth, lov
and justice in a society, y
must confront evil with nonsvio-
lence, you must act."

ADDRESS HERE:

 

