description:
April 7, 1965 THE SKYSCRAPER Page Five What was it? The Mundelein-Catholic Interracial Conference Mission to Montgomery. Who participated? A group of volunteers made up of 28 students, eight faculty members and two guests. What was required for participation? Parental approval, agreement to fol low rules and to pay the bus fare no later than April 6. Were they briefed? Sam J. Dennis, assistant director of the Catholic Interracial Council of Chi cago, gave a 10 a.m. briefing March 23 at Mundelein and notified the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Montgomery about Mundelein's plans. Students were briefed on safety pro cedures immediately after arrival in Montgomery by a representative of SCLC. How was the group organized? 1) Students made tentative, pre liminary plans. 2) Students approached the SAC, who contacted the Catholic Inter racial Council. iiiwiiiuiiiiiiiniiiiiM 3) The Catholic Interracial Council made detailed plans for the trip for the volunteers. The CIC, with the help of Sister Mary Bertille, principal of St. Jude School, arranged for the volun teers to stay in the homes of St. Jude's parishoners. Who financed the mission? The SAC voted to allot a maximum of 213.99 or about 8 per passenger. The faculty and two guests paid in full, 29 apiece. Students paid 20 each. imiaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiffl iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiuiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiii nuiiiinii miiiiiiiiinniiiiinifiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiuiiiipiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiF Why Did They Go? To Participate, Meet, Discuss and Learn To Give Witness This is a portion of the jour nal kept by Judy Hilkin on the trip to Montgomery, March 23- 26. March 23, 1965 Arranged my gear this morning and arrived at school about 9:30. Went to the briefing. We will stay at St. Jude City Wednesday night. Thursday we will join the march ers and proceed to the Capitol, leave Montogomery Thursday night and arrive home Friday. It's now 4:30. At another brief ing. I am scared yet happy. Sis ter Mary Ann Ida just gave us a short talk, saying that this was a way for Mundelein to give wit ness to the civil rights movement. Pam Payne, student leader, briefed us on the time of departure. When I came out to board the bus, the faculty was there and a crowd of girls. Food was brought out of the main building. Good. We left singing We Shall Over come and the school song. My bus partner was Judy Stephani in whom I found a companionship that made the trip easier. Food came out when we hit the outskirts of the city. It seems to be the first reaction to a long trip. There was quiet talking among the girls. The subjects ranged from English lit to why we were going to Alabama. Our route took us through In diana, Kentucky and Tennessee. Woke up when we got to Nashville at 4:30. Everyone was cramped and looking for coffee. Students and Faculty Join Rights Marchers (Continued from Page 1) Victory Day began with ranks of marchers forming six deep. Marshalls yelling, Let's have a man on the outside, ran alongside the assembled thousands. March ers ran at intervals in order to keep the lines close at all times. During three-fourths of the trek, which cut through a Negro section of the city, onlookers cheered and joined in singing the freedom chants. Others watched expres sionless. Several offered water to the marchers. An old Negro woman shouted that it was the greatest day she had ever seen. Change Mood Turning onto the downtown sec tion a different mood confronted the marchers. Quiet heckling from a few white observers was empha sized by a large sign on one store showing Martin Luther King, Jr., supposedly at a Communist train ing school. Confederate flags waved by bystanders, worn by some troop ers and flown on top of the Capitol building itself seemed to indicate the real feeling behind the civil rights opposition. As the crowd, estimated by King at 50,000, approached the pleasant white Capitol buildings, they were urged to sit down and rest. Take up as much of Dexter Ave. as you wish today, said a SCLC leader. Opening the four-hour meeting with We Shall Overcome, theme of the civil rights movement, the crowd raised American flags to the National Anthem, led by Mrs. Mar tin Luther King, Jr. The optimis tic tone of the previous night's speeches continued as civil rights leaders discussed the significance of the march. Said an organizer of the civil rights march on Washington in 1964, This march is the greatest thing because it is the first one since 1877 for which the govern ment has declared its full support. One of the initial speakers de clared, This is a revolution that won't fire a shot . . . Our aim is to love the hell out of the state of Alabama with all the power of our bodies and souls. Explain Prejudice Although the enthusiasm gener ated at Wednesday night's rally remained at the same pitch, a new tone was introduced to the speeches. This is only the beginning was the consensus of opinion. Speaking slowly at first, the weary King said that the right to vote, crux of the whole campaign in Alabama, has focused national attention on the root of racial segregation in the South. Urging southern Negroes to con tinue the struggle for voting rights, King emphasized that the aim of the movement is to seek a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience. The struggle will not be a smooth one, he stressed, but it will not take long because no lie can last for ever. As marchers ended the demon stration, hands clasped with, We Shall Overcome, buses arrived to escort the thousands of visitors out of the city. Boarding their Trail- ways bus at nearby Patterson Field, the Mundelein contingent re turned at 2 p.m. Friday afternoon. March 24, 1965 Just crossed the Alabama state line. What a feeling. Welcome to Alabama how ironic. It has begun to rain heavily. Let up a bit when we entered Birming ham. A car just passed by saying Investigate the Justice Depart ment. We are now entering the upper- class section. The grounds are luscious and the houses resemble Tara. At 12:35 we enter Montgomery. Confederate flags are visible. Just passed a gas station filled with police; national guardsmen are everywhere. Some are in bushes, some on the road, all with walkie- talkies and guns. We have lost our way. All the direction signs leading to the city are covered with brown paper We finally found our destination, St. Jude's, but troopers were block ing the entrance. The bus was re-routed to the back entrance. At a briefing we were given instruc tions on what to do in case of trouble. A shuttle bus was there to take us to meet the marchers who were approaching St. Jude's. It was great to march. I began to mingle with the people. It was like an old country fair. Met many clergy. Some were from St. Louis and Chicago. I had a chance to get acquainted with a Negro principal of a school down there. He stood a good Skyscraper Photo by Diane Sargol The Return: Pam Payme, stu dent leader of the Mundelein Catho lic Interracial Conference Mission to Montgomery, recounts her reac tions to the march for reporter Les Brownlee of ABC. chance of losing his job but seemed not to be concerned. After dinner (peanut butter sandwich) we began to assemble for the rally. We waited forever for the program to begin. What a lineup Sammy Davis, Jr., Harry Belafonte, the Chad Mitchell Trio. It roused our spirits and intensi fied the community spirit. To wards the end Sister Mary Ignatia came up and told us where we would spend the night. March 25, 1965 Arrived back at St. Jude's Thursday morning. The air was electric with excitement. At 11:15 we began to march, Dr. King led. The march entered the back way to the state Capitol. As we neared the white sector there was a bit of tension in the air. The federal troopers were all along the route but remained silent in the Negro section. Now that they were on home ground they began to laugh. Spectators hung out windows or stood in small groups. Some laughed that hurt. One SNCC fellow held up a sign for us, Keep Smiling. We boarded the bus and went back to St. Jude's. The tents were dismantled. At 6:30 we left. I wanted to stay so bad. All were in deep thought recalling the days' events. At Nashville we learned of the woman's death. It upset me after a day of complete brother hood. VY TTnHTX And to prove 5t this albuni X W U X XX THE DICK WILLIAMS' KIDS TOVPrn SING FOR BIG PEOPLE. Twelve i-OJ-N X great standards sung by kids and TX7A QT TpT) supported by Slush strings YVxa.O X XliXy airKji dnvin' brass. It swings 0 W TTTTT Dlt's excSlt5inig It's unlike any YOUNG album you've ever heard. And chances are, you'M write us a love letter about it iftJiG/**e t*. - eSs of / gt;- frit oWft / *y Si a There's a world of excitement on ArGO Records Chicago, 111. 60616 til
title:
1965-04-07 (5)
publisher:
Women and Leadership Archives http://www.luc.edu/wla
creator:
Mundelein College
description:
Student newspaper for Mundelein College
subject:
Newspapers
subject:
Religious communities--Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
subject:
Students
subject:
Universities and colleges
subject:
Women's education
relation:
Mundelein College Records
type:
Text
language:
English
rights:
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coverage:
Chicago, Illinois
coverage:
Mundelein College