-Michael Banerjee
As aforementioned, James Bond also joined us in Atlanta. The former SNCC worker currently lives in a house on the campus of Morehouse College—Atlanta’s most famous Historically Black College. James was able to provide valuable insight on the Civil Rights Movement from a perspective complimentary to that of Tom. During our dinner at Mary Mac’s Tea Room, the group was able to enjoy the company of a freedom fighter by the name of Stephanie, who is now also James’s partner.
After dinner, a question and answer session began. During the Q & A session, I asked two questions; the first was proffered to our guests as follows: was your commitment to nonviolence similar to Dr. King’s or was it derived from a place other than religion? In other words, was your commitment to nonviolence based on religious principle or something more pragmatic?
Tom responded that while Dr. King was one of the strongest proponents of nonviolence during the Civil Rights Movement, only about half of SCLC workers truly adhered to the principle of nonviolence. I was shocked. The books I have read regarding the SCLC do not address whether or not all SCLC workers adhered to nonviolence but they certainly implied that most, if not all, did. Tom added that he had committed himself to nonviolence because he thought it was the best weapon they had, meaning that his commitment was more so a product of pragmatic, rather than religious, considerations.
TO BE CONTINUED…
As aforementioned, James Bond also joined us in Atlanta. The former SNCC worker currently lives in a house on the campus of Morehouse College—Atlanta’s most famous Historically Black College. James was able to provide valuable insight on the Civil Rights Movement from a perspective complimentary to that of Tom. During our dinner at Mary Mac’s Tea Room, the group was able to enjoy the company of a freedom fighter by the name of Stephanie, who is now also James’s partner.
After dinner, a question and answer session began. During the Q & A session, I asked two questions; the first was proffered to our guests as follows: was your commitment to nonviolence similar to Dr. King’s or was it derived from a place other than religion? In other words, was your commitment to nonviolence based on religious principle or something more pragmatic?
Tom responded that while Dr. King was one of the strongest proponents of nonviolence during the Civil Rights Movement, only about half of SCLC workers truly adhered to the principle of nonviolence. I was shocked. The books I have read regarding the SCLC do not address whether or not all SCLC workers adhered to nonviolence but they certainly implied that most, if not all, did. Tom added that he had committed himself to nonviolence because he thought it was the best weapon they had, meaning that his commitment was more so a product of pragmatic, rather than religious, considerations.
TO BE CONTINUED…