MU| A r c h i v e s
Nashville sit-in a life-changing
experience
A
fter we published this photo from the 1960 May Day parade
that expressed support for sit-downs – also known as sit-ins –
we heard from Jim Tomlonson ’61, a retired minister who
lives in Missouri. Jim says he was one of five students in
Professor Don Royer’s Race Relations class who went to
Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn., to witness the civil rights movement
firsthand.
“We left college and drove all night to Nashville,” recalls Jim. “The
next day we went to Fisk University and met students. With them we
went downtown to a lunch counter. There we participated in a sit-in.
I remember the tension. I remember being scared. However, I also
remember feeling that this was the ‘right’ thing to do. ... I am grateful to
Manchester for this and other experiences that shaped my life. Thank you
and others for keeping the vision going!”
Help solve the mystery
MU student Elijah Smith works in the University’s archives
and has spent many hours scanning old negatives. One of those
images from the mid-1970s features typewriters, suggesting
that these students were taking a course in secretarial studies. If
anyone can identify the students, the location or even the piece of
office equipment at the back of the room, please let us know.
Please contact Jeanine by email at [email protected]
or by postal mail at:
Jeanine Wine, archivist,
Manchester University
Funderburg Library
604 E. College Ave.
North Manchester, IN 46962
A RCHIVES
Manchester | 43