Board of Trustees Squelches Request for Negro Speaker

Title

Board of Trustees Squelches Request for Negro Speaker

Subject

A Ring Tum Phi article written in reaction to the W&L Board of Trustees decision to prevent Martin Luther King, Jr. from speaking on campus.

Description

In 1961, the Washington and Lee Board of Trustees refused to let the University Christian Association invite Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to speak on campus. No justification was given for this decision at the time of its announcement, and it was met with much dismay from the student body. Dr. King was to speak on "Christian Ethics and Non-Violent Protests in Race Relations." In lieu of Dr. King's visit to campus, a W&L Professor took a bus of students over the Blue Ridge to listen to him speak in Lynchburg.

Creator

Tom Lybass

Publisher

Washington and Lee University

Date

February 20, 1961

Contributor

Jillian Katterhagen

Type

Newspaper Article

Files

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Citation

Tom Lybass, “Board of Trustees Squelches Request for Negro Speaker,” The American Century, accessed March 31, 2023, https://omeka.wlu.edu/americancentury/items/show/38.