Each Fall, YDS welcomes alumni back to campus for an annual celebration of former classmates, old friends, and beloved teachers. But this year Convocation and Reunions also marked another milestone: the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights movement.
To celebrate this historic year, Associate Professor of Pastoral Theology and former Yale University Chaplain Frederick Streets ’75 M.Div. convened and moderated a panel during Convocation and Reunions entitled “YDS & Civil Rights: Critical Reflections” on Oct. 23 in Marquand Chapel. Watch the full panel discussion.
The panelists included Professor Emeritus of Ethics and Religious Studies and former YDS Dean (1990-1996) Thomas W. Ogletree; Otis Moss Jr., who gave the Lyman Beecher Lectures at YDS in 2004; and Nancy Jo Kemper ’67 B.D., first female graduate to receive the school’s William Sloane Coffin, Jr. Peace and Justice award.
The discipline of nonviolence
Each panelist began their remarks with a personal experience from their time as seminarians during the late 60s and early 70s.
Streets observed that upon his arrival on campus, there was an intense atmosphere filled with anxiety and a higher level of social activity. However, he also noted that adding to this tense moment was the confrontation of viewpoints among students.
“I arrived in ‘72. You could tell something had just been stirred up,” he recalled, “suspicion hung in the air with such intensity.” At that time, the Civil Rights movement faced opposition from within its constituency in the form of black militancy. This confrontation contributed to the divisions among student groups.
Kemper, who recently retired as the Executive Director of the Kentucky Council of Churches, described the mid 60s as a transformational time for many white Southerners who were coming of age. She recalls her YDS experience as an awakening of consciousness through confronting childhood prejudices and becoming an advocate for justice.
Audience member Steven Richards ’17 M.Div. asked the panelists about the role of forgiveness during the Civil Rights movement. Ogletree responded that the leadership of the movement had adopted nonviolence as strategy and life practice. As a practice, Ogletree argued, nonviolence is about forgiveness.
“They trained us not to be vengeful, but to show love through noncooperation with unequal laws,” he commented.
However, Moss acknowledged that asking people to be patient and desist from using violence against authorities was difficult. He emphasized the role of training, noting in particular the leadership camps James Lawson led in Nashville.
“In one sense it was spontaneous but in another sense it was a dedicated, prepared, and highly disciplined movement,” he asserted. “Our sense was that we could be killed or be maimed for the rest of our lives.”
He recalled the importance of this training when he was chosen to lead a protest march in Georgia against a violent crowd of state troopers and an angry white mob. Citing one of his colleagues in a 1999 documentary about the Nashville sit-ins campaign, A Force More Powerful, he noted that Lawson’s leadership camps were an equivalent of the cadet training at West Point Academy.
The persistence of structural inequality
In addition, Kemper commented on the debates that took place during her time here at YDS around civil disobedience. She noted how students were torn over endorsing a nonviolent strategy against the emergent militancy of other dissatisfied constituencies, such as those in the Black Power movement.
Kemper also highlighted other activities in which YDS students engaged as part of the movement. She shared the story of her classmates Elaine Tiller ’67 B.D. and Robert Tiller ’66 B.D., who opened a community church here in New Haven, lobbied in Washington, and even brought Saul Alinsky to campus.
The Millers were also part of a delegation of sixty Yale University students who went to work in Mississippi under the tutelage of the former Yale University Chaplain William Coffin, Jr. in the summer of 1963. For weeks, these students staffed a mock election campaign for Aaron Henry, an African American, who was the write-in candidate for Governor and their experiences were written up and widely circulated in Presbyterian Life and the social action newsletter of the Disciples of Christ.
Turning attention to the current political climate, another member of the audience shared his regrets about the persistence of structural inequality in the economy. In response, Moss observed that the history of Supreme Court decisions–particularly the recent cases on voting rights and campaign finance—have compounded the issue.
“What the Supreme Court has done, in a sense, is legalize racism,” he inserted.
Echoing the same sentiments, Kemper drew comparisons between the Court’s ruling with the Jim Crow laws that legislated separate-but-equal laws.
“Just think about school choice,” she remarked. “The current zoning of public school has left urban schools with a poor education infrastructure. Choice, in this case, privileges those parents who can afford to move their kids to independent schools or affluent neighborhoods.”
A transforming legacy
Some current students expressed their gratitude for the experiences that were shared during the panel discussion. Michael Thornton ’16 M.Div. found the examples of student engagement from previous YDS students inspiring.
“We stand on the shoulders of giants,” he said. “The experiences shared by the panelists challenge us to step up and make a difference while we are still in seminary.”
Another current student, LaShawn Yvette ’15 M.A.R. observed that the panel emphasized practical ways in which currents students can get involved.
“As students, we have the power of the pen,” she noted. “We can write petitions, op-ed pieces to rally support for the just change.”
Other alumni who were part of the audience shared their experiences, reiterating how they feel indebted to the transformation they went through at YDS.
Seth Payne ’08 M.A.R. emphasized the role of respect and critical thinking in YDS’ curriculum, observing that these skills have allowed him to experience transformational engagement with colleagues who hold different perspectives.
Likewise Charles Wildman ’70 M.Div., felt his experience at YDS during the student movements of the 60s, prepared him for the dynamic responsibilities of parish ministry.
“Parish ministry isn’t pastoral care apart from whatever is happening in the world,” he remarked. “It is both.”
Professor Streets commended the audience for their participation and encouraged them to reflect on the Civil Rights Movement’s achievements.
“Race has no place in American life or law, eliminate the last vestige of injustice in our country, and that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 defines our national identity.”
“YDS & Civil Rights: Critical Reflections,” as well as many other recordings from Convocation & Reunions 2014, are available on the YDS YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/YaleDivinitySchool
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