Randolph College Honors 50th Anniversary of Civil Rights Protests

Randolph College will honor the 50th anniversary of the first sit-in in Lynchburg, Virginia.

This pivotal moment in the civil rights movement here has special meaning to our College. Two of our students joined two other white students from Lynchburg College and two African American students from Virginia Theological Seminary and College at Patterson’s Drug Store in downtown Lynchburg, hoping to convince the owner to allow people of every race to use the lunch counter. When the owner refused, the students held the city’s first sit-in, which resulted in each of them receiving a 30-day jail sentence.

Randolph College is honoring this anniversary with an event that will address both the past and present of the Civil Rights Movement.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

February 17
Lynchburg Sit-in Panel Discussion
Alice Ashley Jack Room, Smith Bldg.
4:30 p.m.


Moderator:
Gilliam Cobbs
Lynchburg community leader

Panelists:
Mary Edith Bentley Abu-Saba ’61
Alumna, sit-in participant
Alice Hilseweck Ball ’61
Alumna, sit-in participant
Evanda Gale Jefferson ’70
Alumna, Lynchburg resident at time of sit-ins, one of the first black graduates of Randolph-Macon Woman’s College

“Activism and Civil Rights Today”
Nikki Giovanni
Houston Memorial Chapel
7:30 p.m.

American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. Through her work, she is wholly committed to the fight for civil rights and racial equality, insisting on presenting the truth as she sees it. She presently teaches writing and literature at Virginia Tech, where she is a University Distinguished Professor. She has received 19 honorary doctorates and a myriad of other awards.

All events are free and open to the public.
Events funded by the Phillip Thayer Memorial Lecture Fund and Kennedy-Fitzgerald Fund.



Read more about R-MWC students and the Patterson sit-ins in the December issue of Randolph Magazine.

Randolph Featured in U.S. Airways Magazine

When you fly home for Thanksgiving, you might find a little taste of the Red Brick Wall tucked into the seat in front of you.

Randolph College is featured in the November issue of U.S. Airways Magazine. The issue highlights the College's hometown of Lynchburg, Virginia as a travel destination.

"More than 5 million passengers fly U.S. Airways each month, with more than 3 million of those passengers reading the magazine during their time on the plane," said Brenda Edson, strategic communications manager, who worked with the Lynchburg Chamber of Commerce on the project. "That's a lot of people who are going to learn more about Randolph College."

Look for it when you fly U.S. Air this month.

View the magazine online.