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| Charles Sherrod, Civil Rights Pioneer in Rural Georgia, Dies at 85 | Charles Sherrod, Civil Rights Pioneer in Rural Georgia, Dies at 85 |
| (about 20 hours later) | |
| The Rev. Charles Sherrod, a quietly stalwart civil rights leader who helped found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in 1960, became its first field secretary when he took an assignment in rural Albany, Ga., and remained there to create one of the country’s largest and most successful cooperative farms, died on Tuesday at his home there. He was 85. | The Rev. Charles Sherrod, a quietly stalwart civil rights leader who helped found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in 1960, became its first field secretary when he took an assignment in rural Albany, Ga., and remained there to create one of the country’s largest and most successful cooperative farms, died on Tuesday at his home there. He was 85. |
| His wife, Shirley Sherrod, said the cause was lung cancer. | His wife, Shirley Sherrod, said the cause was lung cancer. |
| Mr. Sherrod (pronounced sheh-ROD) drew together the many strands characterizing the younger generation of civil rights leaders that emerged in the early 1960s, including a militant urgency, a commitment to grass-roots activism and an open espousal of Christian faith as the engine of the movement. | Mr. Sherrod (pronounced sheh-ROD) drew together the many strands characterizing the younger generation of civil rights leaders that emerged in the early 1960s, including a militant urgency, a commitment to grass-roots activism and an open espousal of Christian faith as the engine of the movement. |
| He was among the first Black leaders to grasp the importance of field work: moving into a community, building ties with local leaders and developing a broad-based coalition of teenagers, college students and church congregations to advance voting rights and desegregation. | He was among the first Black leaders to grasp the importance of field work: moving into a community, building ties with local leaders and developing a broad-based coalition of teenagers, college students and church congregations to advance voting rights and desegregation. |
| Leaving behind a promising academic career, he arrived in Albany in the late summer of 1961. He was fresh off a monthlong stay in a South Carolina prison, where he and three others had been sentenced to hard labor after a lunch-counter sit-in. The four had refused bail, choosing instead to expose the cruelty of a system that punished Black people for the simple act of trying to buy a sandwich. | |
| Working alongside two other young organizers for S.N.C.C. (pronounced “snick”), Cordell Reagon and Charles Jones, Mr. Sherrod spent months winning the trust of those in Albany’s Black community, who for generations had been terrorized by their white neighbors. They focused on the city’s youth, especially the students at Albany State College, a Black institution. | Working alongside two other young organizers for S.N.C.C. (pronounced “snick”), Cordell Reagon and Charles Jones, Mr. Sherrod spent months winning the trust of those in Albany’s Black community, who for generations had been terrorized by their white neighbors. They focused on the city’s youth, especially the students at Albany State College, a Black institution. |
| Their first protests, including an attempt to desegregate the city bus depot, resulted in hundreds of arrests — so many that the Albany jail overflowed and protesters were sent to neighboring counties. | Their first protests, including an attempt to desegregate the city bus depot, resulted in hundreds of arrests — so many that the Albany jail overflowed and protesters were sent to neighboring counties. |
| The experience of watching their children get arrested galvanized parents. At a meeting in the winter of 1961, thousands of people turned out, filling two neighboring churches. The next few months saw more protests, en masse and individually. | The experience of watching their children get arrested galvanized parents. At a meeting in the winter of 1961, thousands of people turned out, filling two neighboring churches. The next few months saw more protests, en masse and individually. |
| “It was just a great joy,” Mr. Sherrod said in a 2011 interview with the Library of Congress, “to find the same old people, bent over, talking with their heads down, were now talking with their heads up, and speaking to white people without fear, and demonstrating, going in the store and taking, trying on a hat, and picketing stores who would not change in their morals.” | “It was just a great joy,” Mr. Sherrod said in a 2011 interview with the Library of Congress, “to find the same old people, bent over, talking with their heads down, were now talking with their heads up, and speaking to white people without fear, and demonstrating, going in the store and taking, trying on a hat, and picketing stores who would not change in their morals.” |
| Mr. Sherrod, a gifted singer, encouraged a quartet at Albany State College called the Freedom Singers to join the movement. They provided its soundtrack before going on to tour the country alongside Pete Seeger, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan. | Mr. Sherrod, a gifted singer, encouraged a quartet at Albany State College called the Freedom Singers to join the movement. They provided its soundtrack before going on to tour the country alongside Pete Seeger, Joan Baez and Bob Dylan. |
| The white community pushed back. During one march, a white mob attacked Mr. Sherrod with ax handles, beating him over the head and sending him to the hospital. | The white community pushed back. During one march, a white mob attacked Mr. Sherrod with ax handles, beating him over the head and sending him to the hospital. |
| Joyce Barrett, a white civil rights worker who had moved to Albany from Philadelphia to work with Mr. Sherrod, remembered getting a call from a team of S.N.C.C. workers who were being followed by a group of armed white men. | Joyce Barrett, a white civil rights worker who had moved to Albany from Philadelphia to work with Mr. Sherrod, remembered getting a call from a team of S.N.C.C. workers who were being followed by a group of armed white men. |
| “We drove to get them, and then we were followed by the men too,” she said in a phone interview. “But Sherrod didn’t panic. It’s because of his quiet determination and calmness that we are alive today.” | “We drove to get them, and then we were followed by the men too,” she said in a phone interview. “But Sherrod didn’t panic. It’s because of his quiet determination and calmness that we are alive today.” |
| The Albany movement attracted national attention, and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. came to town in the winter of 1961 to help lead the effort. But instead of meeting the protesters with billy clubs and police dogs, the chief of police, Laurie Pritchett, kept a low profile — to, as he put it, “out-nonviolent” them. | |
| “You know, Sherrod, it’s just a matter of mind over matter,” Mr. Sherrod recalled Mr. Pritchett telling him. “I don’t mind, and you don’t matter.” | “You know, Sherrod, it’s just a matter of mind over matter,” Mr. Sherrod recalled Mr. Pritchett telling him. “I don’t mind, and you don’t matter.” |
| The strategy worked, and Dr. King left in August 1962 without achieving any meaningful commitment to desegregation. The news media and even parts of the civil rights movement wrote off Albany as a failure. | The strategy worked, and Dr. King left in August 1962 without achieving any meaningful commitment to desegregation. The news media and even parts of the civil rights movement wrote off Albany as a failure. |
| Mr. Sherrod and his S.N.C.C. colleagues saw things differently. He inspired hundreds of students and young people to commit to field work, embedding for months and even years in rural communities. And the Albany movement offered a model for organizing a local community to fight for its rights. | Mr. Sherrod and his S.N.C.C. colleagues saw things differently. He inspired hundreds of students and young people to commit to field work, embedding for months and even years in rural communities. And the Albany movement offered a model for organizing a local community to fight for its rights. |
| “He was the first person in S.N.C.C. to leave school to become a full-time field secretary,” Courtland Cox, another founder of S.N.C.C., said in an interview. “He set the standard for a number of us who left school to become field workers in the civil rights movement.” | “He was the first person in S.N.C.C. to leave school to become a full-time field secretary,” Courtland Cox, another founder of S.N.C.C., said in an interview. “He set the standard for a number of us who left school to become field workers in the civil rights movement.” |
| Even as other civil rights workers moved on, Mr. Sherrod stayed in Albany. He married a local woman, Shirley Miller, and built a robust voting-rights effort and, later, a sprawling cooperative farm. Aside from a two-year stretch in New York to complete a master’s degree in divinity from Union Theological Seminary, he lived in Albany the rest of his life. | Even as other civil rights workers moved on, Mr. Sherrod stayed in Albany. He married a local woman, Shirley Miller, and built a robust voting-rights effort and, later, a sprawling cooperative farm. Aside from a two-year stretch in New York to complete a master’s degree in divinity from Union Theological Seminary, he lived in Albany the rest of his life. |
| “He had a firm belief in the goodness of others,” Mr. Cox said, “of his ability to change men’s minds and try to convince them of the truth of a beloved community, of a just society.” | “He had a firm belief in the goodness of others,” Mr. Cox said, “of his ability to change men’s minds and try to convince them of the truth of a beloved community, of a just society.” |
| Charles Melvin Sherrod was born on Jan. 2, 1937, in Surry, a small town in southeast Virginia. His mother, Martha Mae (Walker) Sherrod, was just 14 when she gave birth to him. His father, Raymond, left the family when Charles was an infant. | Charles Melvin Sherrod was born on Jan. 2, 1937, in Surry, a small town in southeast Virginia. His mother, Martha Mae (Walker) Sherrod, was just 14 when she gave birth to him. His father, Raymond, left the family when Charles was an infant. |
| Along with his wife, he is survived by his daughter, Russia Sherrod; his son, Kenyatta; his brothers, Ricardo and Roland Sherrod and Michael Gipson; his sister, Sheilda Fobbs; and five granddaughters. | |
| After Mr. Sherrod’s father moved away, his mother took her children to nearby Petersburg, where she worked in a tobacco factory. Charles excelled at school: He sang in the choir and served as class president his senior year. | After Mr. Sherrod’s father moved away, his mother took her children to nearby Petersburg, where she worked in a tobacco factory. Charles excelled at school: He sang in the choir and served as class president his senior year. |
| He received a sociology degree from Virginia Union University, in Richmond, in 1958 and a master’s in divinity from the university’s theology school in 1961. | He received a sociology degree from Virginia Union University, in Richmond, in 1958 and a master’s in divinity from the university’s theology school in 1961. |
| By then he was already a movement veteran. In college he participated in a “kneel-in” at an all-white church and led a sit-in at a Richmond department store. He was present at the creation of S.N.C.C., at a conference at Shaw University, in Raleigh, N.C., in 1960, and was active in both the sit-ins and the Freedom Rides that erupted in 1961. | By then he was already a movement veteran. In college he participated in a “kneel-in” at an all-white church and led a sit-in at a Richmond department store. He was present at the creation of S.N.C.C., at a conference at Shaw University, in Raleigh, N.C., in 1960, and was active in both the sit-ins and the Freedom Rides that erupted in 1961. |
| During a meeting with Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and several other civil rights leaders in Washington that summer, the normally reserved Mr. Sherrod exploded in anger when Kennedy tried to persuade them to drop the Freedom Ride strategy. | During a meeting with Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and several other civil rights leaders in Washington that summer, the normally reserved Mr. Sherrod exploded in anger when Kennedy tried to persuade them to drop the Freedom Ride strategy. |
| “He said, ‘You, sir, are a public servant, and your job is not to tell us what to do but to protect us when we exercise our constitutional rights,’” Taylor Branch, the author of a three-part biography of Dr. King, said in an interview. | “He said, ‘You, sir, are a public servant, and your job is not to tell us what to do but to protect us when we exercise our constitutional rights,’” Taylor Branch, the author of a three-part biography of Dr. King, said in an interview. |
| “Somebody told me that he had to literally grab Charlie Sherrod by the belt because he was incensed that Bobby Kennedy was telling them what to do,” Mr. Branch said. | “Somebody told me that he had to literally grab Charlie Sherrod by the belt because he was incensed that Bobby Kennedy was telling them what to do,” Mr. Branch said. |
| Mr. Sherrod had an opportunity to teach at Virginia Union, but he chose instead to work for S.N.C.C. full time, offering to “go anywhere.” Ella Baker, one of the organization’s senior leaders, sent him to Albany. | Mr. Sherrod had an opportunity to teach at Virginia Union, but he chose instead to work for S.N.C.C. full time, offering to “go anywhere.” Ella Baker, one of the organization’s senior leaders, sent him to Albany. |
| Mr. Sherrod was always committed to biracial activism, believing that working alongside white people was the only way to persuade rural Southern Black people that they were their equals. As the 1960s wore on, many in S.N.C.C. came to disagree. He ended his relationship with the group in 1966, after its central committee rejected his plan to invite white students to work in Albany. | Mr. Sherrod was always committed to biracial activism, believing that working alongside white people was the only way to persuade rural Southern Black people that they were their equals. As the 1960s wore on, many in S.N.C.C. came to disagree. He ended his relationship with the group in 1966, after its central committee rejected his plan to invite white students to work in Albany. |
| “I didn’t leave S.N.C.C.; S.N.C.C. left me,” he said. | “I didn’t leave S.N.C.C.; S.N.C.C. left me,” he said. |
| In 1968 he traveled to Israel to study the moshav, or collective farm, movement. When he returned, he and his wife arranged funding to buy thousands of acres of land near Albany. They called it New Communities, and it was the largest Black-run farm cooperative in the country. | In 1968 he traveled to Israel to study the moshav, or collective farm, movement. When he returned, he and his wife arranged funding to buy thousands of acres of land near Albany. They called it New Communities, and it was the largest Black-run farm cooperative in the country. |
| It didn’t last, though; it went bankrupt in 1985, after years of drought and after banks and the government refused to extend relief loans. | It didn’t last, though; it went bankrupt in 1985, after years of drought and after banks and the government refused to extend relief loans. |
| Afterward, Mr. Sherrod served in the Albany city government, taught at Albany State and worked as a chaplain in a nearby prison. Ms. Sherrod went to work for the Department of Agriculture, eventually becoming its rural coordinator for Georgia. | Afterward, Mr. Sherrod served in the Albany city government, taught at Albany State and worked as a chaplain in a nearby prison. Ms. Sherrod went to work for the Department of Agriculture, eventually becoming its rural coordinator for Georgia. |
| She was forced to resign in 2010 after the right-wing blogger Andrew Breitbart promoted a video of a speech she had given, deceptively edited to make it seem as if she advocated discrimination against white farmers. When the full video surfaced a few days later, the Obama administration apologized and offered her a different job. She declined. | She was forced to resign in 2010 after the right-wing blogger Andrew Breitbart promoted a video of a speech she had given, deceptively edited to make it seem as if she advocated discrimination against white farmers. When the full video surfaced a few days later, the Obama administration apologized and offered her a different job. She declined. |
| A year later, the Sherrods joined a successful class-action lawsuit against the Department of Agriculture for loan discrimination. | A year later, the Sherrods joined a successful class-action lawsuit against the Department of Agriculture for loan discrimination. |
| The money they received allowed them to buy a former plantation, which they converted into a new cooperative farm. They called it Resora, and they relished the turn of history that allowed the descendants of enslaved people to own property where their ancestors had once toiled. | The money they received allowed them to buy a former plantation, which they converted into a new cooperative farm. They called it Resora, and they relished the turn of history that allowed the descendants of enslaved people to own property where their ancestors had once toiled. |