North Central College presents a panel discussion on Feb. 26 that reminisces of historic, personal events in 1963 during the modern civil rights movement.
Photo courtesy of NCC
Moderated by North Central College’s Dr. C. Frederick Toenniges Professor of History Ann Durkin Keating, three panelists will share their personal recollections of travels to Jackson, Miss., in the early 1960s to work with the civil rights movement and network with churches. Titled “1963 Protests for Civil Rights: Desegregation in Jackson, Mississippi–A Panel Discussion 50 Years Later,” the free event takes place at 7PM Tuesday, Feb. 26, in Koten Chapel at Kiekhofer Hall, 329 E. School St, Naperville.
Panelists include Thomas Armstrong, a Naperville resident born in Mississippi, who worked on the front lines of the civil rights movement; Rev. Martin Deppe, a retired Methodist pastor who served for decades in the Chicago area and participated in efforts to desegregate churches in Jackson; and North Central 1959 alumnus Rev. Robert Harman, keynote speaker at the College’s 2010 Martin Luther King Breakfast, who marched with Dr. King in Chicago in 1966.
Keating will start the panel discussion by citing significant events during 1963, including the penning of the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in April, the assassination of civil rights activist and pioneer Medgar Evers in June, the March on Washington in August that culminated with King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, and the bombing in September of 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham.
Armstrong, the first panelist, was a student at Tougaloo College, a historically black school in Mississippi. He participated in the 1963-1964 church visits and worked to integrate all-white churches in Jackson. He served with Medgar Evers and others on voting rights campaigns and was one of the first Mississippi residents to join the Freedom Riders who tested the laws against segregation, drawing national attention. He authored “Autobiography of a Freedom Rider: My Life as a Foot Soldier for Civil Rights.”
Deppe is a retired Methodist pastor who served for decades in Chicago and the suburbs and has many connections to pastors of the former Evangelical United Brethren Church, which had early influences at North Central. He participated in the effort to desegregate churches in downtown Jackson and worked alongside Tougaloo students like Armstrong, other Chicago area ministers and North Central alumni who worked against segregation, including Rev. Harman, class of 1959, and Rev. Dr. Richard Tholin, class of 1949.
Harman is a leader in the United Methodist Church, an author, historian and lifelong advocate for civil rights, social justice and worldwide evangelism. While serving an inner-city Chicago congregation, he marched with King, witnessed King’s attempts to improve open housing laws, and personally experienced civil disobedience when he was arrested during a march and spent the night in jail. In 2010, North Central recognized his lifelong service and contributions, naming him to the College’s Wall of Witness.
In 1965, a group of 120 North Central College students, chaperones and faculty traveled by bus to Selma, Ala., to participate in a march on Sunday, March 21, with other civil rights supporters. Members of the North Central community have a long history of advocating for civil rights, racial justice and equality.
Various campus groups are co-hosting this event as a way to remember and learn from significant milestones during our nation’s struggle for racial justice and equity. The campus groups include Cultural Events; Leadership, Ethics & Values (LEV) as part of its yearlong focus on moral courage; LEV and Office of International Programs as part of its Global Human Rights focus; and the Office of Multicultural Affairs as a student event during Black History Month.
