"Call to Action: The SNCC Experience in Dallas" Program

Object number2006.001.0064

Date09/06/2006

ClassificationsOral Histories

Oral history interview subject Bishop Mark Herbener

Oral history interview subject Ernest McMillan Jr.

Oral history interview subject Edward Harris

Oral history interviewer Bob Ray Sanders

ObjectOral history

Credit LineOral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

MediumHi-8 videotape

DimensionsDuration: 85 Minutes (5100 Seconds)

Terms

Collections

DescriptionVideotaped "Call to Action: The SNCC Experience in Dallas" public program with Bishop Mark Herbener, Ernest McMillan, Edward Harris and Bob Ray Sanders as moderator. This group of 1960s civil rights activists discussed the local history and activities of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). Bishop Mark Herbener was pastor of the Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Dallas throughout the 1960s and 1970s, during which time he was actively involved in the civil rights movement. He held a memorial service for President Kennedy following the assassination. An outspoken African-American activist in the 1960s, Ernest McMillan Jr. was attending Morehouse College in Atlanta at the time of the assassination. During the 1960s, he was a prominent member of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. A vocal African-American activist in Dallas, Edward Harris fought for civil rights during the 1960s with local organizations such as the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee. In 1968, he attended the National Black Power Conference in Philadelphia. A respected newspaper, radio and television journalist in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Bob Ray Sanders was attending high school at an African-American school in Fort Worth in 1963. On Thanksgiving Day that year, the school's marching band performed a memorial tribute to President Kennedy. Sanders was later an active supporter of the civil rights and peace movements of the 1960s and 1970s. This program was part of the Museum's 2006 "Call to Action" series. Program conducted at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza on September 6, 2006. The program is one hour and twenty-five minutes long.

Curatorial Commentary

As of 2022, two of the panelists featured in this program have passed away: Ed Harris on January 22, 2015, and Bishop Mark Herbener on October 28, 2017. All four of these speakers also recorded one-on-one oral histories with the Museum. Ed Harris's 2006 oral history may be viewed in full here: https://emuseum.jfk.org/objects/26165. After this initial 2006 program, Ernest McMillan returned to the Museum for six public and educational programs between 2013 and 2021. Two full program recordings may be found on the Museum's YouTube channel: Living History with Ernest McMillan (2019) - YouTube and Living History with Ernest McMillan - YouTube. - Stephen Fagin, Associate Curator