Rev. John Reynolds Oral History
Object number2022.001.0003
Date02/09/2022
ClassificationsOral Histories
Oral history interview subject
Rev. John Reynolds
Oral history interviewer
Stephen Fagin
ObjectOral history
Credit LineOral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumBorn digital (.m4a file), Born digital (.mp4 file), Born digital (.vtt file)
DimensionsDuration: 116 Minutes
DescriptionVideotaped oral history interview with Rev. John Reynolds. After volunteering for the 1965 SCOPE voter registration project of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Reynolds was personally hired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to join the SCLC national staff. Participating in numerous protests and marches, he was arrested close to twenty times during the Civil Rights Movement. An organizer of the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign, Reynolds served as health and sanitation director of the Resurrection City encampment in Washington, D.C.
Interview conducted over Zoom on February 9, 2022 by Curator Stephen Fagin. The interview is 1 hour and 56 minutes long.
Curatorial CommentaryRev. Reynolds is the author of The Fight for Freedom: A Memoir of My Years in the Civil Rights Movement (2012). A brief interview with Reynolds, conducted as part of the SCOPE50.org project, may be viewed on YouTube: REV. JOHN REYNOLDS - YouTube. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator
The Summer Community Organizing and Political Education (SCOPE) project of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference was an ambitious undertaking in the summer of 1965 in preparation of passage of the Voting Rights Act in August 1965. Hundreds of predominantly white college students were recruited to travel to six southern states to coordinate with community groups, promote voter registration, and document voter suppression. An extensive digitized collection of primary source materials, including orientation brochures, reading lists and press materials may be found here: Civil Rights Movement -- SCLC/SCOPE Project (crmvet.org). The Museum has been honored to record oral histories with several activists who took part in the 1965 SCOPE project. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator
