Both My Parents Came From North Carolina,

I Think, To Be Honest, Sort Of Emanated From The Initial Work Of Somebody Else Instead Of Sclc. If You Take Albany; I Don't Know Whether You Recall How Albany Got Started. There Were Two Little Guys Who Went Up There First. One Was Cordell Hull Who Was Then In His Teens - Not Cordell Hull - Cordell Reagan, Who Came Out Of The Nashville Movement, And Charles Sherrod, Who Came Out Of The Richmond, Virginia, Movement.

In '32 We Organized The Young Negroes' Cooperative League And Had Some Degree Of Success In Terms Of Establishing Stores And Certainly Buying Clubs In Various Sections Of The Country. I Was Designated As - I Don't Know What Exactly - I Believe It Was Director. I'm Not Sure What It Was, But It Had To Do With Getting Out The Necessary Mail And All Of That - Organization.

I'm Sure, Out Of The Context Here Of Stanley Levison's Relationship With The Jewish Liberal Forces, That Had Made Contributions. I Remember One Such Contribution Before They Moved From Montgomery. An Associate In The Real Estate Business With Stanley Had Lost A Son In The War, And She Wanted To Do Something In Memory Of Him. So, She Made Available Certain Monies To Be Used By The Emerging Leadership There In Montgomery. I'm Sure Other Individuals Did.

Nixon Was The One Force In Montgomery For A Number Of Years That Made Any Effort In The Direction Of Challenging The Power Structure. Ed Nixon's Source Of Direction For That Comes Out Of His Relationship With The Brotherhood Of Sleeping Care Porters And The Randolph Philosophy Of Mass Action. So, Ed Nixon Really Was The Force That Conceived Of The Boycott And Drew Up The Original Papers For The Boycott.

I Have Always Thought That What Is Needed Is The Development Of People Who Are Interested Not In Being Leaders As Much As In Developing Leadership In Others.