Interview with Raymond Worsley [electronic resource] 2004 April 17 / interviewer: John Fraser ; transcriber: Erica Lee.

  1. Resources
  2. View Resource

ArchivalResource

Interview with Raymond Worsley [electronic resource] 2004 April 17 / interviewer: John Fraser ; transcriber: Erica Lee.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/650084726

One of Raymond Worsley's most vivid memories of his childhood was his vision of his mother being asked to move to the back of the bus. His favorite teacher in school was his history teacher who would add information about African American roles in the history they were studying. He recalls his goal in college and the seminary as being determined to learn all that he could. Worsley shares some of his experience in The Marine Corps during World War 2. He joined the Marines after being drafted, becoming one of only about 1,000 African Americans serving in the Corps during the War. He tells of first being assigned to Montford Point training before preparing for war in the Pacific. Worsley explains why he decided to volunteer to be wheel man on a 20mm naval gun. He pays tribute to his friend Luther Woodard who was awarded the Silver Star. Worsley shares his civil rights movements memories of marching on Montgomery, Ala. with Martin Luther King and Ralph Abernathy. He recalls James Swann being responsible for getting the money for the buses to get to Montgomery. He joined the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. in their Apartheid March on Washington. Worsley tells of his experience being jailed. He also recalls working with the Black Panthers and Ben Chavis; he claims he never knew them to be violent. Worsley joined sit-ins while attending Union Seminary, and was part of the group that closed Woolworth's in Charlotte. Worsley proudly tells of his lifetime membership in the NAACP. When asked about his most memorable experience, he again describes the Apartheid March in Washington. Worsley ends the interview with the opinion that the most important change since Brown vs the Board of Education has been that public places are open to all and that there are some African Americans in white collar jobs.

University of North Carolina, Charlotte, J. Murrey Atkins Library

Information

SNAC Resource ID: 7938528

University of North Carolina, Charlotte, J. Murrey Atkins Library

Related Entities

There are 10 Entities related to this resource.

Abernathy, Ralph, 1926-1990

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6kt7jhc (person)

Ralph David Abernathy (1926-1990) was a minister, civil rights leader, and confidant of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr....

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6k17w53 (corporateBody)

Organizational History and List of Officers Organizational History 1909 Issued the “Call,” a statement calling for a conference to protest discrimination and violence against African Americans Convened the National Negro Conference on May 31 and June 1, New York, N.Y. E...

Swann, James E.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6xp847x (person)

Fraser, John H.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6gf172t (person)

Epithet: of Glenvakie British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue : Person : Description : ark:/81055/vdc_100000000215.0x000288 ...

New South Voices (Project)

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6md3x8f (corporateBody)

Woodard, Luther.

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6qc12gm (person)

Topeka (Kan.). Board of Education

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w64j442n (corporateBody)

Worsley, Raymond, 1925-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6446krm (person)

Raymond Worsley was born on August 11, 1925 in Rocky Mount, N.C. He attended public school in Rocky Mount, including Booker T. Washington High. Worsley graduated from Johnson C. Smith University and the Interdenominational Theological Center. He received a Masters of Arts degree from Union Seminary and Columbia University. Worsley also earned an S.T.D. (Doctor of Sacred Theology) degree from Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. Worsley was drafted at 18 while he was a student at Johnson C. Smith Uni...

United States. Marine Corps

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6pp2x8f (corporateBody)

The U.S. Marine Corps was established on November 10, 1775. From the description of Papers, 1933-1945. (Naval War College). WorldCat record id: 754107146 The history of the Marine Corps Navajo Code Talkers dates from 1942-1945. In 1942, a white man by the name of Phillip Johnston, who had lived on a Navajo reservation for many years of his life, conceived an idea that he thought might help the war. He believed that the Navajo language, a verbal, rarely-written language, coul...

King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6qs5m3z (person)

Martin Luther King, Jr. (b. January 15, 1929, Atlanta, Georgia –d. April 4, 1968, Memphis, Tennessee) was an American Baptist minister and activist who was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights using nonviolent civil disobedience. King helped to organize the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. In 1964, King received the Nobel Peace Prize and in 1965, he helped to organize the Selma to M...