Septima Clark
Thursday, February 04 2010
by Frank Stasio and Katy Barron
Long before the marches on Washington , bus boycotts and sit-ins, Septima Clark was an activist in the black freedom struggle. She taught people to read, then to vote, then to hold elected officials accountable. Clark is best remembered for the citizenship schools she founded, which were later adopted by MLK Jr.’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference and credited with training thousands of community activists. Katherine Mellen Charron, assistant professor of history at N.C. State University, tells Clark’s personal and political story in her new book, “Freedom’s Teacher: The Life of Septima Clark” (UNC Press/2009) and joins host Frank Stasio for a conversation about the long legacy of black women’s educational activism.
This is an edited version of a conversation that originally broadcast on November 19, 2009. Listen to the full interview here:
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