Session: 123456789101112131415161718192021222324         Page 250251252253254255256257258259260261262263264265266267268269270271272273274275276277 of 592

basic statement on the Charleston strike. So that was in there. Then there was one two-pager of Coretta, and there was a two-pager of the civil rights leaders, and then there were big pictures of Roy Wilkins and Whitney Young, and that kind of thing. There was a picture of Ralph. It was a very handsome issue, and it had just come out at the time of the meeting, and I, like a schmuck, brought it down. Before the meeting started, Ralph is at the table, I said, “Ralph, look at this.” He's reading the magazine. I see back and forth and back and forth, and suddenly it dawns on me, “Oh, my What did you do?” It shows that they're all equal, and here is Ralph, he's been busting his chops down there, and he's treated like one of many.

So in the course of the meeting, Ralph says, “I see here this magazine. When was Roy Wilkins here? Whitney Young. Did anybody notice Whitney Young in Charleston?” He was really angry about it.

Then Carl Farris gets up and makes an impassioned speech, how 1199 is running things and they're demeaning the SCLC, an anti-1199 speech, playing with Ralph's thing. He really laces it into us.

At that point, Andy Young rushed Carl Farris and they were grappling and on the floor, fighting. Before he did that, Andy Young got up and said, “Look.” I can't even remember the sequence, but all I know is that what Andy said was, “Look. Carl, you don't even understand what's happening here. If ever we had a chance to come back as an organization, we've got it now, and who do you think we have to thank for it? 1199. And what are you doing? You're attacking them. We should be thanking them for what they've done to make it possible for us.” And then there was an exchange and they were fighting on the floor.

And you're thinking?

I didn't know what to think anymore. It's embarrassing to see them fighting. So after it's over, after the meeting ends, I say to Andy, “I thought that you were a big believer in nonviolence.”

He looks at me and smiles, “Sometimes.” [Laughter]

Stanley said, “Don't worry. Don't worry about it. It's good that it happened that way. It's good. Don't worry about it.”

Why did he say that?

He could sense that they were in it, there was no pulling back. There was no place for them to go, no matter what they thought, and that was just quickly forgotten and everything else went ahead.