ASU President Reinstates Students from 1960 Sit-in Movement

Alabama State University
News Release
Author: Tina Joly
Release Date: Feb 26, 2010
ASU's president has reinstated nine students expelled for their particpation in the historic 1960 Sit-in Movment. The announcement was made during a conference held to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the sit-in.
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Nine students expelled from Alabama State University after participating in the Montgomery Student Sit-in Movement in 1960 were officially reinstated by President William H. Harris.
Harris plans to ask the Board of Trustees to allow the former ASU students to receive their diplomas during the University’s spring commencement.
“This cannot undo the 50 years of pain suffered by these students, but I do believe we can show them, through our actions, that we are grateful. We can say thank you, and we can move forward,” said Harris.
Harris’ announcement was made during a one-day conference held at ASU to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the ASU Sit-in Movement.
Ten of the sit-in participants returned for the commemoration. They were part of a group of ASU students who marched to the then-segregated cafeteria in the Montgomery County Courthouse on Feb. 25, 1960, to stage a peaceful protest. Police were called in to force the students to leave the building. Under pressure from then-Gov. John Patterson and the State Board of Education, ASU’s president, Harper Councill Trenholm, expelled the nine students identified as sit-in leaders.
One of those student leaders, St. John Dixon, traveled from California to be part of the anniversary. He became choked up with tears as he recalled the turbulent times he and his fellow students faced while fighting for equality.
“Those were hard times. We got expelled from school. My father lost his job because of my actions; but he always supported me and told me to keep fighting,” said Dixon.
Joseph Peterson had an emotional flashback when a photographer took his picture before the start of the conference.
“Wow. The last time I had my picture taken in Montgomery was for a mug shot after I participated in the sit-ins. Having my picture taken brought back a lot of memories just now,” Peterson said.
James McFadden was a second-generation ASU student. He moved to Philadelphia after being expelled. He hopes the conference will ignite a fire in current ASU students to fight for social change.
“These students are walking in history every day. ASU played a huge role in the Civil Rights Movement. We helped organize the Montgomery Bus Boycott. We were the second school in the country to organize a sit-in movement. This history is something current students can build on,” said McFadden.
The National Center for the Study of Civil Rights and African-American Culture sponsored the sit-in conference.
“We were hoping the participants would shed new light on the events surrounding the sit-ins and that’s what happened. We heard recollections that have never been shared before. We are truly excited,” said Dr. Howard Robinson, conference chairperson. http://www.alasu.edu/news/news-details/index.aspx?nid=185

ASU job-seeker files discrimination suit

montgomeryadvertiser.com
October 22, 2009
By Jill Nolin

Gayle H. Gear, a potential candidate for president of Alabama State University before the university stopped the process and named interim president William H. Harris to the position, has filed a federal court suit against ASU, alleging racial and sexual discrimination.
The lawsuit, naming ASU and its board of trustees as defendants, asks the court to restore Harris to the position of interim and to continue the search until the search committee can properly select a president.
The lawsuit, filed Monday, claims that Gear, who is white, "is a racial minority as defined by ASU."
It also claims that the university created a presidential search committee as a pretext and that the committee violated both the university's Affirmative Action Plan and internal employment policies when it never advertised for the position before appointing the new president.
After the Montgomery Advertiser faxed a copy of the lawsuit to ASU spokesman Kenneth Mullinax on Wednesday afternoon, he declined to comment. A phone call made to ASU Board Chairman Elton Dean was not returned Wednesday evening.
The suit says that Gear had sent written correspondence and her resume to Harris, who was then interim president, on June 19, 2009. The search was ultimately halted, and Harris was named president of the historically black college.
"To date, Dr. Gear has received no response to her request to be considered as a candidate for the position of president," the lawsuit states.

Full Story: http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/article/20091022/NEWS01/910220319/ASU+job-seeker+files+discrimination+suit