Interview with Robert Zellner, November 3, 1990

Interview Summary

Bob Zellner, a white Southerner and anti-racist activist during the 1960s, discusses his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, beginning when he was a student at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama. In this interview, he tells of his introduction to the movement when he and four fellow students were asked to leave Huntingdon after attending civil rights meetings and non-violent workshops at a nearby black college. Zellner speaks about meeting Anne Braden, who became a mentor to him, and joining SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) in 1961 as their first white field secretary. He also discusses being arrested various times while working for SNCC and the creation of the GROW (Grass Roots Organizing Work) project, an education center for organizing black and white workers.

Interview Keyword

Bob Zellner Civil rights Grass roots organizing work white civil rights workers Women Civil Rights Workers

Interview LC Subject

African Americans--Civil rights African Americans--Civil rights--Kentucky Braden, Anne, 1924-2006 Civil rights movements--United States Civil rights workers Civil rights workers--Interviews Civil rights--Kentucky Highlander Folk School (Monteagle, Tenn.) Southern Conference Educational Fund Southern Patriot (Charleston, S.C.) Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (U.S.) Zellner, Bob Zellner, Bob--Interviews

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Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.