1962 Freedom Rider Protest Sparks Civil Rights Organizing in Chestertown, MD

by Emily Homer (with special thanks to Isaiah Reese for his research)

The home movie footage below shows the Freedom Rider protest that came to Chestertown, Maryland in February of 1962. To view such a demonstration in 8mm color film is mesmerizing. But what is even more captivating about this moment is that the same Kent County community members and Washington College students pictured here would soon find themselves at the center of sustained NAACP and Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) organizing efforts.

8mm home movie shot by Vanderlip "Van" Conway in February of 1962 in Chestertown, MD. Film provided by Carle Conway and Leslie Raimond for digitization and inclusion in the Chesapeake Heartland online digital archive.

Chesapeake Heartland Digital Archive Object ID: CH_CA_2021_SC_007_001.

Prior to this demonstration, civil rights activism on the Eastern Shore had been steadily growing. The Eastern Shore Project, led by the Civic Interest Group at Morgan State College, had been coordinating sit-ins and picket lines across the area. In January 1962, sit-ins were organized in Cambridge, Maryland. One month later, it was Chestertown’s turn. The protests targeted segregated storefronts along High Street, such as Bud Hubbard’s Bar and Restaurant, and were joined by regional leaders of the NAACP and CORE, local leaders, nearby congregations, andWashington College students and faculty.

1962 letter from Phil Savage to Gloster Current highlighting the rapid pace of civil rights organizing occurring in Chestertown. Digital Archives of the NAACP Headquarter Papers, Library of Congress, NAACP Branch Department, Geographical File, Maryland State Conference, 1962-1965.

The protests proved successful. Not only did they bring an end to commercial segregation in Chestertown, but they also helped spur on local organizing. According to the NAACP Papers archived at the Library of Congress, the Kent County Branch of the NAACP had 60 members as of 1961. After the 1962 protest, Chestertown became Maryland’s only small town to have its own branch, adding 196 members to the county total. Remarkably, this meant that during the mid-1960s, Kent County’s total NAACP membership had more voting members than Tallahassee, FL; Indianapolis, IN; and Austin, TX.

In fact, civil rights activity in Chestertown was so intense that NAACP and CORE leaders found themselves competing for membership. One letter, seen above, shows that the tri-state Secretary of the NAACP, Phil Savage, skirted organizational procedures to quickly sign up a wave ofWashington College students before they could join CORE.

In a second letter (just below), the President of Baltimore’s NAACP branch, Juanita Mitchell, expresses her frustrations with CORE recruiters, revealing a broader tension between the NAACP and CORE over leadership strategies and organizing tactics. The letter also underscores the important role that students – in this case Washington College students – played in civil rights organizing.

1962 letter from Juanita Mitchell to Gloster Current revealing tensions between CORE and NAACP in their recruitment of activists in Chestertown. Digital Archives of the NAACP Headquarter Papers, Library of Congress, NAACP Branch Department, Geographical File, Baltimore 1962.

Even after the fervor of the protests subsided, Chestertown maintained relations with the NAACP. Reverend Richard R. Hicks of Janes United Methodist Church and Reverend Frederick G. Jones of Bethel A.M.E. became heavily involved with the NAACP in the 1960s. In the summer of 1966, for example, the NAACP executive director appointed Kent County’s Reverend Hicks field director of a statewide program supporting voter registration and anti-poverty. In the years following, Hicks litigated local cases regularly and was eventually offered a position as an NAACP field director in Tennessee. Reverend Jones served as both Vice President and Director of the Chestertown Branch of the NAACP during the 1960s. He helped drive up membership considerably while regularly communicating with the National Office on such issues as legal defense, police brutality, Sit-ins, and the Freedom Rider Protests. In 1963, he even signed a petition sent to President Johnson to move the Civil Rights Bill onto the House floor.

1963 Petition sent to President Johnson in support of Civil Rights Act, signed by Rev. Frederick G. Jones of Bethel AME. Digital Archives of the NAACP Headquarter Papers, Library of Congress, Administration Files, Civil Rights Branch Action, 1963-1964.

The digitized papers of the NAACP affirm that the civil rights struggle in Kent County did not end with the departure of the Freedom Riders from High Street. Rather, in the decades following these protests, civil rights organizing dramatically increased and the Chestertown Branch of the NAACP grew increasingly connected to the national struggle.