On February 3rd of 1962, a group of east coast college students arrived in Chestertown, Maryland to protest segregation. This protest was part of a larger movement of “Freedom Rides” which were made famous the previous spring as students rode buses to the deep south. A home movie by Vanderlip Conway, a Washington College student at the time, shows a very busy High Street filled with protestors and police. The film captures a crowd in front of Bud’s Restaurant and Grill, as the owner attempts to assert his right not to serve African Americans. We see students walking in a single file line in front of the restaurant, carrying signs saying “end segregation” or “let’s have dinner together.” The shot pans to onlooking citizens, some college students, some elderly, some appearing supportive, others appearing disapproving. S Most notably, the owner of the restaurant, Bud Hubbard, is shown reading off a sheet of paper to a protestor, citing the laws that protect his right to refuse service on the basis of race. The commotion in front of the establishment eventually results in violence, including assaults on members of the Washington College community.

An article covering this freedom ride in The Elm, Washington College’s student-run newspaper, helps us to see the response of the Washington College community, especially the students, providing insight into the college’s role in the civil rights movement.The article gives mixed clues about student opinions on the event. The student author remains fairly objective and stuck to reporting the who, what and where of the event. They went through a timeline of events, beginning at 11:00 am with the arrival of the activists at Bethel A.M.E church, and concluding at 8:30 pm with the departure of the activists and the author getting a tour of Bethel A.M.E church by Reverend Jones, a leader of the event. The student-author chooses to include the instructions that were given to the activists, including that they “speak softly,” enter establishments respectfully, allow group leaders to do all the talking, and overall remain as non-confrontational as possible. The first piece of evidence for this is the title of the article, which is “Freedom Raids Plague Chestertown.” The negative connotations of the words “raid” and “plague” reveal the prejudice of the editors, showing that not all Washington College students’ sympathies lay with the protestors–let alone their African American neighbors in town. Articles like this one give us a better understanding of the racial climate at Washington College in the past, a legacy that we carry today, and one we must work hard to overcome.

–Marah Vail-Callahan

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