By Sylvester “Nunnie” Robinson
Part III- Civil Rights Icon
After having his dreams crushed by an ill-equipped, insensitive, racist high school counselor, Al never returned to Textile High in Manhatten, but always industrious, found gainful employment which led to marriage and children, a daughter and son. Determined to be a good father, his children both attended private school in Greenwich Village, providing a trajectory toward achieving academic success, his daughter at Vasser College and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced Studies in Bologna, Italy where she studied economics and urban development and learned to speak fluent French and Italian. His son received a basketball scholarship to the University of South Carolina but felt slighted by a coach, who for political reasons, didn’t always start his best players. Disgruntled, his son returned home to Harlem where he was seen playing at the famed Rucker Park by Edward Water’s basketball coach, who promptly offered him a scholarship where he enjoyed a successful athletic and academic career.
In the fall as a 23 year old student at Clark-Atlanta , Al’s ties with SNNC evolved rapidly. Though SNNC ‘s origin was North Carolina and Tennessee based, major operations had moved to Atlanta where Julian Bond, managing editor of a civil rights magazine called the Atlanta Inquirer for SNNC, was located. Al became a contributor, a writer along with Charles Black, a Morehouse man from Miami who would assume the managing editor’s role after Julian left to become the National Director of Communications for SNNC. Atlanta was a hub of the social justice and civil rights activities/movement and an educational Mecca because of the proximity of six educational institutions: Atlanta University, Clark-Atlanta, Morehouse, Morris Brown, Spellman and International Theological Center. This area attracted brilliant professors and students along with various civil rights organizations such as the NAACP, Civil Rights Lawyers Group, SNCC, all housed in a Black-owned building which presented opportunities to meet some very influential leaders of the movement. The way Al put it, “ You could get an education through osmosis, just by hanging out. With most of the major civil rights groups located in one building, the Atlanta student movement became the largest in the country. Al became a columnist for the highly successful Atlanta Inquirer, allowing him to meet and form bonds with leaders like Dr. king. His roommate at the time, Albert Richard Sampson, a Miles College graduate and theology student at ITC, and Al had myriad philosophical discussions on religion, race and civil rights in the wee hours of the morning. He stated emphatically that Albert Richard Sampson was the only person ever ordained as a minister by Dr. king, who had come to know them intimately.
Mr. Calloway recalled Dr. king giving a speech at Morehouse, after which he took questions from the audience. Al, ever the Pan Africanist, asked Dr. king why he had to go 8,000 miles to develop a philosophy that he, Mr. Calloway, believed ingrained in our very history. Before Dr. king could answer, Al was verbally and vehemently rebuked by Morehouse students who thought the question over the top, unfair and a personal attack on Dr. King, leaving the question unanswered. Booed profusely, Al left the campus unfulfilled and perplexed. Angry and full of rage, later that night, Al, dressed in his red and black militant garb, grabbed a can of lighter fluid, returned to exact location of incident, drew a C with lighter fluid, lit the fluid, stepped inside of the burning image, then summarily challenged any and all to a fight. Thinking that he may have been slightly unstable, no one took the bait so there were no challengers.
I asked Al if he ever played basketball at Clark-Atlanta after returning to school. He answered that he did not primarily for two reasons: wouldn’t receive any scholarship assistance as a 23 year old married father of two and the coach’s system, a slow, deliberate pace, was anathema to the run n’ gun game that most of us are familiar with and prefer today. Instead, he served as Clark-Atlanta’s game day play by play announcer until graduating and moving back to Harlem permanently.
We then reversed directions when a question about Stokely Carmichael piqued his interest, excited and enthused. Assuming that he and Stokely were close in age, Al emphatically nixed that thought. He stated that he first encountered Stokely on the northeast corner of 125th Street where crowds gathered to hear some of the great speakers of that time. Stokely was a high school sophomore who attended one of the most prestigious schools in New York, the Bronx School of Science. He described Stokely as absolutely brilliant, a Trinidadian with fire in his belly and a love for his people. He would often travel from the Bronx to Harlem to listen to speakers like Carlos Cook, Arthur Reed, Betty “ Pork Chop” Davis, Queen Mother Moore, Dr. Ben Yakimon on street corners as a way of personal growth in the struggle. Al remembers purchasing a book about the Bandung Conference – a meeting of 81 African and Asian countries with intended purpose of combatting colonialism and imperialism; attendees included Adam Clayton Powell and author Richard Wright – for Stokely from the Machaux Book Store. Later he recognized Stokely, who had by then become a student and political activist at Howard University, a precursor to his becoming chairman of SNNC. Al recalls being asked by the president of SNNC along with others like Julian Bond to write down what they thought John Lewis should say or include as contributors to his historic 1963 March on Washington speech. Once that task was completed and approved by John Lewis, they waited with great expectation in Atlanta to hear the speech on national television. When Mr. Lewis began reciting speech, they immediately realized that the speech had been drastically altered, creating utter despair in room as if the very air, momentum had been zapped into oblivion. You see, other more powerful and influential people like Bayard Rustin and white ministers rebuffed the more radical verbiage offered by the contributing writers. Al believes that one little known fact may have changed SNNC’s direction thereafter because as Al put it, “ We are not an organization; we are a committee intent on infiltrating, influencing and impacting every Black civil rights organization, i. e., Deacons for Defense, Negroes With Guns (NC), NAACP, SCLC, Urban League et al. Our goal – SNNC – was to hold membership in all but altering the speech changed the very ethos of SNNC. Out of that disappointment and with Stokely as chairman, more radical concepts emerged like the phrase, What do we want? BLACK POWER!
When asked from where fid his Pan African philosophy emanate, Al replied, “ Listening to many of the street speakers like Betty “Pork Chop” Davis, Arthur Reed, Queen Mother Moore, Dr. Ben Yakamon, book stores like Machaux’s and the Frederick Douglas Center in Harlem, vivid store front images of dismembered limbs in the Congo and other African countries perpetrated by colonial and imperialist conquerors. He recalls his brother Edward returning home from having served his country in the Korean War, gifting him with a book entitled 100 Facts About the Negro by J. A. Rogers, the first book that he owned and that was obviously personally impactful. As a Pan African nationalist, Mr. Calloway was present at many rallies but stayed in the background because of his philosophy and supposed threat to democracy. And for good reason. Mr. Calloway knew Stokely as a strong, healthy young man who miraculously developed cancer, eventually the stated cause of his death. It was strangely reminiscent of Bob Marley, who, because of his Rastafarian beliefs, refused toe amputation which had developed some form of cancer, leading to his demise.
Now in his 86th year of life, Mr. Al Calloway is living testament to the power of education, family, fatherhood, social justice, hard work, discipline and perseverance, qualities that have served as the foundation for his longevity and success.
After activist Robert “Bob” Moses presented him with an opportunity to continue the work of SNNC in Mississippi, Mr. Calloway in 1964 returned to New York to work with the great Cyril Tyson, CEO of a $117,000,000 poverty program where he was a journalism professor in the Arts & Culture department. Tragically, he recently lost his son who had a remarkable career as mentor, teacher and basketball coach in New York. Mr. Calloway took solace in the honor, respect and love shown his son by a community which benefited immensely from his son’s dedication, talent and commitment.
I want to personally thank Mr. Al Calloway for sharing some of his life’s experiences with the Westside Gazette.
His Pan Africanism will be indelibly linked to his intimate knowledge and understanding of the Motherland from Egypt to Zimbabwe. May God’s richest blessings be yours.
By Sylvester “Nunnie” Robinson
Part III- Civil Rights Icon
After having his dreams crushed by an ill-equipped, insensitive, racist high school counselor, Al never returned to Textile High in Manhatten, but always industrious, found gainful employment which led to marriage and children, a daughter and son. Determined to be a good father, his children both attended private school in Greenwich Village, providing a trajectory toward achieving academic success, his daughter at Vasser College and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced Studies in Bologna, Italy where she studied economics and urban development and learned to speak fluent French and Italian. His son received a basketball scholarship to the University of South Carolina but felt slighted by a coach, who for political reasons, didn’t always start his best players. Disgruntled, his son returned home to Harlem where he was seen playing at the famed Rucker Park by Edward Water’s basketball coach, who promptly offered him a scholarship where he enjoyed a successful athletic and academic career.
In the fall as a 23 year old student at Clark-Atlanta , Al’s ties with SNNC evolved rapidly. Though SNNC ‘s origin was North Carolina and Tennessee based, major operations had moved to Atlanta where Julian Bond, managing editor of a civil rights magazine called the Atlanta Inquirer for SNNC, was located. Al became a contributor, a writer along with Charles Black, a Morehouse man from Miami who would assume the managing editor’s role after Julian left to become the National Director of Communications for SNNC. Atlanta was a hub of the social justice and civil rights activities/movement and an educational Mecca because of the proximity of six educational institutions: Atlanta University, Clark-Atlanta, Morehouse, Morris Brown, Spellman and International Theological Center. This area attracted brilliant professors and students along with various civil rights organizations such as the NAACP, Civil Rights Lawyers Group, SNCC, all housed in a Black-owned building which presented opportunities to meet some very influential leaders of the movement. The way Al put it, “ You could get an education through osmosis, just by hanging out. With most of the major civil rights groups located in one building, the Atlanta student movement became the largest in the country. Al became a columnist for the highly successful Atlanta Inquirer, allowing him to meet and form bonds with leaders like Dr. king. His roommate at the time, Albert Richard Sampson, a Miles College graduate and theology student at ITC, and Al had myriad philosophical discussions on religion, race and civil rights in the wee hours of the morning. He stated emphatically that Albert Richard Sampson was the only person ever ordained as a minister by Dr. king, who had come to know them intimately.
Mr. Calloway recalled Dr. king giving a speech at Morehouse, after which he took questions from the audience. Al, ever the Pan Africanist, asked Dr. king why he had to go 8,000 miles to develop a philosophy that he, Mr. Calloway, believed ingrained in our very history. Before Dr. king could answer, Al was verbally and vehemently rebuked by Morehouse students who thought the question over the top, unfair and a personal attack on Dr. King, leaving the question unanswered. Booed profusely, Al left the campus unfulfilled and perplexed. Angry and full of rage, later that night, Al, dressed in his red and black militant garb, grabbed a can of lighter fluid, returned to exact location of incident, drew a C with lighter fluid, lit the fluid, stepped inside of the burning image, then summarily challenged any and all to a fight. Thinking that he may have been slightly unstable, no one took the bait so there were no challengers.
I asked Al if he ever played basketball at Clark-Atlanta after returning to school. He answered that he did not primarily for two reasons: wouldn’t receive any scholarship assistance as a 23 year old married father of two and the coach’s system, a slow, deliberate pace, was anathema to the run n’ gun game that most of us are familiar with and prefer today. Instead, he served as Clark-Atlanta’s game day play by play announcer until graduating and moving back to Harlem permanently.
We then reversed directions when a question about Stokely Carmichael piqued his interest, excited and enthused. Assuming that he and Stokely were close in age, Al emphatically nixed that thought. He stated that he first encountered Stokely on the northeast corner of 125th Street where crowds gathered to hear some of the great speakers of that time. Stokely was a high school sophomore who attended one of the most prestigious schools in New York, the Bronx School of Science. He described Stokely as absolutely brilliant, a Trinidadian with fire in his belly and a love for his people. He would often travel from the Bronx to Harlem to listen to speakers like Carlos Cook, Arthur Reed, Betty “ Pork Chop” Davis, Queen Mother Moore, Dr. Ben Yakimon on street corners as a way of personal growth in the struggle. Al remembers purchasing a book about the Bandung Conference – a meeting of 81 African and Asian countries with intended purpose of combatting colonialism and imperialism; attendees included Adam Clayton Powell and author Richard Wright – for Stokely from the Machaux Book Store. Later he recognized Stokely, who had by then become a student and political activist at Howard University, a precursor to his becoming chairman of SNNC. Al recalls being asked by the president of SNNC along with others like Julian Bond to write down what they thought John Lewis should say or include as contributors to his historic 1963 March on Washington speech. Once that task was completed and approved by John Lewis, they waited with great expectation in Atlanta to hear the speech on national television. When Mr. Lewis began reciting speech, they immediately realized that the speech had been drastically altered, creating utter despair in room as if the very air, momentum had been zapped into oblivion. You see, other more powerful and influential people like Bayard Rustin and white ministers rebuffed the more radical verbiage offered by the contributing writers. Al believes that one little known fact may have changed SNNC’s direction thereafter because as Al put it, “ We are not an organization; we are a committee intent on infiltrating, influencing and impacting every Black civil rights organization, i. e., Deacons for Defense, Negroes With Guns (NC), NAACP, SCLC, Urban League et al. Our goal – SNNC – was to hold membership in all but altering the speech changed the very ethos of SNNC. Out of that disappointment and with Stokely as chairman, more radical concepts emerged like the phrase, What do we want? BLACK POWER!
When asked from where fid his Pan African philosophy emanate, Al replied, “ Listening to many of the street speakers like Betty “Pork Chop” Davis, Arthur Reed, Queen Mother Moore, Dr. Ben Yakamon, book stores like Machaux’s and the Frederick Douglas Center in Harlem, vivid store front images of dismembered limbs in the Congo and other African countries perpetrated by colonial and imperialist conquerors. He recalls his brother Edward returning home from having served his country in the Korean War, gifting him with a book entitled 100 Facts About the Negro by J. A. Rogers, the first book that he owned and that was obviously personally impactful. As a Pan African nationalist, Mr. Calloway was present at many rallies but stayed in the background because of his philosophy and supposed threat to democracy. And for good reason. Mr. Calloway knew Stokely as a strong, healthy young man who miraculously developed cancer, eventually the stated cause of his death. It was strangely reminiscent of Bob Marley, who, because of his Rastafarian beliefs, refused toe amputation which had developed some form of cancer, leading to his demise.
Now in his 86th year of life, Mr. Al Calloway is living testament to the power of education, family, fatherhood, social justice, hard work, discipline and perseverance, qualities that have served as the foundation for his longevity and success.
After activist Robert “Bob” Moses presented him with an opportunity to continue the work of SNNC in Mississippi, Mr. Calloway in 1964 returned to New York to work with the great Cyril Tyson, CEO of a $117,000,000 poverty program where he was a journalism professor in the Arts & Culture department. Tragically, he recently lost his son who had a remarkable career as mentor, teacher and basketball coach in New York. Mr. Calloway took solace in the honor, respect and love shown his son by a community which benefited immensely from his son’s dedication, talent and commitment.
I want to personally thank Mr. Al Calloway for sharing some of his life’s experiences with the Westside Gazette.
His Pan Africanism will be indelibly linked to his intimate knowledge and understanding of the Motherland from Egypt to Zimbabwe. May God’s richest blessings be yours.
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