North Riverdale Man faced Death Penalty for Registering Black Voters in GA, 1963

[ndembowski]

In the 1950s Donald S. Harris was a student at Ethical Culture Fieldston School, a congregant of Christ Church Riverdale, and a resident of North Riverdale–where he played baseball in the park on a team sponsored by Riverdale Steakhouse.  In 1963, he spent many weeks in jail for his part in the effort to enfranchise Black voters in the south for the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee.

The Riverdale Press told the story (enlarged text below):

Text:

Riverdale Press Editorial:

Some additional information published:

His Release:

There is a really great interview with Harris that was done in 2017 that gets into his time in Riverdale and the sacrifices of his parents that allowed him to attend Fieldston: https://oralhistory.rutgers.edu/64-text-html/1860-harris-donald

A little more info on his civil rights activisim: https://snccdigital.org/people/don-harris/

 

 

 

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“Insurrection Law in Georgia Voided”, NYT, November 2, 1963, declaring the 1871 sedition law  unconstitutional.

 

The NYT Machine would not let me pdf this article.

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“In it’s opinion…the Court …found  that the insurrection and unlawful assembly statutes were unconstitutional and void.”

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Donald S. Harris actions were more than courageous example of political action, this case changed civil rights law and set constitutional precedent.

[jbakerjonathan]

Historic times!  The fortitude that people had in the face of institutional power is forever humbling to me.

[Thomas Casey]

Yes….More Historic recent news of  an insurrection that cane be traced to political change

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Commemorating Juneteenth 2025 by recognizing the contributions of local history to the overall narrative.

[Author]

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