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Dion Diamond | |
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| Born | Dion Tyrone Diamond February 7, 1941 |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Howard University, University of Wisconsin, and Harvard |
Dion Tyrone Diamond (born February 7, 1941) is an American civil rights activist.
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Dion Diamond | |
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| Born | Dion Tyrone Diamond February 7, 1941 |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Howard University, University of Wisconsin, and Harvard |
Dion Tyrone Diamond (born February 7, 1941) is an American civil rights activist.
Dion Diamond was born February 7, 1941, in Petersburg, Virginia. This is where Diamond spent the first 18 years of his life before attending Howard University in Washington D.C. Segregation was common in Petersburg, Virginia, and something Dion Diamond saw a lot of while he was growing up. In Petersburg, Diamond began to oppose segregation by going to white only restaurants, bathrooms, water fountains and other white only areas to annoy people. He said he would go to white only areas, and when he was instructed to leave, he would not listen until the police were called. Diamond describes these events as the beginning of his activism. His leadership qualities started at a young age as he was president of his high school class and member of their student council. [1]
Diamond was the president of the Howard freshman class. While at Howard University, Dion Diamond noticed how segregation was prominent when crossing into Maryland or Virginia, but not very segregated in Washington D.C. Dion Diamond and others at Howard organized a group called the Nonviolent Action Group. This group attended sit-ins in Virginia and North Carolina to come up with methods to oppose segregation. Sit-ins included going to white only areas with a group of black people to try to desegregate that area. The group desegregated an entire area in Alexandria, Virginia in two weeks. They also had a run in with American Nazi party leader, George Lincoln Rockwell. During this sit in, other American Nazi members came in and surrounded Diamond and the Non Violent Action Group. In 1963, he transferred to the University of Wisconsin, where he majored in history and sociology. He noted that while attending the University of Wisconsin there were approximately 50 black students out of 18,000 students. After the University of Wisconsin, Diamond attended Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he got involved with race relations and sociology. Similar to Wisconsin, he was typically the only black student in his classes at Harvard, where students and professors would always defer to him when talking about race relations. Diamond said at times he felt uncomfortable by this role, but he came to embrace it because he was able to influence others. he says he regrets not forming many relationships at Wisconsin or Harvard. [1]
Diamond claims he believes in nonviolence as a tactic but not as a philosophy. As a tactic, he believed nonviolence was a smart approach because this would refrain him or his group from being involved with police. However, he says he does not believe this as a philosophy because this is how people could physically take advantage of them when authorities were not around. In the summer of 1960, Diamond and the Nonviolent Action group picketed and protested Glen Echo Park in Maryland. His most notable form of activism was the Freedom Rides, which started in March 1961. Although Diamond was not one of the original 13 freedom riders, he ended up being part of the group. The Freedom Ride almost ended after the burning of the bus in Anniston, Alabama, but several of Diamond and his constituents at Howard insisted on continuing the freedom rides. They ventured to Montgomery, Alabama and continued the ride to Jackson, Mississippi. They were escorted by state police and the National Guard. A deal had been made between Bobby Kennedy and the governor of Mississippi. The deal was cut to ensure the Freedom Riders would not be beaten, but would be arrested immediately if they did not move on. The charges were considered a "breach of peace." Diamond said as long as the newspapers followed and covered them, their activism would be heard around the United States. Although it was the National Guard's job to ensure the safety of the freedom riders, Diamond noted that the members of the national guard were often the same people who opposed their Civil Rights movements. Dion Diamond believed it was a bad idea to start a fight or resist in Jackson during the freedom rides. After stopping in Jackson, Diamond and others were arrested and sent to the county jail in Mississippi. Although they were arrested early because Diamond was in one of the first buses that arrived in Jackson, he was pleased to hear that many others followed their lead and continued the bus rides into Jackson. Diamond was selected to attend a month long seminar for Civil Rights Activists. Diamond has exclaimed he could not possibly imagine going through his life by just turning his cheek, and is proud he was able to influence and help others. Diamond believes young people's lack of knowledge of the civil rights movement is dangerous because this may revert to racism and segregation again. Diamond said when he first got involved in activism he wanted to get involved to make a difference and break segregation barriers, without any long range plan. Diamond explained how he was fearful after getting out of jail in Mississippi. While living in Mississippi, there was a shotgun blast that came through his window. He noted that his small waist size saved him from getting hit by the bullet. When this window was shot, he said he became more aware of the danger he and other black people faced. He also worked with younger people on voter registration in Baton Rouge. Diamond says he has been arrested roughly 30 times, which all were connected to civil rights movements. In 1963, Diamond and others were trying to raise funds for voter registration activities. Diamond was sent to Columbus, Ohio to attend the annual congress of the National Student Association. At this conference, he realized lots of kids he knew from Howard University were graduating and getting decent jobs. He mentioned to someone that he thought it was time to get back into school. When saying this, Diamond was standing next to the President of the student government of the University of Wisconsin, who asked him to consider attending Wisconsin. He immediately had his transcript sent to Wisconsin and enrolled in September. Diamond claims he thinks schooling in America in the 21st century is not personal enough, and that when he was a student, teachers knew students' personal lives on deeper levels. Diamond believes it is unfortunate that the best black athletes do not attend Historically Black Colleges or Universities due to the lack of funding these colleges have. [1]
The Freedom Riders were a group of American Civil Rights Activists who protested segregated bus terminals. The Freedom Riders protested by completing bus rides throughout the South. On these bus trips, freedom riders would often stop at different bus stops and attempt to use the white only restrooms or lunch counters as a way of opposing segregation in the south. The riders experienced horrific police brutality and other violent acts by white counter protestors. One notable freedom rider was John Lewis, who experienced a violent attack when trying to enter a white only waiting area. Diamond was a part of the freedom ride in Anniston, Alabama on May 14, 1961. An angry mob of approximately 200 white people waited upon the arrival of the freedom riders. The tires of the bus blew out and when this happened, one of the white protesters threw a bomb onto the bus, and the bus exploded as the Freedom Riders were just able to escape. After they escaped, many were beaten by the white mob members. This called for the Attorney General, Bobby Kennedy to talk with governors of Mississippi and Alabama, so the freedom riders would have police escorts during their next ride from Montgomery to Jackson. Just ten days later, on May 24, 1961, the Freedom Riders began their ride from Montgomery to Jackson with the national guard and police escorting them. These freedom rides called for nationwide attention and created much support from the Freedom Riders. [1] The Freedom Riders influenced many black people to attempt to use white only areas. Diamond has mentioned how the state penitentiary ran out of space because of the mass amounts of Freedom Riders who were arrested. [2]
Diamond started his own consulting firm. He worked for a company called HEW and helped design an instrument that helped determine fraud in the Medicare and Medicaid program. This exposed doctors and pharmacies who were getting away with theft. He also worked as a consultant for different government agencies, where he worked in race relations. While working for government agencies, his job consisted of discerning segregated powers and influencing companies to have a more diverse clientele. Diamond retired around age 60, and has now been retired for around 20 years. Diamond mentioned how if he was not involved with civil rights, he would not have attended Wisconsin, Harvard or been able to have his own consulting firm, in which he worked with companies in race relations. [2] Diamond currently lives in Washington, D.C. [3]
When asked about the Black Lives Matter protests, which have been common within the 2010s and 2020s, Diamond said he sees it as a continuation of his work and others of the 1960s civil rights movement. Diamond also acknowledges the people who came before him in the post World War II generation. Diamond believes they largely influenced his generation to be strong enough to start the Civil Rights movement. [3] Diamond also mentions the importance of generational activism. He explains how he has not been as active with protesting or educating the youth in his older age, but stresses the importance of how activism needs to be passed down through generations. He mentioned the similarities between Trump rallies and Ku Klux Klan rallies. He notes that the United States has come a long way, but still does not believe they are close to having a total integrated society. Diamond said that what came before these newer generations is important to note because your past defines your future. Diamond is proud to see the amount of elected black governmental officials in the 21st century, which he notes is a large progression from when he was growing up. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the election of President Barack Obama are the highlights of his life because he never expected to see the amount of black elected officials that are in office today. [2] Diamond has mentioned that he does not regret anything he has done, but instead regrets not doing more in his older age. He says it is important for younger people to educate him, and feels he can learn more from them, than they can from him. [3]
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the United States. The movement had its origins in the Reconstruction era during the late 19th century, although it made its largest legislative gains in the 1960s after years of direct actions and grassroots protests. The social movement's major nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience campaigns eventually secured new protections in federal law for the civil rights of all Americans.
The Montgomery bus boycott was a political and social protest campaign against the policy of racial segregation on the public transit system of Montgomery, Alabama. It was a foundational event in the civil rights movement in the United States. The campaign lasted from December 5, 1955—the Monday after Rosa Parks, an African-American woman, was arrested for her refusal to surrender her seat to a white person—to December 20, 1956, when the federal ruling Browder v. Gayle took effect, and led to a United States Supreme Court decision that declared the Alabama and Montgomery laws that segregated buses were unconstitutional.
The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States that played a pivotal role for African Americans in the civil rights movement. Founded in 1942, its stated mission is "to bring about equality for all people regardless of race, creed, sex, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion or ethnic background."
James Leonard Farmer Jr. was an American civil rights activist and leader in the Civil Rights Movement "who pushed for nonviolent protest to dismantle segregation, and served alongside Martin Luther King Jr." He was the initiator and organizer of the first Freedom Ride in 1961, which eventually led to the desegregation of interstate transportation in the United States.
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Bernard Lafayette, Jr. is an American civil rights activist and organizer, who was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement. He played a leading role in early organizing of the Selma Voting Rights Movement; was a member of the Nashville Student Movement; and worked closely throughout the 1960s movements with groups such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and the American Friends Service Committee.
Freedom Riders were civil rights activists who rode interstate buses into the segregated Southern United States in 1961 and subsequent years to challenge the non-enforcement of the United States Supreme Court decisions Morgan v. Virginia (1946) and Boynton v. Virginia (1960), which ruled that segregated public buses were unconstitutional. The Southern states had ignored the rulings and the federal government did nothing to enforce them. The first Freedom Ride left Washington, D.C., on May 4, 1961, and was scheduled to arrive in New Orleans on May 17.
George Raymond Jr. was an African-American civil rights activist, a member of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, a Freedom Rider, and head of the Congress of Racial Equality in Mississippi in the 1960s. Raymond influenced many of Mississippi's most known activists, such as Anne Moody, C. O. Chinn, and Annie Devine to join the movement and was influential in many of Mississippi's most notable Civil Rights activities such as a Woolworth's lunchcounter sit-in and protests in Jackson, Mississippi, Meredith Mississippi March, and Freedom Summer. Raymond fought for voting rights and equality for African Americans within society amongst other things.
James Zwerg is an American retired minister who was involved with the Freedom Riders in the early 1960s.
William E. Harbour was an American civil rights activist who participated in the Freedom Rides. He was one of several youth activists involved in the latter actions, along with John Lewis, William Barbee, Paul Brooks, Charles Butler, Allen Cason, Catherine Burks, and Lucretia Collins.
Joan Trumpauer Mulholland is an American civil rights activist who was active in the 1960s. She was one of the Freedom Riders who was arrested in Jackson, Mississippi in 1961, and was confined for two months in the Maximum Security Unit of the Mississippi State Penitentiary. The following year she was the first white student to enroll at Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi and served as the local secretary of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).
Zev Aelony was an American activist involved in the Civil Rights Movement. He was an organizer of the civil rights student group Students for Integration, a CORE Soul Force Member, a Freedom Rider, and one of the Americus Four who faced a death penalty for helping citizens legally vote.
Henry "Hank" James Thomas is an African American civil rights activist and entrepreneur. Thomas was one of the original 13 Freedom Riders who traveled on Greyhound and Trailways buses through the South in 1961 to protest racial segregation, holding demonstrations at bus stops along the way.
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David J. Dennis is a civil rights activist whose involvement began in the early 1960s. Dennis grew up in the segregated area of Omega, Louisiana. He worked as co-director of the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO), as director of Mississippi's Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), and as one of the organizers of the Mississippi Freedom Summer of 1964. Dennis worked closely with both Bob Moses and Medgar Evers as well as with members of SNCC, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. His first involvement in the Civil Rights Movement was at a Woolworth sit-in organized by CORE and he went on to become a Freedom Rider in 1961. Since 1989, Dennis has put his activism toward the Algebra Project, a nonprofit organization run by Bob Moses that aims to improve mathematics education for minority children. Dennis also speaks publicly about his experiences in the movement through an organization called Dave Dennis Connections.
The Tallahassee bus boycott was a citywide boycott in Tallahassee, Florida that sought to end racial segregation in the employment and seating arrangements of city buses. On May 26, 1956, Wilhelmina Jakes and Carrie Patterson, two Florida A&M University students, were arrested by the Tallahassee Police Department for "placing themselves in a position to incite a riot". Robert Saunders, representing the NAACP, and Rev. C. K. Steele began talks with city authorities while the local African-American community started boycotting the city's buses. The Inter-Civic Council ended the boycott on December 22, 1956. On January 7, 1957, the City Commission repealed the bus-franchise segregation clause because of the United States Supreme Court ruling Browder v. Gayle (1956).
Bruce Carver Boynton was an American civil rights leader who inspired the Freedom Riders movement and advanced the cause of racial equality by a landmark supreme court case Boynton v. Virginia.
The Anniston and Birmingham bus attacks, which occurred on May 14, 1961, in Anniston and Birmingham, both Alabama, were acts of mob violence targeted against civil rights activists protesting against racial segregation in the Southern United States. They were carried out by members of the Ku Klux Klan and the National States' Rights Party in coordination with the Birmingham Police Department. The FBI did nothing to prevent the attacks despite having foreknowledge of the plans.
Reverend Cecil Augustus Ivory was a Presbyterian minister, disability rights activist and sit-in leader during the Civil rights movement.
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