Last night, Eugene E. Pfaff, Jr. spoke at the local Barnes and Noble about the Civil Rights Movement in Greensboro. He was adamant that Greensboro deserves more credit for its impact and the involvement of its citizens in the movement-at-large. To that end, he assembled and published an oral history of the Greensboro Civil Rights Movement entitled, "Keep on Walking' Keep on Talking' ". Pfaff likens the role of the interviewees in his book to master chefs in the kitchen; the readers to the gourmets at the table; he sees himself as the waiter, merely delivering the feast.
Pfaff attributes some of the power of Greensboro's civil rights history to the fact that there was significant interaction and cooperation between the black and white communities; interaction between students and adults; there was multi-generational representation; and many well educated, highly accomplished, local African Americans took place in the movement. Pfaff's knowledge of the issues, laws, people, places and events of the movement make him the perfect person to conduct interviews and document our civil rights history. That this retired librarian is the son of a history professor adds to his credibility!
In the above photo, Pfaff is signing a book for one of his former teachers from the Curry School on the campus of the Woman's college of the University of North Carolina.
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