The Detroit tribune., 1963-01-12
= PORTRAIT OF A cANcsrsR !:

Is-year-old cx-convict last week.
The exconvict is q girl. Her
crime? Being born with black
skin in the southern States of
America. Sentence? A lifetime OF
trials and tribulations with only
token foreseeable end sight.
Annie Pearl Avery. from Birm-
ingham, Alabama, has been the
house guest of Theresa Butun.
white girl. for the past month.
Both, ironically. are quite active
in the SNCC (Student Non-Violent
Coordinating Committee) move
ment which is headed up by
Charles McDew, intelligently seri-
GUS 23-year-oId national chairman
of this passive, yet militant, group.
Annie first became interested
in SNCC during fhe summer OF
1861. Before this time, she stated,
she had been . student Of the
violent sch o oi praetieing the
teachings of IAN eye for an eye,
tooth for a TOOTH"
Annie. a typical Negro girl,
had TO walk over a mile to high
school while there was a school
for whites less than three blocks
away. Her grandparents, when she
was little girl. would tell her Of
the hard times Negroes experience
Ell during slavery days. Annie
became hard. argumentative; she
could not play a submissive role
to whites of equal rank. She was
fired from good job because of
INSTRUMENTATION" She Tough [
back in the only way she knew
tooth and nail mat is, until SNCC
came along.
- "HANc HIM. HANG HIM" =.
Annie Pearl attended q SNcc
conference in April Of 1867. Re-
turning TO her home with a group
OF SNCc members. she stopped TO
esi in the Marietta, Georgia Grey
hound Bus Terminal. Marietta
City police. believing that whites
and Negro are not equal, harassed
them and threatened to tow their
car away. Wilson Brown, the
driver Of the car, was imprisoned
and cries OF Hang him, hang
him" &c h o d and re-echoed
throughout iRe><ity.
Mr.. Brown could have been
released on bail if the group of
girls had all Clipped in a few
dollars. The police were not to
be outdone. If the girls paid the
bail. they would have been prac-
tically penniless ripe for a
charge of vagrancy The girls
called for help.
Attorney Lynn Holt, Julian
Bonds. Dorothy Miller, Guy Cara
way. and Bill Hanson rushed 10
assist them. Atty. Holt paid Will
son Browns bail out Of his own
personal funds.
SNCC and Miss Avery have been
very busy in the South. They
got Dobbs House. the Birming-
ham Airport Restaurant. integral
ed Before the Federal Court
Order was issued, it cost a Negro
$1,000 for hamburger and a
cup of coffee. After the courts
order, busboys did the serving
chores because white mattresses
refused TO serve the nigras.'
However, in September. 1862.
an infesrafed group of five
people (Annie was the only Neg
ro) went to Dobbs House and was
served. Jim Drombrowski, Bob
zelIner, Carl and Ann Braden.
and Annie Pearl Avery.
SNCC's primary task, Annie
stated, is voter registration. Jim
Executive Secretary of
SNCC. is working on the integra-
tion ef public schools and is 60
ing great guns. Sf'CC needs help,
she said. I'VE need tS.e support
of the Northern students as, we'll
as all of the money we can get
our hands on" But, she cautioi,-
ed, SNCC doesn't need help
from any person or group who Is
not sincerely sympathetic TO their
cause. There are some groups
up here in the North who simply
use our name for their own per-
sonal gains. II has become al
most a mockcry here in Detroit
to hear someone say, I'm mem
Der of SNCC' because the Co.
ordinating Committee doesn't I
really have an authorized group
here. II burns me up to read
some of the articles a certain
group here in Detroit published
recently which, in no way, re-
Ilects the true doctrines and tenets
Of my organization" Annie Pearl
Avery takes great pride in being
a member of SNCC. In the
she continued, "SNCC
means something to a lot of
people and if the people up
North can't or won't help us.
then at least keep them from
hurting us as they are doing
nou.