Full of nerves and anxiety, the guys kept their heads up as they passed by cop cars lining the road to downtown Rock Hill. They were on a mission, they were going to make a statement for racial equality. Grabbing picket signs and joining the other protestors, they rallied the courage before stepping into McCrory's [...]
Even though the 9 have been going to speaking engagements for years, they are now trying to reach out to the younger generation in a language they better understand: the Internet. Through this dynamic website, we hope you learn more about them and enjoy the site!
If you want to have The Friendship 9 speak at your next event, please go to their Event page for contact information.
The mission of the Friendship 9 Scholarship Fund is to accelerate the progress of African Americans into the mainstream of leadership in civic affairs, government, business, education and other professions, while instilling in young people a strong dedication to leadership and public service. Originally founded and privately funded by members of the Friendship 9, with [...]
February 10, 1961: The Rock Hill Herald, which was and still is the local newspaper, took a very biased stance when covering the Civil Rights events especially when covering the Friendship 9. A woman named Margaret H. Gregg wrote a letter to the Rock Hill Evening Herald that was surprisingly published. She wrote in opposition [...]
February 7, 1961: NAACP president for Rock Hill, Reverence Cecil Ivory, held a meeting where 300 people of York County came together to hear from Civil Rights speakers. The speakers were SNCC founder Ella Baker, CORE field secretary James T. McCain, and US National Student Association activist Connie Curry, who was white. Because of this [...]
February 6, 1961: Four large-name SNCC members were inspired by the bold actions of the Friendship 9 and decided to join their efforts and do the same thing. They came to Rock Hill, protested at Mcrory’s, were arrested and refused bail. The two men that were involved were Charles Sherrod and J. Charles Jones, and [...]
The danger of young African American students practicing their civic duties and rights was at an all-time high during this pre-Civil Rights Act of 1964 time. Tensions of racial inequality and segregation were running rampant and in response to the Civil Rights activists was violence and hatred. February 1, 1960: Before this date, nonviolent sit-ins [...]
A few large organizations rose up during the 50s and 60s to advocate for social rights of African Americans - three of the largest were NAACP, CORE and SNCC. NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) was more of an adult-run, led and organized than the other two and they did not necessarily [...]
Before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed, and even afterward, newspapers around the country were very biased. Words such as "Negroes" were used regularly as decent words to use, and the light that they represented Civil Rights activists was on the verge of racist. Local newspapers were the worst in this practice, trying [...]
