Chatmon’s worries unsettled even the boldest and most restless of Albany’s Negro leaders. Some members of the prestigious Criterion Club suggested that they be run out of town, or, as C. B. King put it to Sherrod, “have opined that the community might be well advised to divest itself of your presence.” A prominent Albany Negro placed “an urgent and distressing call” to NAACP regional headquarters in Atlanta, warning that the two young SNCC activists were about to seduce the local youth into suicidal demonstrations. Three NAACP officials rushed down to Albany to try to restore discipline
...more
