Ex-black militant becomes Eagle Scout (Cleveland Sellers-Orangeburg Massacre)

Source: USA Today

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Years before civil rights activist Cleveland Sellers got caught up in the deadly 1968 protest known as the Orangeburg Massacre, he was on the path to the elite rank of Eagle Scout — until his paperwork was lost.

Next month, the 64-year-old, who called himself a black militant in his autobiography, will formally collect the honor. He said he hopes it will add an important layer to a personal narrative that, to many people, will always be linked to his conviction in the civil rights protest at a historically black college that ended with three students gunned down by state troopers.

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After his years as a Scout, Sellers earned a doctorate in education and dedicated his life to improving the lives of black South Carolinians. During his early activism days, Sellers worked as a coordinator for the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee and sat in on planning sessions with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

But he became best known as the only person convicted of a riot charge for being at the Feb. 8, 1968, Orangeburg shootings, which took place during protests over a bowling alley owner's refusal to allow blacks inside. Three people were killed and 27, including Sellers, were wounded.

He spent seven months in prison, but 23 years after his conviction he was pardoned.



Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-11-25-activist-eagle-scout_N.htm

"important layer"?

....homophobia, perhaps?

Give em a break. It's a long learning curve for some organizations.

Girl Scouts should do it, too. The whole troop can work on it together during Black History Month in February.