Ralph Featherstone
Ralph Featherstone (May 26, 1939 – March 9, 1970) was an American political activist with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
Biography
[edit]Featherstone was born in Washington, D.C. in 1939.[1]
After graduating from Washington D.C.’s Teacher College, Featherstone was sent by the SNCC to Philadelphia, Mississippi, where he participated in the 1964 Freedom Summer. He later went to Selma, Alabama, where he was arrested and subsequently taught classes in the local jail.[2]
In the summer of 1966, Featherstone and Howard Zinn traveled to Japan to deliver lectures against American involvement in the war in Vietnam.[3]
In 1967, Featherstone became program secretary of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. That same October, he attended a convention in New Mexico hosted by the Alianza Federal de Mercedes, which advocated for land rights for Hispano New Mexicans.[2]
Death
[edit]On March 9, 1970, while traveling with fellow SNCC staffer William "Che" Payne, Featherstone was killed by a bomb along U.S. Route 1 in Bel Air, Maryland. The bomb exploded from the front floorboard of their car, killing both occupants. SNCC opponents alleged the bomb was deliberately planted by supporters of H. Rap Brown before his trial and accidentally exploded.[4] Supporters of Brown alleged assassination by local white supremacists, and cited the FBI's COINTELPRO program as evidence of right-wing collusion.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ "In Memoriam: Ralph Featherstone". SNCC Legacy Project. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
- ^ a b "Ralph Featherstone". Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
- ^ "Howard Zinn – Biography". Howard Zinn.org. Retrieved 2024-12-26.
- ^ Holden, Todd (1970-03-23). "Bombing: A Way of Protest and Death". Time. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved 2010-02-14.
- ^ Karmel, James. "H. Rap Brown's Trial and a Car Explodes in Bel Air". Harford Community College. Retrieved 2024-12-26.