Oral history interview with Marvin Rich, 2000

Biographical Note

Marvin Rich was born in December, 1929 in St. Louis, Missouri. He attended Washington University in St. Louis in 1946, where he worked with the Student Committee for the Admission of Negroes (SCAN) to integrate the university. He also organized a local chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). In 1954, he joined the army and served for two years. After his service, he moved to Washington, D.C. where he worked with the Students for Democratic Action (SDA) and the Teamsters Local 688. He got married to his wife Evie in September, 1956 and moved to New York City, where he became the Public Relations Director for the national office of CORE. He later became the director of the Southern Education Defense Fund for Racial Equality (SEDFRE) in 1965. He co-founded the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC) in 1973. Rich passed away in December, 2018

Scope and Contents

In this interview, Marvin Rich discusses his role in founding the St. Louis chapter of CORE in the 1940s. He also describes his activism in St. Louis as a young man more generally, including his involvement with the Student Committee for the Admission of Negroes (SCAN), which helped integrate Washington University in St. Louis. He also describes activities of the Youth Council of the NAACP which conducted protests and sit-ins to integrate local restaurants and department stores. He discusses his involvement with the Teamsters Union Local 688 in the early 1950s. He also describes the various fundraising efforts of the Southern Education Defense Fund for Racial Equality (SEDFRE)

Subjects

• Civil rights demonstrations--Missouri--Saint Louis.
• Civil rights movements--United States--History--20th century.
• Congress of Racial Equality.
• International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen, and Helpers of America. Warehouse and Distribution Workers Local 688.
• Interviews.
• Michaels, Sheila, 1939-2017, interviewer.
• Oral histories.
• Rich, Marvin--(Civil rights worker)--Interviews.
• St. Louis Committee of Racial Equality.
• United States--Race relations--History--20th century.
• Washington University (Saint Louis, Mo.)