Towards Justice

Towards Justice: Dr Robert Fullilove

Hannah Simpson Season 1 Episode 1

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0:00 | 28:16

Dr Robert Fullilove spent his early twenties in the Deep South working as a field secretary for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). As the son and grandson of prominent Black physicians from Mississippi, Dr Fullilove was motivated to visit the state and became involved with the Mississippi Freedom Summer of 1964. His contributions will forever be seared into history as he features in an iconic image from that summer, holding hands with other activists and singing ‘We Shall Overcome’. Dr Fullilove later worked in SNCC's New York offices and was even encouraged by Martin Luther King Jr. to become a preacher. Today, Dr Fullilove is a Professor at Columbia University and is deeply involved in social outreach and prison work in his local communities of Harlem and Washington Heights.