University of Chicago 1966 Black Civil Rights Movement Student Woodlawn Project For Sale

DETAILS: Original pinback button issued by the University of Chicago, Student Woodlawn Area Project (SWAP) a black civil rights educational program.Circa 1966. Reads: SWAP Pergite Pergere(Latin, For Keep On Pushing). Has inspirational artwork drawing of two interracial students engaged in study -an almost unheard of concept in1960s segregated Chicago. Measures1 1/2\" inches.




BACKGROUND: The Student Woodlawn Area Project (SWAP) programwas an attempt by progressive students affiliated with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee(SNCC) at the University of Chicago to bridge the racial divide that existed in the segregated Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago during segregation. By 1960 the neighborhood had become a predominately African American community with little employment or educational opportunities for blackyouth.

Led by Ann F. Cook (SNCC) and other activists,SWAP recruited UChicago student volunteers to tutor under-served high school students in their community at Ida Noyes Hall. True to its name, SWAP approached tutoring as a two-way process and governed itself democratically. The groups motto was Pergite Pergere, which is Latin for “Keep on Pushing”, thetitle of the Impressions’ 1964 hit, a civil rights anthem. It served as a role model for similar programs that were established at Columbia and Yale Universities.

Though the program continues to this day, its significance in bringing racial harmony and greater civil rights tothe segregated Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago, during segregation,cannot be overstated. It has been referenced by numerous researchers and community leaders as being one of the primary reasons the community escaped the riots that devastated the West Side after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. It also allowed a generation of black youth the opportunity to advance through higher education that they would otherwise never have had.





GUARANTEE: We offer a lifetime guarantee on all of our items to be authentic originals issued by the organization stated. They are not later re-issues or reproductions. We forensically examine all of our items prior to listing to make certain they are authentic.

BLACK CIVIL RIGHTS

Circa 1950-1970

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