23-02-2025
Honoring Black History: The Paine College Steering Committee
AUGUSTA, Ga (WJBF)- In the early 1960's civil rights activists worked hard to end segregation. For a short time here in Augusta, a little known group of college students staged sit-ins and filed lawsuits in their fight for civil rights.
In February 1960, 4 black college students in Greensboro, North Carolina sat at a segregated lunch counter, refusing to leave until they were served. Their bravery inspired 15 Paine College students to take a stand too, and the Paine College Steering Committee was born.
'The purpose of the Paine College Steering Committee was the local activists and advocates for civil rights and human rights here as part of that larger national network,' said historian, Joyce Law.
The Steering Committee aimed to desegregate public restaurants, businesses and churches.
'Our purpose at that time was trying to build relationships with people of another race. And we decided that the easiest path to doing that was going to church,' explained Dr. Mallory Millender, Paine College Historian.
The Steering Committee staged sit ins at restaurants and department stores. They also held marches and pray-ins.
On May 2, 1960, 11 students were arrested for refusing to give up their seats on a city bus. It led to a lawsuit against the city, the mayor and the Public Service Commission.
'The significance of the Public Service Commission being sued was, it made it statewide. So when they won their case against the bus company, it integrated public transportation state wide,' Dr. Millender said.
The Steering Committee used every resource it had, sending a telegram to Ray Charles who was supposed to perform at the Bell Auditorium, convincing him to cancel his show.
They even used misdirection, sending a group of marchers to a funeral home while actually protesting elsewhere.
'Another group of students went to the Augusta National, where President Eisenhower was playing golf at the segregated Golf Club on Human Rights Day,' said Dr. Millender.
Dr. Silas Norman was a sophomore at Paine College in 1960. He led the Steering Committee as well as the student government.
His nephew, Ray Sturkey remembers him as a humble man with a great passion for equality, something he continued to work towards until his death in 2015.
'Being a voice, being an activist, being very involved and in moving very strategically and to helping everybody have the same opportunity, the same access and that sort of thing,' he said.
The Paine College Steering Committee disbanded in 1963 once they achieve their goals.
Law said that even though they were no longer an official organization, their work lived on.
'Whenever a movement starts, there's a hope that maybe there's the mentor disciple relationship to carry on,' she explained.
Sturkey is inspired by his uncle's work and passion for equality with the Steering Committee and in the years after.
'I really believe for him it was a calling.'
You can find a documentary about the Paine College Steering Committee done by local filmmaker, Hodges Usry HERE.
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