‘We had to send a message’
1969 Black Student Association members recount experiences at University of Memphis
Carolyn Goodwin-Willett (from left), David Acey and James De'Ke Pope gather in the University of Memphis administration building Friday, April 12, 2019, to discuss their experiences during the 1969 Black Student Association sit-in protest in which 109 students were arrested. (Houston Cofield/Daily Memphian)
Some of the 109 BSA members arrested in the University of Memphis administration building 50 years ago this month returned Friday as a plaque noting the sit-in protest was unveiled where they were handcuffed in 1969.
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Black Student Association Carolyn Goodwin-Willett David Acey James Pope University of MemphisBill Dries on demand
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Bill Dries
Bill Dries covers city and county government and politics. He is a native Memphian and has been a reporter for almost 50 years covering a wide variety of stories from the 1977 death of Elvis Presley and the 1978 police and fire strikes to numerous political campaigns, every county mayor and every Memphis Mayor starting with Wyeth Chandler.
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