The Rev. Dr. Robert A. Colman, 76
Location: East Montpelier, Vermont
Interview facilitated by Stephen Colman and Ursula Williams
The Rev. Dr. Robert A. Colman had recently been made an assistant minister at the First Presbyterian Church in Warren, Pennsylvania, when he decided to travel to Selma, Alabama, to join the civil rights marches. He was sparked to action by the horrifying events that transpired on "Bloody Sunday," a day that protesters and authorities clashed violently. The Rev. Colman says that he was afraid at times but that his involvement in the movement changed his life for the better.
"It was the first experience of fear in my life in the context of real threat," the Rev. Colman says. "And it opened me up in ways I had not expected to be opened up, to be more open and more receptive to the issues of other people."
Watch as the Rev. Colman shares how the marches helped him confront some of the fears instilled in him in childhood.
Hear more stories from people who were at the ground level of the civil rights marches
