The Challenges and Triumphs of Foot Soldier Jeff Drew
Jeff Drew was one of the first black students to attend what was then Ensley High School in Birmingham. It was all white, and for students like Drew, it wasn’t easy. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a close friend of Drew’s father. King often used the Drew home to meet and sometimes spend the night during the civil rights campaign. Growing up in that family environment helped shape Drew.
The 66-year-old businessman recently spoke with WBHM’s Sherrel Wheeler Stewart about the triumphs and the struggles of those days.
Growing up on Dynamite Hill:
“Terrorism’s nothing new to me. Dynamite Hill is all rock. So when the bombs were thrown at Uncle Arthur’s House, [civil rights attorney] Arthur Shores, we could feel the concussion up here easily. So much so that it bounced me and the television set right up off the floor.”
Marching in the Movement:
“You gotta remember we wanted to march. We wanted to go to jail. It was a badge of courage to say, ‘I’ve been to jail, or I marched.’”
Encouragement for Activism from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.:
“‘Nephew,’ he says. ‘Go round up some of your buddies. We’ve got to integrate these high schools, otherwise these white folks are going to think we don’t want integration.’ Back in those days, we would have jumped off the Empire State Building if he said jump.”
Challenges of Integrating Schools:
“We were spat upon. We had bubble gum in our afros. We got cut from the football teams. We were not allowed any intramural activities whatsoever. They told us they didn’t even have a junior/senior school prom, which was a lie.”
Today, Drew runs an insurance company downtown. He says he wants the youth to know the sacrifices others made before them to pave the way.
Hungary’s oldest library is fighting to save 100,000 books from a beetle infestation
Restoration workers are removing about 100,000 handbound books from their shelves and carefully placing them in crates, the start of a disinfection process that aims to kill the tiny beetles.
A military exercise drawing together 19 nations and 35,000 forces begins in Australia
The largest-ever war fighting drills in Australia is underway and expected to attract China's attention. Talisman Sabre began in 2005 as a joint exercise between the U.S. and Australia.
Trump marks anniversary of assassination attempt at the FIFA Club World Cup final
The president joined the players on the field after the match to present PSG players with their runner-up medals and hand Chelsea their championship trophy.
Wildfire destroys a historic Grand Canyon lodge and other structures
A park official said the visitor center, the gas station, a waste water treatment plant, an administrative building and some employee housing were among the 50 to 80 structures lost.
Jannik Sinner wins Wimbledon, Italy’s first singles champion
Italy's Jannik Sinner defeated defending champion Carlos Alcaraz to win his first Wimbledon title. Sinner is the first Italian to win the tournament.
Senate committee details failures by Secret Service in preventing Trump shooting
The Senate Homeland Security Committee said the Secret Service's "lack of structured communication was likely the greatest contributor to the failures" at the Pennsylvania rally last summer.
