I had some fine teachers at UM. Barillari for Western Civ, Roelofs for Philosphy, Birdsall for English — but one of my best teachers did not hold any academic position and did not have regular office hours. That person was Gladys Jefferson, president of AFSCME Local 1072, the campus workers’ union.

UM’s sad Jim Crow legacy began to crumble radically in the 1960’s as the impact of the Civil Rights and Black Liberation movements found its way to College Park. One of the student demands of the time was a call for more Black History.  Although taught on some predominantly Black campuses, it was almost unknown at predominantly white institutions like UM.