SNCC 60th

The violent resistance to change that they witnessed — the desperate efforts of white supremacists to recoup any loss at the voting booth, by hook or crook — provided a lens through which they have viewed the nation’s ongoing racial struggles ever since.

“When I saw that man strolling through the Capitol on January 6, waving that oversized Confederate flag, I was not surprised,” said Joyce Ladner, now 77, and a longtime resident of the District. “That is what they have been trying to do since the start of the Civil War…

…reestablish white supremacy as a founding principle of the nation.” In a quest to better understand the nature of racism, Joyce Ladner stepped back from SNCC’s grass-roots efforts to pursue a doctorate in sociology.

The Ladners’ mother had been a homemaker and she implored her daughters to get an education. In studying sociology, Joyce believed she could honor her mother’s wishes while also advancing the cause of civil rights…