TRANSCRIPT OF FULL JOSEPH MCNEIL INTERVIEW by Newsday

Context: Joseph McNeil is a retired major general in the United States Air Force who is best known for the civil rights activism in which he participated when he was a teenager in the 1960s; specifically the sit-ins at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in North Carolina. In the interview below, McNeil describes his experience as an activist and the effect it had on his life and the lives of others. As you read, make note of the details that support the major events and accomplishments in Joseph McNeil’s life. What is our reading focus?

Context: Joseph McNeil is a retired major general in the United States Air Force who is best known for the civil rights activism in which he participated when he was a teenager in the 1960s; specifically the sit-ins at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in North Carolina. In the interview below, McNeil describes his experience as an activist and the effect it had on his life and the lives of others. As you read, make note of the details that support the major events and accomplishments in Joseph McNeil’s life. My name is Joseph McNeil. I am 65 years old and I was born in Wilmington, N.C., 1942. Why did I become an activist? I guess I’ve been an activist, if you want to use that term, all my life. Feelings that are deep and reflective of who you are. There are not points in life where one starts and one stops. I was blessed in life with very strong, proud parents and good teachers. And, I learned early what I now call core values. Things that I base my life on. Things that matter to me. So, in a sense I’ve been an activist all of my life, as far as I can remember. If you see something wrong, you stand up, you take it on. You try to do things that matter. My core values allow me to focus on what I will call the dignity of mankind. I believe that mankind’s fundamentally good, and good will prevail over evil. According to McNeil, what does it mean to be an activist?

Context: Joseph McNeil is a retired major general in the United States Air Force who is best known for the civil rights activism in which he participated when he was a teenager in the 1960s; specifically the sit-ins at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in North Carolina. In the interview below, McNeil describes his experience as an activist and the effect it had on his life and the lives of others. As you read, make note of the details that support the major events and accomplishments in Joseph McNeil’s life. Q. Is there any specific thing that led you to being an activist? McNeil: There are no particular triggers that would be isolated. It all has to be put in context. I grew up in the South in a segregated environment. I lived in New York City for three or four of those years and every summer. Went to Public School 13 in Harlem in the third grade. I went to St. Thomas the Apostle in the eighth grade also. So, that environment of being in the North in the summer and going to a segregated environment in the South, back and forth, molded who I am. What specific thing led to his activism?