Alma Mater Memories

Matlock credits much of his own personal success to Ferris State University. "I was a high school dropout, working at a Chrysler factory in Detroit. I got my GED and knew that in order to finish school, I would have to go away somewhere. I didn't know where Big Rapids was, but Ferris was inexpensive, so I went there.
"The education at FSU was very special. You had professors, not teaching assistants, and the professors were industry experienced so you were able to get a lot of individual attention. I received my master's and doctorate at U of M, but had I gone to U of M initially, I would not have been as prepared or successful."

 

Sitting Pretty
This FSU civil rights protest led to a lifelong commitment.

"We 200 students were taken down to the old Light Guard Armory because the Big Rapids jail only held about 15 people."
-John Matlock (B'71)

The civil rights demonstrations of the 1960s welded bonds between individuals that would last long after the epoch's struggle for racial equality. When 200 Ferris State students were arrested in 1969 for protesting racial discrimination on campus, the shared experience formed connections that have lasted three decades for John Matlock ('71 Business Administration), assistant provost and director of University of Michigan's Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives.

The short-lived protest made a significant impact on the lives of Matlock, Ron Snead ('71 Biology), and Marvin Raglon ('72 Business Marketing). All three men have made lifetime commitments to civil rights

The March 7, 1969 edition of the campus newspaper, The Torch, chronicles events that led to the night of the Starr Auditorium "lock-in" in which Matlock, Snead and Raglon participated. In January and February of that year, "...numerous reports of ‘jumping incidents,' where lone students were attacked by several others, led to a gradual increase of tension between white and black students," records The Torch.

"On February 14, black students staged a sit-in in the Student Center protesting alleged discrimination policies and the arrest of a black student the previous evening."

Tensions continued to build, culminating March 3, 1969 when 263 black students locked themselves in Starr's auditorium. By order of Governor William Milliken, state and local police smashed the glass entrance doors and arrested all of the students for trespassing. Demonstrators were led or carried out to busses that took them to the Light Guard Armory.

"We 200 students were taken down to the old Light Guard Armory because the Big Rapids jail only held about 15 people," said Matlock. Charges against the students were later dropped. A faculty member with whom Matlock still keeps in contact encouraged the group to take a step beyond the demonstration.

"I remember Jack McNamara (then a journalism professor) telling us, ‘So you had a protest. If you really want to make a difference, get involved.' The following year I became editor of our campus newspaper, The Torch, Marv Raglon was sports editor and Ron was in student government."

From Protest to Politics
Little more than a decade following graduation, Matlock's commitment to making a difference led him to serve as chief of staff to U.S. Representative John Conyers of Michigan and U.S. Representative Harold Ford of Tennessee. Under Rep. Conyers, Matlock worked with Rosa Parks, whose refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man in 1955 sparked the demise of racial segregation in the South and the beginning of the civil rights movement.

"I had the opportunity to talk to Rosa Parks every day," said Matlock. "At that time it had been 30 years since the bus incident in 1955, but she was still committed to social change."

Friends Through the Years
Matlock keeps in touch with other FSU alumni who, like Snead, Raglon and himself, share Parks' lifetime commitment to racial equality. U.S. Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick ('66 Office Administration) and Garth Kriewall ('76 Public Administration), assistant city editor for the Port Huron Times-Harold, are among Matlock's circle of high-profile friends.

"I see Rep. Kilpatrick at meetings, and she and I chat about Ferris days," Matlock said. "FSU is the place that gave us a lot of opportunities we may not have gotten elsewhere. A lot of faculty were supportive of what we did, and since it was a small university, we had the opportunity to develop networks. As a group, we did pretty well in terms of success."

Ron Snead, who is on the executive board of NAACP, is corporate director of business development for minority-owned Thomas Madison, Inc. Marvin Raglon is director of marketing at Whirlpool headquarters.
Matlock and his friends have fond memories of their days at Ferris, including the lock-in demonstration of 1969.

"As we look back now, nobody has any regrets," said Matlock. "It was a defining moment for us that gave us a sense of empowerment. A lot started there, at that sit-in."