Diamond, Dion T., 1941- interviewee. Cline, David P., 1969- interviewer. Bishop, John Melville, videographer. Civil Rights History Project (U.S.) moving image Personal narratives. lcgft Filmed interviews. lcgft Interviews. lcgft Oral histories. lcgft Video recordings. lcgft eng Dion Diamond discusses his activism and experiences during the Civil Rights Movement. He remembers growing up in segregated Petersburg, Virginia, and attending Howard University, where he began organizing for civil rights. He also recalls his work in Mississippi and Louisiana as a Freedom Rider and activist, his studies at University of Wisconsin and Harvard University, and his later career. Finally, he speaks about contemporary activism and rights issues. Recorded in Washington, District of Columbia, on December 13, 2015. Civil Rights History Project collection (AFC 2010/039: 0132), Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Copies of items are also held at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (U.S.). Dion Diamond was born in Petersburg, Virginia in 1941. Growing up in the segregated community of Petersburg, he began doing sit-ins, often by himself. He enrolled in Howard University in 1959, where he was a founding member of Nonviolent Action Group, staging protests at Glen Echo, Maryland and Arlington, Virginia. He also was a part of the Freedom Riders and was a field secretary for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in Mississippi and Louisiana from 1961 to 1963. During this time, he was arrested over 30 times. He later attended the University of Wisconsin and earned a graduate degree from Harvard University. The Civil Rights History Project is a joint project of the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of African American History and Culture to collect video and audio recordings of personal histories and testimonials of individuals who participated in the Civil Rights movement. Finding aid Diamond, Dion T., 1941---Interviews. Barry, Marion, 1936-2014. Carmichael, Stokely, 1941-1998. Harvard University. Howard University. Mississippi State Penitentiary. Nonviolent Action Group (Washington, D.C.) Southern University and A & M College--History. Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (U.S.) African American civil rights workers--Virginia--Interviews. Civil rights movements--Louisiana. Civil rights movements--Mississippi. Civil rights movements--Virginia. Civil rights movements--United States. Freedom Rides, 1961. Nonviolence. Voter registration--Mississippi. Petersburg (Va.)--Race relations--History. Civil Rights History Project collection http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/afc2010039.afc2010039_crhp0132 Collection is open for research. To request materials, please contact the Folklife Reading Room at Duplication of collection materials may be governed by copyright and other restrictions.