Oral history interview with Harold Fleming, January 24, 1990

Harold Fleming worked with the Southern Regional Council in Georgia from 1947 to about 1959. He recalls some of the opposition that group faced, especially because of accusations of Communism. He links the Communist Scare to a general fear of changing race relations throughout the South, which he started recognizing while commanding black troops in Japan during World War 2. Journalist Ralph McGill helped Fleming get involved with the S.R.C., but McGill, like several others, could not get involved with the organization for fear of losing his job. Fleming compares how several of the S.R.C. leaders, such as Charles Johnson and Lillian Smith, approached the work, and he commends President Harry Truman for taking an early stance against segregation.