McDew, Charles (1938–)

McDew helped found the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee in 1960 and served as its chairman from 1961 to 1964. He started his activism in 8th grade protesting for the religious freedom of Amish students in Ohio, and in 1960 became involved in the Orangeburg, South Carolina lunch counter sit-ins. Joining SNCC, he organized for the Freedom Rides and the Mississippi Freedom Summer of 1964. He continued his activism after John Lewis took over in 1964, managing antipoverty programs in D.C., Boston, and San Francisco. He taught civil rights and African American history at Metropolitan State University in Minneapolis until his retirement.