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Wyatt T. Walker

Released
Full name:Wyatt Tee Walker
Date of birth:16. 08. 1928
Date of death:23. 01. 2018
Age:89† Deceased
Gender:Male
Race:Black
Era:1960s
State:Alabama
Time Imprisoned:
8 Days
Support
Civil Rights
Wyatt T. Walker

Biography

The Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker, executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, was one of four Negro leaders arrested in Montgomery, Alabama on May 25, 1961 for 'breaching the peace' during the Freedom Ride crisis.

The Civil Rights Digital Library also documents a third custody episode: as SCLC's executive director he traveled from Montgomery to Jackson, Mississippi and was arrested at the Trailways terminal on June 21, 1961 — his Sovereignty Commission mugshot (Jackson police placard 21049, dated 6-21-61) is attached. The catalog does not establish that arrest's disposition or release, so those fields are unresolved.

Cases

Charges: Breach of the peace — Montgomery (Freedom Ride crisis)
Arrested: May 25, 1961
Incarcerated: May 25, 1961
Released: May 29, 1961
Sentence: Arrested in the Montgomery Freedom Ride arrests
Birmingham City Jail
Charges: Criminal contempt of court
Arrested: Oct 30, 1967
Incarcerated: Oct 30, 1967
Released: Nov 3, 1967
Sentence: Five days in jail and a $50 fine for contempt, upheld on appeal. Taken into custody at Birmingham airport October 30, 1967 and held in Jefferson County Jail. Released early on November 3, 1967, before a planned vigil, by Judge William Barber; the actual custody interval was shorter than the five-day sentence.
Convicted: Yes
Institution State: Alabama
Charges: Breach of the peace — Freedom Ride arrival at the Jackson Trailways terminal, June 21, 1961.
Arrested: Jun 21, 1961
Incarcerated: Jun 21, 1961
Sentence: Arrested June 21, 1961 at the Jackson Trailways terminal. The Civil Rights Digital Library establishes the arrest but not the disposition or release — unresolved pending court or jail records.