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Tributes have poured in today for Minnesota Civil Rights leader Matthew Little, 

He grew up in the segregated South where, he said, his father impressed on him and his seven siblings the importance of getting an education and getting out of the South. 


After serving in World War Two, Little heeded that advice and decided to come north. He said a coin flip led him to Minneapolis instead of Denver. He said he intensified his activity in the state's NAACP chapter after the Minneapolis Fire Department passed him over because of his race. 

He would go on to lead a Minnesota delegation to the 1963 March on Washington. In a 2010 interview, Little credited the march with giving him and others in the NAACP momentum to mobilize Minnesotans for civil rights. Click the audio player above to hear that conversation.

Tom Crann

Author

Matthew Little grew up in the segregated South where, he said, his father impressed on him and his seven siblings the importance of getting an education and getting out of the South.

Minnesota Civil Rights leader Matthew Little describes his proudest achievement. From a 2010 interview with Sasha Aslanian. Aired the day after he died.

Matthew Little, 1921-2014: The civil rights leader in his own words

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