Charles O. Prickett

Dr. Charles O. Prickett is an attorney, civil rights activist, and educator whose career connects the historic American civil rights movement with ongoing efforts for justice and equality. Prickett began advocating for world peace and justice in high school by conducting surveys of businesses in Carbondale, Illinois, to assess racial discrimination. This early commitment to equality shaped his lifelong activism and public service.

Prickett participated in the March on Washington, the Mississippi Freedom Summer, and the Selma to Montgomery March. He attended the March on Washington, where Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the "I Have a Dream" speech on the Capital Mall. Prickett met King while working on the Selma to Montgomery March. During Freedom Summer, he was among approximately 1,000 volunteers in Mississippi assisting SNCC, CORE, and COFO with civil rights efforts, including operating Freedom Schools, organizing the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, and registering Black voters.

Prickett contributed to documenting the civil rights movement on film, assisting actor Richard Beymer, known for "West Side Story," in making the film "A Regular Bouquet." This film provides the only film record of Freedom Schools and voter registration efforts from Freedom Summer, and PBS used these images in the series "Eyes On the Prize" and "Freedom Summer." Prickett also spent time with civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer, listening to her recount her life as a sharecropper and activist and learning about her plans to testify before the Credentials Committee of the National Democratic Party.

Prickett has continued his dedication to justice through a legal career as an attorney in Santa Rosa, California. He has served as a Pro Tem Judge in small claims and traffic court in California for more than 30 years and as a court-appointed mediator for the Sonoma County Superior Court. Prickett has taught at the University of Arizona, Cal State University East Bay, and Sonoma State University, and has presented at the University of Illinois and other institutions. His contributions to education were recognized by the NEA with the Carter G. Woodson Memorial Award at their annual meeting in Houston.

Prickett is the author of "Remembering Mississippi Freedom Summer," a firsthand account of his experiences in the civil rights movement. The book details his participation in the March on Washington and the Selma to Montgomery March and features nearly 80 photographs, many from the film he helped create with Beymer. As an attorney and educator, Prickett has lectured widely about the civil rights movement to audiences ranging from elementary to graduate students, connecting historical struggles to contemporary social justice movements.