An Interview with Dr. Hilda B. Templeton of the Medical Committee for Human Rights

An Oral History Project Conducted by John Robert Lewis Leader Jade Reitz

Project Description

An interview with Dr. Hilda Tempelton about her “Freedom Summer.” During the summer of 1964, before entering medical school, Dr. Tempelton joined the Medical Committee for Human Rights. She ran the field office in south Louisiana. Based in Baton Rouge, her territory included Bogalusa, Louisiana; an area where the Civil Rights movement faced particularly violent organized opposition from the local Klan. In spite of the challenges, she worked with the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) on many successful public health and sanitation projects, at times under the armed protection of the local branch of the Deacons for Defense and Justice.