YBOR 70
Page 3

P: When you say we, are you referring to your wife?

L: No, I did not meet her until many, many years later subsequent to those early
 days. The we refers to some friends of mine who also attended Manual Training
 in Brooklyn.

P: So you graduated in 1934, did you go on to college directly thereafter?

L: I went to Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia in September 1935.

P: Were you on a scholarship?

L: No, we somehow managed to pay the tuition which at that time was far below
 what it costs today. 800 dollars a year, which means that for the four years, in
 terms of tuition, and that included room and board, you are talking about some
 3,200 dollars.

P: This was in the 1930s, though, right?

L: Yes, the mid-1930s. 1935.

P: There was a depression going on.

L: The depression was winding down, nearing its end. Still a time of depression but
 it was sort of winding down at that time.

P: What did you study while you were in college?

L: I had a pre-med course, advanced biology and zoology, physiology.

P: Were you a science major?

L: At that time I was thinking in terms of medicine.

P: I see. How did you end up becoming a minister?

L: That is a very peculiar story. One that is very difficult to explain. It had nothing
 to do with low or failing grades, the grades were good, I graduated with honors. I
 could have graduated with higher honors than I did, but the time extra was spent
 playing football, running track and part of the thespian group in Shakespeare
 plays and such. Some of the other things that I did, Sociology, Criminology,
 naturally, English and then somehow or other, what we usually say in things of
 this nature, the Lord redirected my thinking. I found myself going into the
 ministry and it is very difficult to explain what we refer to as a call.


P: Did you have a religious experience?