Chuck Fager facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Chuck Fager
Chuck Fager in Fayetteville, North Carolina
Born	Charles Eugene Fager 1942 (age 82–83) Birmingham, Kansas, U.S.
Alma mater	Colorado State University
Occupation	Author, Editor, Publisher, Activist
Organization	Religious Society of Friends
Movement	Civil Rights Movement, Peace movement

Charles Eugene Fager (born 1942), known as Chuck Fager, is an American activist, author, and editor. He is a well-known member of the Religious Society of Friends, also called Quakers. Chuck Fager is famous for his work in the Civil Rights Movement and the Peace movement.

He has written many books and essays. One of his most important books is Selma 1965: The March That Changed the South. This book tells the detailed story of the 1965 Selma Voting Rights Movement. This movement helped lead to the Voting Rights Act, which protects people's right to vote.

From 2002 to 2012, Fager was the Director of Quaker House in Fayetteville, North Carolina. This was a peace project located near Fort Liberty, a large U.S. Army base.

Early Life

Charles E. Fager was born in Kansas in 1942. He grew up in a Roman Catholic family. He is the oldest of eleven children. His family moved often because his father was in the United States Air Force. They lived on different Air Force bases.

Education and Learning

When he was in high school, Fager stopped being Catholic. For some years, he thought of himself as an atheist. However, he was still very interested in religion. He was influenced by the ideas of C.G. Jung, who studied religion in a unique way.

Fager started college at Colorado State University in 1960. He joined the Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) there. He even won an award as the best freshman cadet. He also led a winning ROTC drill team. But by his senior year, he was no longer interested in the Air Force. He chose to leave the ROTC program. He finished his Bachelor of Arts degree in Humanities from Colorado State University in 1967.

Later, he studied at Harvard Divinity School for four years, starting in 1968. In 1994, he earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from the Graduate Theological Foundation.

Working for Change (Activism)

In late 1964, Fager moved to Atlanta, Georgia. He quickly became involved in the Civil Rights Movement. In December 1964, he joined the staff of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). The SCLC sent him to Selma, Alabama. There, he took part in the 1965 Selma Voting Rights Movement. This movement was led by James Bevel.

During this time, Fager was arrested three times. He even spent one night in jail with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. He wrote about this experience in his book, Eating Dr. King's Dinner. This book shares his personal story of his early life and activism.

Fager left Selma in early 1966. His experiences with Dr. King's idea of nonviolence changed his views on war. He had grown up on military bases and used to support war. But in late 1965, he successfully applied to be a conscientious objector. This meant he refused to serve in the military because of his beliefs. As a conscientious objector, he had to do two years of alternative service. He worked at Friends World Institute (later Friends World College) and then at the New York City Department of Social Services.

Fager also joined several peaceful protests against the Vietnam War. He was arrested twice during these protests. In 1968, he signed a pledge called the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest”. In this pledge, he promised to refuse to pay taxes to protest the Vietnam War.

His Connection to Quakers

Becoming a Member

Fager first met Quakers in Selma, Alabama, in late 1965. Students from the new Friends World Institute came to help with voter registration. He joined this Institute to complete his conscientious objector service. There, he met Quakers who were involved in the program. He worked as a junior instructor at the college in 1966–1967.

In 1969, he joined the Friends Meeting at Cambridge, Massachusetts. This was while he was studying at Harvard Divinity School. Since then, he has been a member of several Friends Meetings. He is currently a member of State College Meeting. He also attends Spring Meeting in Alamance County, North Carolina.

His Books and Writing

Fager has been writing since high school. In the late 1950s, he got into trouble for writing funny articles about his teachers. He started working as a journalist in college. In 1967, he published his first book, White Reflections On Black Power. In 1969, he published Uncertain Resurrection: The Poor Peoples Washington Campaign.

In the early 1970s, he was asked to write a history of the Selma Voting Rights Movement. This book became Selma 1965, the March that Changed the South. It was first published in 1974 and has been republished several times.

In 1975, Fager moved to San Francisco. He became a full-time reporter for the San Francisco Bay Guardian. Later, in 1978, he worked for Congressman Pete McCloskey in Washington D.C. He stayed in this job until 1981.

In 1985, Fager started working for the U.S. Postal Service. He worked as a mail carrier and then a mail handler until 1994. Even while doing this manual labor, he continued to write. His experiences inspired his mystery novel, Un-Friendly Persuasion.

In 1979, Fager started his own publishing company, Kimo Press. Kimo Press publishes Quaker literature, much of which is written by Fager himself. From 1981 to 1993, he also edited a Quaker newsletter called A Friendly Letter. In 1999, he started a journal called Quaker Theology. This journal is still published and covers current events and religious ideas among Quakers.

After leaving the Postal Service in 1994, Fager worked at Pendle Hill. This is a Quaker study center in Pennsylvania. From 1997, he returned to freelance writing. He also taught Business Writing at Penn State University. After the attacks of September 11, 2001, he became the Director of Quaker House. He retired from Quaker House in November 2012.

Fager continues to research and write. In 2013–2014, he was a scholar at Pendle Hill. There, he researched and wrote two books about the "Progressive Friends" movement from the 1800s and early 1900s.

In his writing, Fager focuses on several topics. These include reporting on social issues like the Civil Rights Movement, wars, and torture. He also writes about religion, especially Quakerism. He also enjoys writing stories, especially for younger readers.

In July 2013, Fager was arrested during a peaceful protest. This protest was part of the "Moral Mondays" campaign in North Carolina.

Organizations He Has Joined

From 1996 to 2002, Fager was the Clerk (leader) of the Fellowship of Quakers in the Arts. He also led the 2001 Quaker Peace Roundtable. In January 2011, he organized a conference about the "Military-Industrial Complex." Since 2005, he has been part of the Quaker Initiative to End Torture (QUIT).

Personal Life

Chuck Fager has four children.

What He Has Written

• White Reflections on Black Power, Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1967.
• Uncertain Resurrection: The Poor Peoples Washington Campaign, Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1969.
• Selma 1965: The March That Changed the South, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1974; Beacon Press, 1985; Kimo Press, 2005.
• The Magic Quilts: A Fantasy, Kimo Press, 1981 and 1989.
• A Respondent Spark: the Basics of Bible Study, Kimo Press, 1984 and 1994.
• A Man Who Made a Difference: the Life of David H. Scull, Langley Hill Friends Meeting, 1985.
• Quakers Are Funny, Kimo Press, 1987.
• Editor, Quaker Service at the Crossroads, Kimo Press, 1988.
• Life and Death and Two Chickens: Stories for Children, Stories of Childhood, Kimo Press, 1989.
• Wisdom and Your Spiritual Journey: A Study of Wisdom in the Biblical and Quaker Traditions, Kimo Press, 1990.
• Fire in the Valley, Quaker Ghost Stories, Kimo Press, 1991.
• Murder Among Friends, A Quaker Mystery, Kimo Press, 1993.
• Un-Friendly Persuasion, A Quaker Mystery, Kimo Press, 1995.
• Without Apology: the Heroes, the Heritage and the Hope of Liberal Quakerism, Kimo Press, 1996.
• Editor, Friends and the Vietnam War, Pendle Hill, 1998.
• A Quaker Declaration of War, Kimo Press, 2003.
• Shaggy Locks & Birkenstocks: Studies in Liberal Quaker History, Kimo Press, 2003.
• Why God Is Like A Wet Bar of Soap: Quaker Stories, Kimo Press 2004.
• Eating Dr. King's Dinner: A Memoir of the Movement, Kimo Press, 2005.
• Tom Fox Was My Friend. Yours, Too., Kimo press 2006.
• Friends and Torture, Friends Journal, September 1, 2007.
• Study War Some More (If You Want to Work for Peace), Quaker House, 2010.
• Editor, Keeping Us Honest, Stirring the Pot: A Festschrift in Honor of H. Larry Ingle , Kimo Press, 2012.
• Quakers Are Hilarious, Kimo press 2013.
• Paper Trail: Writings from the Front Line of Peace Action: Quaker House/Fort Bragg North Carolina, Kimo press 2013.
• Angels of Progress: A Documentary History of Progressive Friends, 1822-1940, Kimo Press 2014
• Remaking Friends: How Progressive Friends Changed Quakerism & Helped Save America, Kimo Press 2014
• Meetings: A Religious Autobiography, Kimo Press, 2016

See also

In Spanish: Chuck Fager para niños