Ray Elliott

The Oneness of the Human Family

Since 2004, retired chemist Ray Elliott has been visiting western Massachusetts classrooms to share the stories of his experiences as a black soldier during the Second World War and, when he returned home, as a civil rights worker dedicated to nonviolent resistance. He says of his struggles, "I hope someday I’ll be able to develop my story to show all the positive things that came out of all of these negative experiences." With a firm belief that "there is only one race, the human race," Ray often asks students to stand and to take a deep breath. He then tells his audience, "You have breathed in my molecules. Trillions of them. You have become part of me, and I have become part of you."

View a timeline of Ray Elliott's life

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"Double V" oral histories are supported in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.