Oral history of John Gryder

Abstract

John Gryder, a longtime chemistry professor at Hopkins, was a noted civil rights activist in Baltimore. He attended the California Institute of Technology for his undergraduate and some graduate work and received his Ph.D in chemistry from Columbia University in 1948 before coming to Hopkins to teach later that year. Gryder partnered with Rev. Dr. Chester Wickwire, the campus chaplain for many years, to help desegregate Baltimore and provide equal educational opportunities for African Americans during the turbulent 1960s and 1970s. In this oral history, Gryder discusses being a professor and administrator on campus through various Hopkins presidencies and how Hopkins has changed as an institution from the 1950s forward, especially during the heyday of the student movement in the 1960s. This oral history is part of the Mame Warren oral histories series.