Friends of Frye
Donation protected
Dear Friends of Frye,
We are friends and family of Prof. Hardy T. Frye raising funds to support his inpatient nursing expenses. Hardy has been ailing for several years and now requires full-time nursing care not covered by his health insurance. A special checking account has been set up to ensure the funds are maintained and clearly designated only for Dr. Frye's care support services and needs. The funds are solely intended for the use of Dr.Frye's 24-hour care support services and needs. That will include in-home help as well as the cost for residence at a skilled nursing facility and necessary medical/care materials and supplies.
In 2009, Hardy exhibited signs consistent with early-stage Parkinson’s Disease. That diagnosis was confirmed in 2014. Currently, the diagnosis is Lewy Body Dementia, however, there is tremendous overlap between the two conditions. As well, he is struggling with Congestive Heart Failure. The effects of these illnesses have been devastating to him and his family. The prognosis is not good. His wife, Rosette, has been taking care of him at home but now Hardy requires 24-hour a day, professional attention. We want to enable Hardy to be as comfortable as possible and to maintain his dignity.
Please help us to ease the financial burden and resultant stress that the family is facing. Our goal is to raise $60,000 to help offset the cost for Hardy’s care for 6 months. You can help by donating to the Friends of Frye account and by moving this request out to others you know who also care about Hardy. We recognize the success of our efforts will depend on our ability to reach many of Hardy’s friends.
Hardy is a national treasure, a civil rights hero, and life-long advocate for social and political justice. We all are blessed to have him in our lives personally.
Hardy still loves talking to his friends. He stays grounded in discussions of politics and the many experiences he has shared with his friends in the struggle to shape a better world. In spite of his conditions, Hardy’s vitality remains rooted in connecting with people and the struggle for equality. In remembering her first meeting with Hardy one of his friends recalls, with love, respect and humor “I was on my way to class on social problems, and I met one.”
Hardy
Hardy's life of political activism and intellectual rigor contributed enormously to our understanding and engagement in social change. He gained a sense of Black history in his early years from his schooling in the segregated schools in Tuskegee, Alabama with his teachers who taught outside the established curriculum.
His activism was shaped by his intellectual developed as a Marxist and understanding of the Black experience. In college he studied with all the radical professors he could find and allied with anybody who wanted to talk about shaking up the system. He came to political activism and the classroom with that ideology.
The Beginning
At age ten, Hardy’s teacher required him to bring “fifty-cent” to school to join the NAACP. As a teenager walking the campus of Tuskegee University, he developed a sense of racial pride but also understood class differences between educated and non-educated African Americans in the community.
Hardy’s family was of modest means. At 17, he decided to leave home, and he determined the “way out” was the Army. While serving, he followed closely the Civil Rights Movement through news reports and Black magazines.
His Activism Career Begins in California
Hardy was discharged from the Army in Texas in 1959. That year, his father was supporting the Tuskegee Civic Association boycott of white merchants to protest gerrymandering Black voters out of the city limits, thereby denying them the right to vote in city elections. During the boycott, people drove to Montgomery to get groceries some 40 miles away.
Hardy did not want to return to stay in Tuskegee. In his own words, “I flipped a coin between New York and Los Angeles — the coin was weighted to Los Angeles because I had some relatives there.” Hardy lived in Watts and Compton, and found it as segregated as Tuskegee. He was perfectly comfortable in that all-Black world.
Hardy’s political activism began to take shape in California. He joined CORE and picketed the 1960 Democratic National Convention to support the Civil Rights plank in the platform. He sat in at the California State Capitol and slept on marble floors for fair housing legislation.
SNCC
In 1964, he joined Friends of SNCC and decided to get involved in Mississippi Freedom Summer. The day his bus arrived, they announced that Schwerner, Goodman, and Cheney had been killed.
Hardy was assigned to Freedom House in Holly Springs, Mississippi to do voter registration. In a straw hat and with a two-way radio that didn’t work, he walked the streets of Holly Springs talking to Black folk about registering to vote. Each time they marched to the courthouse, they were met with dogs, fire trucks, and police with guns. They had no protection except their belief in the Constitution. Hardy was unaware that he was making history.
Hardy’s personal loyalty was challenged in the fight between the Alabama faction who supported Stokely Carmichael and the Mississippi faction who supported John Lewis. He had spent about eight hours in jail with John Lewis and said that it “felt like being in jail with the Lord.”
Education- Sacramento State and UC Berkeley
Although he confronted many challenges, Hardy tenaciously pursed his education. He spoke often of being told “People like you do not go to college.” He also met many wonderful people and always expressed gratitude for their support.
He began at Sacramento City College, moved on to Sacramento State and finally UC Berkeley where he earned a Ph.D. in Sociology. His research emphasis was on community development, policy analysis, program evaluation, and building collaborative school-community partnerships. He mentored many students and, simultaneously, was active in local politics.
Hardy was active in the Free Speech Movement, he joined the progressive Berkeley Citizens Action (BCA) and helped steward progressive ideas through several city administrations. As a professor at both UC Santa Cruz and UC Berkeley, he was guided by a total dedication to his students. He was a member of the California Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement.
Among his broad range of experience to make the world a better place, Hardy served as the Director of the U.S. Peace Corps in Guyana. As a consultant, he worked on issues of diversity and affirmative action, working both at the policy level and conducting workshops and seminars in the area. He developed and brought expertise to program design, organizational developments, research and program evaluations. Hardy was also the director of the Urban School Collaborative Project.
Hardy traveled to South Africa to work with emerging black political parties after the end of the apartheid.
Other Documentations/Publications
Hardy’s book on Black Alabama politics — Black Parties and Political Power: A Case Study came out in 1980. His political work has been recognized in two popular documentaries American Experience (1988) and Berkeley in the Sixties (1990). He also helped produce the film, Freedom on My Mind and actually was invited to the Oscars where he was thrilled to meet Danny DeVito in the restroom!
Hardy Frye Freedom Movement
Hardy Frye Bio
Jaylen Brown and Hardy Frye Hardy Frye Initiatives
Living and Learning by Hardy Frye
We are friends and family of Prof. Hardy T. Frye raising funds to support his inpatient nursing expenses. Hardy has been ailing for several years and now requires full-time nursing care not covered by his health insurance. A special checking account has been set up to ensure the funds are maintained and clearly designated only for Dr. Frye's care support services and needs. The funds are solely intended for the use of Dr.Frye's 24-hour care support services and needs. That will include in-home help as well as the cost for residence at a skilled nursing facility and necessary medical/care materials and supplies.
In 2009, Hardy exhibited signs consistent with early-stage Parkinson’s Disease. That diagnosis was confirmed in 2014. Currently, the diagnosis is Lewy Body Dementia, however, there is tremendous overlap between the two conditions. As well, he is struggling with Congestive Heart Failure. The effects of these illnesses have been devastating to him and his family. The prognosis is not good. His wife, Rosette, has been taking care of him at home but now Hardy requires 24-hour a day, professional attention. We want to enable Hardy to be as comfortable as possible and to maintain his dignity.
Please help us to ease the financial burden and resultant stress that the family is facing. Our goal is to raise $60,000 to help offset the cost for Hardy’s care for 6 months. You can help by donating to the Friends of Frye account and by moving this request out to others you know who also care about Hardy. We recognize the success of our efforts will depend on our ability to reach many of Hardy’s friends.
Hardy is a national treasure, a civil rights hero, and life-long advocate for social and political justice. We all are blessed to have him in our lives personally.
Hardy still loves talking to his friends. He stays grounded in discussions of politics and the many experiences he has shared with his friends in the struggle to shape a better world. In spite of his conditions, Hardy’s vitality remains rooted in connecting with people and the struggle for equality. In remembering her first meeting with Hardy one of his friends recalls, with love, respect and humor “I was on my way to class on social problems, and I met one.”
Hardy
Hardy's life of political activism and intellectual rigor contributed enormously to our understanding and engagement in social change. He gained a sense of Black history in his early years from his schooling in the segregated schools in Tuskegee, Alabama with his teachers who taught outside the established curriculum.
His activism was shaped by his intellectual developed as a Marxist and understanding of the Black experience. In college he studied with all the radical professors he could find and allied with anybody who wanted to talk about shaking up the system. He came to political activism and the classroom with that ideology.
The Beginning
At age ten, Hardy’s teacher required him to bring “fifty-cent” to school to join the NAACP. As a teenager walking the campus of Tuskegee University, he developed a sense of racial pride but also understood class differences between educated and non-educated African Americans in the community.
Hardy’s family was of modest means. At 17, he decided to leave home, and he determined the “way out” was the Army. While serving, he followed closely the Civil Rights Movement through news reports and Black magazines.
His Activism Career Begins in California
Hardy was discharged from the Army in Texas in 1959. That year, his father was supporting the Tuskegee Civic Association boycott of white merchants to protest gerrymandering Black voters out of the city limits, thereby denying them the right to vote in city elections. During the boycott, people drove to Montgomery to get groceries some 40 miles away.
Hardy did not want to return to stay in Tuskegee. In his own words, “I flipped a coin between New York and Los Angeles — the coin was weighted to Los Angeles because I had some relatives there.” Hardy lived in Watts and Compton, and found it as segregated as Tuskegee. He was perfectly comfortable in that all-Black world.
Hardy’s political activism began to take shape in California. He joined CORE and picketed the 1960 Democratic National Convention to support the Civil Rights plank in the platform. He sat in at the California State Capitol and slept on marble floors for fair housing legislation.
SNCC
In 1964, he joined Friends of SNCC and decided to get involved in Mississippi Freedom Summer. The day his bus arrived, they announced that Schwerner, Goodman, and Cheney had been killed.
Hardy was assigned to Freedom House in Holly Springs, Mississippi to do voter registration. In a straw hat and with a two-way radio that didn’t work, he walked the streets of Holly Springs talking to Black folk about registering to vote. Each time they marched to the courthouse, they were met with dogs, fire trucks, and police with guns. They had no protection except their belief in the Constitution. Hardy was unaware that he was making history.
Hardy’s personal loyalty was challenged in the fight between the Alabama faction who supported Stokely Carmichael and the Mississippi faction who supported John Lewis. He had spent about eight hours in jail with John Lewis and said that it “felt like being in jail with the Lord.”
Education- Sacramento State and UC Berkeley
Although he confronted many challenges, Hardy tenaciously pursed his education. He spoke often of being told “People like you do not go to college.” He also met many wonderful people and always expressed gratitude for their support.
He began at Sacramento City College, moved on to Sacramento State and finally UC Berkeley where he earned a Ph.D. in Sociology. His research emphasis was on community development, policy analysis, program evaluation, and building collaborative school-community partnerships. He mentored many students and, simultaneously, was active in local politics.
Hardy was active in the Free Speech Movement, he joined the progressive Berkeley Citizens Action (BCA) and helped steward progressive ideas through several city administrations. As a professor at both UC Santa Cruz and UC Berkeley, he was guided by a total dedication to his students. He was a member of the California Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement.
Among his broad range of experience to make the world a better place, Hardy served as the Director of the U.S. Peace Corps in Guyana. As a consultant, he worked on issues of diversity and affirmative action, working both at the policy level and conducting workshops and seminars in the area. He developed and brought expertise to program design, organizational developments, research and program evaluations. Hardy was also the director of the Urban School Collaborative Project.
Hardy traveled to South Africa to work with emerging black political parties after the end of the apartheid.
Other Documentations/Publications
Hardy’s book on Black Alabama politics — Black Parties and Political Power: A Case Study came out in 1980. His political work has been recognized in two popular documentaries American Experience (1988) and Berkeley in the Sixties (1990). He also helped produce the film, Freedom on My Mind and actually was invited to the Oscars where he was thrilled to meet Danny DeVito in the restroom!
Hardy Frye Freedom Movement
Hardy Frye Bio
Jaylen Brown and Hardy Frye Hardy Frye Initiatives
Living and Learning by Hardy Frye
Fundraising team (3)
Rosette Costello
Organizer
Berkeley, CA
Pearl Alice Marsh
Team member
Lincoln Bergman
Team member