No One Ever Asked: A Civil Rights Worker’s Untold Story

This engaging work by legal scholar Arnold Rochvarg presents a narrative history of the mid-1960s civil rights movement centered around the experiences of a white woman from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who quit college to join the movement and became involved with many of the important events and persons of the day.

Rochvarg, the cousin of the woman around whom the narrative revolves, had for over fifty years been intrigued by the mystery surrounding the seven-year disappearance of his cousin Iris during the 1960s. Once he finally approached her about her rumored involvement in the civil rights movement, she generously shared her experiences with him and arranged for him to meet others with whom she had worked. His book corroborates and enhances the stories he was told through traditional research based on primary and secondary sources.

More than a review of significant events of the mid-1960s, No One Ever Asked is also the story of the challenges and sacrifices of young civil rights workers both Black and white, young persons who not only faced violence and personal harm, but in many cases became estranged from their families because of their involvement in the movement. Rochvarg approaches history from the ＂bottom-up,＂ focusing on persons whose stories have never been told but have something to add to an understanding of the history of the movement. Many of them, even sixty years later, have never shared their stories because, as in the case of the central character of this book, no one ever asked them.

Arnold Rochvarg spent most of his professional career as a law professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law, where he taught numerous subjects including Criminal Law, Administrative Law, and Professional Responsibility. Before entering academia, he practiced with a private law firm in Washington, D.C. Most notable is that he was a member of the legal defense team on the appeal of one of the defendants convicted at the Watergate conspiracy trial. The successful appeal of this Watergate defendant’s conviction was the subject of the author’s first book, ＂Watergate Victory: Mardian’s Appeal.＂ Rochvarg has also published scholarly articles on legal and ethical issues involved in the Watergate scandal and prosecution, has spoken at conferences on Watergate, and been interviewed by media organizations for his opinions on current issues and their similarity to Watergate. He has also published legal treatises and law journal articles for practicing lawyers.