The Last House on the Street

Ellie and the other students arrive at Morris Brown College in Atlanta where their SCOPE orientation is to be held. She initially rooms with Peggy, the girl who rode with her. Clearly, the two do not like one another. Peggy breaks up with her boyfriend, David, who made the trip with them but leaves after one day. Through the week, Ellie struggles to make acquaintances with other volunteers. She is the only white person from the South. She finally makes connection with a ministerial student named John from New Jersey. During the week, several civil rights luminaries come to speak about different elements of their mission. One is Hosea Williams, who calls Ellie out and tells her that leaders are concerned about her as the only white person from the target area. She realizes that Greg has gone out on a limb to include her. On Thursday, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speaks to the group, inspiring them and pointing out the hypocrisy of voting rights laws. Andrew Young comes next, breaking the volunteers into groups of male and female students. He specifically warns the female students not to get involved romantically with the male students. On the final night, all of the freedom songs that she has learned take on a special new meaning to Ellie and she weeps so hard that she cannot sing.