[…]

It wasn’t until Holder arrived at Columbia University in the fall of 1969 that he connected with four other African-American students who could relate to his somewhat prismatic experience. On weeknights, they studied until the small hours; on weekends, they delved into the Harlem scene and immersed themselves in the activism of the times—marching in the streets for housing and education, coaching a youth football team, mentoring kids in the Manhattan Valley projects. “We took over the ROTC lounge in Hartley Hall and created the Malcolm X Lounge,” says Steve Sims, laughing.

[…]

It was an abandoned lounge. What were they ‘armed’ with, their big black hands?