^{excerpt from a library collection review written on April 21, 2019}

Whenever there is a general discussion about the women involved in the African American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s-60s, a few prominent names such as Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Coretta Scott King are mentioned. However, as in any movement, there were numerous others who worked quietly in offices, marched in protests, taught adult literacy courses, coordinated fundraisers, and often risked their lives to secure and ensure the civil liberties of African American citizens.

This paper is a review of materials currently available in the Library of Congress’ Digital Library Collection which document the stories of the women whose names may be less recognizable but who nevertheless played important roles in organizations like the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the Mississippi Freedom School Project, the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Cecilia Suyat Marshall oral history interview conducted by Emilye Crosby in Washington, D.C., 2013-06-30. [Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2019, from Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA website: https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2010039_crhp0097/

In this video, Emilye Crosby interviews the Cecilia Suyat Marshall, wife of late Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall. Marshall discusses moving from Hawaii where she was raised in a community of native Hawaiians, Japanese, Filipino and Chinese cultures to New York City where she nothing about the racial and ethnic problems faced by African Americans and, ironically becoming a stenographer in the NAACP national office. (“Cecilia Suyat Marshall oral history interview conducted by Emilye Crosby in Washington, D.C., 2013-06-30.,” n.d.) Marshall [2013, June 30] candidly shares that she was hesitant to marry Thurgood Marshall for fear that they would experience the same backlash that Walter White experienced after his divorce and remarriage to a woman of another race. However, she finally agreed and, in 1955, married Marshall who was then head of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. As a result Cecilia Marshall either typed the commentary or was privy to conversations regarding many of the most recognized cases handled by that office. I selected this video because it is particularly timely. Five minutes into the interview Marshall [2013, June 30] recalls typing the comments for the case of the “Groveland Boys,” four young Black boys who had been accused of raping a White woman in Florida in 1949. This past January, the case which is now known as “The Groveland Four” was the subject of an article in The New York Times (Fortin, 2019), recounting the trial, the court case, the brutal beatings and executions of two of the accused, and the subsequent pardon of all four men after 70 years.

The legacy of stories like “The Groveland Four” and Emmett Till contribute to the fact that many African American women struggle with feeling solidarity with the #MeToo movement.

Doris Adelaide Derby oral history interview conducted by Joseph Mosnier in Atlanta, Georgia, 2011-04-26. [Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2019, from Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA website: https://www.loc.gov/item/2015669107/

In this video, Dr. Doris Derby shares memories of working with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee with Joseph Mosnier. Derby (“Doris Adelaide Derby oral history interview conducted by Joseph Mosnier in Atlanta, Georgia, 2011-04-26.,” n.d.) shares her memories of growing up in the Bronx, the influence of her Caribbean heritage, her appreciation for the Schomburg Library, studying dance with the legendary Katherine Dunham and, the tremendous influence of her grandparents, one of whom was one of the original charter members of the NAACP. Approximately 40 minutes into the interview, Derby (2011, April 26) recounts her first trip with SNCC to Albany, GA, and not knowing how dangerous it was to travel in that area in an integrated car. Derby (2011, April 26) paints a vivid picture of her life traveling between Georgia, Mississippi, and New York to raising funds, developing adult literacy programs and, organizing voter registration events. Listening to this video, you can’t help but feel a sense of wonder that Derby and the other members of SNCC, the majority of whom were in their early 20s, accomplished so much with so few resources. While I will refrain from including long passages of quoted text in the remainder of this paper, I want to share this brief excerpt from the transcript gives you a sense of Derby’s commitment and sacrifice:

“Well, I’ll start with, uh, that first year. When I arrived, uh, you know, I was given the title of an SNCC field secretary and put on the payroll for ten dollars a week. That’s what SNCC field secretaries made. And, um, there were homes of people that – Jackson folks that we would be put up with. Um, you’d stay with a family, um, because, you know, we didn’t have money to pay for – of course, I had a little savings that I had from my teaching. But, um, we were, you know, put up with a family, and then we were – you know, someone would pick you up to – or the family would drop you off at, um, the COFO office, Council of Federated Organizations, which was an office that was an umbrella, uh, office, and so, there were several – SNCC, CORE, NAACP – um, all, you know, had people working there. And, um, the office was just, uh, buzzing with activity: initiatives relating to voter registration, and demonstrations, and integration of facilities, and organizing counties, and organizing a mock election, a governor’s election, new people coming in needing orientation, working together to put on events or activities, mass meetings, and coming together to plan, strategize, as well as execute those things that needed to be done to, uh, make that activity or event a success.” . (Derby, 2011, April 26)

Dorothy Foreman Cotton oral history interview conducted by Joseph Mosnier in Ithaca, New York, 2011-07-25. [Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved April 20, 2019, from Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA website: https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2010039_crhp0040/

When someone begins an interview stating that they grew up feeling that they were in the wrong place and that their neighborhood felt alien, you anticipate that it is going to be an interesting conversation. (“Dorothy Foreman Cotton oral history interview conducted by Joseph Mosnier in Ithaca, New York, 2011-07-25.,” n.d.). Joseph Mosnier’s interview with Dorothy Freeman Cotton certainly meets that description. The interview leaves you feeling like you’ve been on an emotional rollercoaster. One-minute Cotton (2011, July 25) will have you laughing at statements like, “And I pointed to a woman sitting down front with a white blouse on, and I said, ‘They call you a white woman, but you’re not white. If you were the color of your blouse, I would call the ambulance and get you to a hospital”. And in her next sentences, she makes you uncomfortable ny sharing her feelings of ambivalence towards her father and his use of corporal punishment.

Cotton vividly describes working her way through college as a housekeeper for Dr. Robert Prentiss Daniel, President of Shaw University and later, Virginia State College (now University), how that relationship evolved into an unusual combination of housekeeper and surrogate daughter to the extent that her future husband, George Cotton, would ask Daniel for her hand in marriage. (Cotton, 2011, July 25). However, my chief reason for including this selection was her work with the NAACP in desegregating the public library in Petersburg, VA.

Ekwueme Michael Thelwell oral history interview conducted by Emilye Crosby in Pelham, Massachusetts, 2013-08-23. [Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2019, from Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA website: https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2010039_crhp0104/

Emilye Crosby’s interview with Ekweume Michael Thelwell is one of the two interviews with male members of the Civil Rights movement, which I’ve decided to include in this paper because they share insights into the male perspective of their female colleagues.

Thirty-five minutes into the interview Emilye asks Thelwell about if the women who were involved in the Nonviolent Action Group (NAG) at Howard University had faced any particular challenges. Thelwell (“Ekwueme Michael Thelwell oral history interview conducted by Emilye Crosby in Pelham, Massachusetts, 2013-08-23.,” n.d.) stated that he felt that NAG was a well-integrated group and while, the women had neither pursued, or been invited to pursue leadership roles in the organization, he knew of none that had been shy about speaking up in meetings, or leading demonstrations. Thelwell (2013, August 23) went on to express empathy for what he considered the “extraordinary price” that the women paid by not conforming to the accepted behavior of a “Howard lady” and foregoing the “trivia of fashion and dressing up.” “Though they were attractive women, and they took care of themselves, but they weren’t the kind of trophy wives for the med school students, and they weren’t—some of them might have been members of the Greek letter organizations, but most of them I suspect weren’t” (Thelwell, 2013, August, 23)

Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons oral history interview conducted by Joseph Mosnier in Gainesville, Florida, 2011-09-14. [Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved April 19, 2019, from Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA website: https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2010039_crhp0049/

In this interview, Gwendolyn Zaharah Simmons gives us a very detailed look at the energy, diversity, and, wide range of activities of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Once again, you get a sense of the youthfulness of the movement, the passion of the individuals to become an active participant in history and how often they embarked on trips with such a sense of naivety which was often shattered by the acts of extreme violence they encounter. Simmons (“Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons oral history interview conducted by Joseph Mosnier in Gainesville, Florida, 2011-09-14.,” n.d.) recalls being assigned to teach at a Freedom School in Laurel, MS and being under the impression that if they traveled in the company of large groups of white students there would be lower probability of being attacked. Simmons (2011, September 14) continues that he illusions about safety in integrated numbers was shattered her second week of Freedom School Training Orientation when Schwerner, Chaney, Goodman went missing.

Lonnie C. King oral history interview conducted by Emilye Crosby in Atlanta, Georgia, 2013-05-29. [Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved April 20, 2019, from Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA website: https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2010039_crhp0090/

Emilye Crosby’s interview with Lonnie C. King is the second interview with a male, which I have decided to include in order to provide a broad perspective on the era. While Thelwell was a student activist at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Lonnie King was in Atlanta, working with the students from Morehouse, Spelman, Clark, and Morris Brown Colleges. As King recalls, (“Lonnie C. King oral history interview conducted by Emilye Crosby in Atlanta, Georgia, 2013-05-29.,” n.d.) what he describes as the “unheralded” participation of the women of Spelman College and, that he recalls 169 Spelman ladies that either went to jail or were taking risks. King (2013, May 29) states that in his opinion, the women of Spelman were the backbone of the movement.

Martha Prescod Norman Noonan oral history interview conducted by John Dittmer in Cockeysville, Maryland, 2013-03-18. [Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved April 20, 2019, from Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA website: https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2010039_crhp0080/

If Martha Prescod Norman Noonan’s (“Martha Prescod Norman Noonan oral history interview conducted by John Dittmer in Cockeysville, Maryland, 2013-03-18.,” n.d.) interview with John Dittmer were a meal, you would probably say that it was seasoned with a healthy dose of Caribbean spice. Early on, Noonan (2013, March 18) shares that despite having poor vision himself, her father was an Optometrist and after moving into an all-White neighborhood in Providence, Rhode Island, a White female neighbor, as a display of friendship, actually came in for an eye exam. Later in the interview, she tells of the time that her mother, fearing for her safety while traveling through the South, made a series of telephone calls which eventually reached then-Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, According to Noonan (2013, March 18), when Robert Kennedy assured her mother that no harm, would come to her daughter, her mother replied “Well, I hope so, young man, because I would hate to have to talk to your brother about this.”

Mildred Bond Roxborough oral history interview conducted by Julian Bond in New York, New York, 2010-10-29. [Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved April 21, 2019, from Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA website: https://www.loc.gov/item/2015669101/

Mildred Bond Roxborough (“Mildred Bond Roxborough oral history interview conducted by Julian Bond in New York, New York, 2010-10-29.,” n.d.) joined the NAACP shortly before the Brown vs the Board of Education Case and the murder and, this interview, a noted Civil Rights Leader, Julian Bond asks Roxborough to share her memories of that time. Roxborough (2010, October 29) gives us her perspective on the Thurgood Marshall, Walter White, Roy Wilkins, and William Parks, the workings of the NAACP, and their landmark cases.

Mildred Pitts Walter oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in San Mateo, California, 2013-03-01. [Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved April 20, 2019, from Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA website: https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2010039_crhp0059/

In this interview, Mildred Pitts Walter shares the story of her journey from DeRidder, LA, to Skid Row in Los Angeles, to begin teaching in the Los Angeles County School System. In between, she attended Southern University, where she was inspired by Mordecai Johnson and W.E.B. Dubois, cleaned ships during what I will presume was the tail-end of World War II, heading to Los Angeles in search of a YWCA that didn’t exist, and seeking a job that wasn’t hiring Black teachers. However, it was in the process of obtaining her teaching credentials that Walter met her husband and was introduced to the Congress of Racial Equity. She obtained her first teaching job in 1955 by which time the Los Angeles school system was hiring African American teachers. In fact, as Walter (2013, March 1) recounts, most of the teachers at her school were very young African American teachers.

Ruby Nell Sales oral history interview conducted by Joseph Mosnier in Atlanta, Georgia, 2011-04-25. [Image]. (n.d.). Retrieved April 20, 2019, from Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA website: https://www.loc.gov/item/2015669106/

In her conversation with Joseph Mosnier, Ruby Sales shares her experience of participating in a protest in Montgomery, AL, and how deeply she was traumatized by it. Sales (“Ruby Nell Sales oral history interview conducted by Joseph Mosnier in Atlanta, Georgia, 2011-04-25.,” n.d.) describes how as a young student at Tuskegee, she found herself drawn into a movement which involved risks which she did not fully comprehend. Sales provides a sense of the general atmosphere in the aftermath of “Bloody Sunday”, the violence of Lowndes County, AL and how she struggled to hold on to her faith and, make sense of what was happening around her.

Works Cited

Civil Rights History Project, U. S., Cline, D. P. & Walter, M. P. (2013) Mildred Pitts Walter oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in San Mateo, California, -03-01. San Mateo, California, March 1. [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2010039_crhp0059/

Civil Rights History Project, U. S., Crosby, E. & King, L. C. (2013) Lonnie C. King oral history interview conducted by Emilye Crosby in Atlanta, Georgia, -05-29. Atlanta, Georgia. [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2010039_crhp0090/

Civil Rights History Project, U. S., Crosby, E. & Marshall, C. (2013) Cecilia Suyat Marshall oral history interview conducted by Emilye Crosby in Washington, D.C., -06-30. Washington, D.C. [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2010039_crhp0097

Civil Rights History Project, U. S., Crosby, E. & Thelwell, M. (2013) Ekwueme Michael Thelwell oral history interview conducted by Emilye Crosby in Pelham, Massachusetts, -08-23. Pelham, Massachusetts. [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2010039_crhp0104/

Civil Rights History Project, U. S., Dittmer, J. & Noonan, M. P. (2013) Martha Prescod Norman Noonan oral history interview conducted by John Dittmer in Cockeysville, Maryland, -03-18. Cockeysville, Maryland. [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2010039_crhp0080

Civil Rights History Project, U. S., Mosnier, J. & Cotton, D. F. (2011) Dorothy Foreman Cotton oral history interview conducted by Joseph Mosnier in Ithaca, New York, -07-25. Ithaca, New York, 7. [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2010039_crhp0040

Civil Rights History Project, U. S., Mosnier, J. & Derby, D. A. (2011) Doris Adelaide Derby oral history interview conducted by Joseph Mosnier in Atlanta, Georgia, -04-26. Atlanta, Georgia,, 4. [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2015669107/

Civil Rights History Project, U. S., Mosnier, J. & Simmons, G. Z. (2011) Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons oral history interview conducted by Joseph Mosnier in Gainesville, Florida, -09-14. Gainesville, Florida,, 9. [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/afc2010039_crhp0049/

Civil Rights History Project, U. S., Roxborough, M. B. & Bond, J. (2010) Mildred Bond Roxborough oral history interview conducted by Julian Bond in New York, New York, -10-29. New York, New York, 10. [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2015669101

Civil Rights History Project, U. S., Sales, R. & Mosnier, J. (2011) Ruby Nell Sales oral history interview conducted by Joseph Mosnier in Atlanta, Georgia, -04-25. Atlanta, Georgia, 4. [Video] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2015669106

Fortin, J. (2019, January 12). Florida Pardons the Groveland Four, 70 Years After Jim Crow-Era Rape Case. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/11/us/groveland-four-pardon-desantis.html

_{Pamela L. Kemp
University of Kentucky
April 21, 2019}