Wiki History: Women Warriors of the Civil Rights Movement

Welcome back to rememberinghistory.com where we are remembering history and we’re making history.  We continue in this third wiki history podcast about Less Famous People involved in Civil Rights. In this podcast, we will focus exclusively on women who participated and died in the struggle for civil rights. Why should we spend an entire podcast focusing on women heroes of the civil rights movement? Great question. I think that I can give you a great answer. I noticed, in my research on civil rights heroes, that there were lists devoted to this subject by organizations that I respect. When I read the lists, I found very few women.  Perhaps only one or two on a list of twenty or thirty people.

 

It seems like the stories about women heroes are not being told, they are being forgotten and that’s completely contrary to what rememberinghistory.com stands for.  There are other reasons but I will discuss those reasons in the context of a larger issue that will be presented towards the end of this podcast. Stay tuned.

 

I hope that you have heard the previous podcasts about civil rights heroes like Harry and Harriett Moore who fought for equality in education and investigated lynching and police brutality in Florida. There was also George Washington Lee who fought for voting rights and Corporal Roman Ducksworth who refused to be put into the colored section of a bus in Mississippi.

 

 

 

In the last podcast, we focused on the white people (or rather heroes) like William Lewis Moore who held single man marches to promote equality and integration and Rev. James Reeb who lived in Black neighborhoods, sent his kids to integrated schools and answered Dr. King’s call to march in Selma, Alabama where Rev. Reeb was killed by white segregationists.  Finally, there was Rev. Bruce Klunder who was killed when he tried to stop the construction of a segregated school in Cleveland. There were a lot more people that I was not able to discuss but I  (and I ‘m truly sorry about that) because they deserve to be remembered and honored for the service in the fight for civil rights. They were courageous and committed and should not be forgotten. 

 

Please also remember that there is a lot more information and plenty of resources such as books, DVDs and audiobooks in the Books & Stuff store at rememberinghistory.com. Well, let’s get started. We have a lot to cover and I want to keep it wiki.

 

I do want to caution that some of these stories are rather violent. I won’t go into too much detail about the violence, but I do want to tell what really happened.  The truth in history is my objective—always. And I just want to give you some notice that this is a slightly longer podcast because we have so much to discuss: In the beginning, we’ll discuss two strong and courageous women who worked for voting rights and were killed by the Klan.

 

 

Then we’ll discuss a white woman (who was a wife and mother of five) who met with a tragic end. We’ll conclude with a discussion of the special position of women (all women) who fought for civil rights and how they were specific targets for sexualized violence and intimidation.

 

Let’s begin with two brave and determined African American women who fought for voting rights in Mississippi.

 

Birdia Beatrice Clark Keglar was born on June 1, 1908 in Charleston, Mississippi (not South Carolina, but Mississippi). Charleston is located in north central Mississippi and is the county seat of Tallahatchie County.  Birdia Keglar was known from an early age to be independent and very self-reliant, perhaps because she was youngest child in a very large family. She attended high school in Charleston but quit in the 11 grade to work and help support her family. She worked on the family farm until she got married on Christmas Day in 1924 at the age of 16. She had two sons but the marriage didn’t last.  After the end of her marriage, she ventured out to Memphis, Tennessee to get a more experience and see another part of the country. Her first job was at a local segregated swimming pool, which was frustrating to her because she could not use or get close to any of the pool facilities, except to clean.  She returned to Charleston and started working at the city’s first Black dry cleaners, which was owned by her uncle.

 

However, the owners of the local funeral home were impressed with her and enticed her away from her uncle’s business to the Fox Funeral Home of Granada. This would prove to be a very significant job for her because it was also where many civil rights activities and meetings were held. She remained at the funeral home until her death.

 

Because of her exposure to civil rights at the funeral home, Birdia Keglar quickly got involved in the local civil rights activities. She began to travel to other cities too like Granada, Greenwood, Clarksdale and Jackson to coordinate civil rights activities. At the same time, she was caring for her aging mother and young nieces and nephews.  And she remained active in the community and her church. She established a local girl scout troop (that was a first for black girls!), collected and distributed food and clothing to the poor, accompanied friends and family members to medical and law appointments and, at her church, became President of the local Usher Board.

 

In 1965, Birdia Keglar became more involved in civil rights activities, particularly voting rights. She was the first Black person to vote in Tallahatchie County and she encouraged other Blacks to register and vote. She began organizing the first Tallahatchie County Branch of the NAACP and solicited memberships in the local population. Unfortunately, she was killed before the branch was fully operational.

 

 

As you can probably expect, Birdia Keglar was subjected to constant death threats and was forced to take different routes to get home or sometimes she could not go home at all because it was too dangerous. She often had to be escorted down the street by local Black men to protect her from assaults by white segregationists. This was dangerous for everyone. And, yes, Birdia  Keglar did go to Selma to march with Dr. Martin Luther King.

 

The following year, 1966, Birdia  Keglar attended, in Jackson, Mississippi, a civil rights rally that was attended by Senator Robert Kennedy. On her return trip home, Birdia Keglar and four others (one of whom I will discuss in just a moment) were pursued by Klansman in Sidon, Mississippi, driven off the rode and killed. It is reported that Birdia Keglar’s body was found with her face slashed and arms cut off.  The local sheriff ruled her death as an accident. No further investigation was made.  Her son, Robert, did try to get information from the FBI about his mother’s killing but he was killed three months later while making inquiries.

 

Birdia Keglar was one of those people who uplift everyone that they meet.  She was a courageous woman who was determined to make a difference—and she did. In her honor, June 1st is remembered as Birdia Keglar Day in Tallahatchie County and a portion of Highway 35 has been called Birdia Keglar Highway.

 

 

Her story was included in a book called Where Rebels Roost: Mississippi Civil Rights Revisited by Susan Klopfer. It is an excellent book and gives much more information about his courageous lady and others who also fought for civil rights in that dangerous state.  The book is available in the bookstore at rememberinghistory.com. I hope that you will read it and let me know what you think. 

 

For her work in civil rights and voting rights and her courage in getting other African Americans to vote, we recognize and honor Mrs. Birdia Beatrice Clark Keglar and thank her for her service. (applause)

 

The next woman that I will discuss in this podcast was also fighting for civil rights and, sadly, was killed with Birdia Keglar and three others on the return home from a civil rights meeting in Jackson, Mississippi. But I’m jumping ahead. Let me introduce Mrs. Adlena McKinley Hamlett.

 

Adlena Hamlett was a bold and courageous civil rights activist, focusing primarily on voting rights for African Americans.  Born in Scobey, Mississippi in 1889, Mrs. Hamlett was also a respected elementary school teacher. She was a strong believer in the power of education to empower African Americans and she spent extra time teaching Black children to read and write proficiently.

 

 

 

Adlena Hamlett was committed to the passage of a Voting Rights Bill to guarantee the right to vote for all Americans. In fact, she testified before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights about voting rights violence and harassment of civil rights workers.  She also participated in numerous civil rights protests, marches and organizations to help African Americans register and vote.  For her work, she was constantly threatened, harassed and, a few months before her death, an effigy of her was hanged.  She was told unequivocally that, if she continued with her activities, she would be killed. She was not deterred.

 

On January 11, 1966, she was returning home from a conference on voting rights that was attended by Senator Robert Kennedy. She was in her gold-toned Plymouth Fury with her best friend, Birdie Kegler (whom we just discussed) and three others when the Klan pursued her car and drove it off the road in Sidon, Mississippi.  She (and Birdie Keglar) were tortured, mutilated (arms dismembered) and killed. Mrs. Hamlett had been beheaded. She was 78 years old. No one was ever arrested or prosecuted for the crime. In fact, the prosecutor decided that a drunk driver had hit the car causing it to go off the road and kill Adlena Hamlett and Birdie Keglar. The other passengers in the car were injured but survived. To this day, the Department of Justice refuses to open a cold case file or revisit the killings. 

 

 

 

Adlena Hamlett’s grand-daughter remembers her grandmother as a strong woman who was committed to exercising her right to vote.  She remembers going to a voting booth with her grandmother. The white lady clerk at the polling station tore up her grandmother’s ballot.  Her grandmother was unfazed and simply said, “It is my constitutional right to vote. I’ll come back again and again.”

 

Adlena Hamlett was a courageous and strong woman who fought for civil rights.  She refused to be scared away and instead kept moving forward. For her ability to come back again and again, we honor and remember Mrs. Adlena Mckinley Hamlett. And we thank her for her service.

 

And, by the way, you can find out more about Adlena Hamlett in the book named Where Rebels Roost: Mississippi Civil Rights Revisited, which you can find in the rememberinghistory.com bookstore.

 

The last person that I want to discuss is someone whom I hinted at in the previous podcast. I did not say her name but I did say that she was mentioned in the Selma Movie. Today, I’m going to say her name:  Mrs. Viola Liuzzo.

 

Is her name familiar to you?  I hope so because she was an “unlikely soldier” in the struggle for civil rights. She didn’t look like a person who would be a part of that movement but she was a strong-willed, principled woman who believed in equality.  I’m jumping ahead of myself. Let me tell her story.

 

Viola Fauver Gregg Liuzzo was born in 1925 in Pennsylvania. Viola grew up very poor, a child of the Depression. Her father, who was a coal miner, was injured on the job and couldn’t work any longer to support the family. Her mother took teaching jobs whenever she could find them to support the family. They later moved to Chatanooga, Tennessee where they lived in extreme poverty. This was where Viola first witnessed racial segregation and systematic racism.  She witnessed that, even though she was very poor, her family (being Caucasian) still had social privileges and rights that were denied to African Americans in the South. 

 

In 1943, she married and had two children then divorced. Later, she married Anthony Liuzzo and had three more children.  The family lived in Detroit. She joined the Unitarian Universalist Church (remember this was the same church of Rev. James Reeb) and she joined the NAACP.  Because of the Church and her experience with segregation in Tennessee and, from what I understand was her very strong-willed personality, she became involved in civil rights and social activism.   She helped to organize protests against segregation in Detroit (yes, there was segregation in Detroit, Michigan!), attended civil rights conferences and worked closely with the NAACP and the SCLC.  By the way, she also protested laws that allowed children to drop out of school at an early age. This was probably in response to her own experience in dropping out of school at age 16.

To protest, she homeschooled for two months for which she was arrested, convicted and placed on probation. This visionary lady started homeschooling before it was popular (like today) but she really believed that children should be encouraged to stay in school. Still, she made a strong stand for her principles.

 

In March, 1965, horrified by the images of police brutality and violence at the Bloody Sunday March in Selma, Alabama, Viola Liuzzo travelled to Selma saying that the struggle was “everybody’s fight.”  Answering Dr. King’s call for people to join the protest in Selma, Mrs. Liuzzo left her five kids with family friends, contacted the SCLC and got to work.  She delivered food and water to various locations, welcomed and recruited volunteers and transported volunteers and marchers to and from airports, bus terminals and train stations in her 1963 Oldsmobile. She participated in the later, successful and largely peaceful march from Selma to Montgomery.

 

After the third march in Selma, ending on March 25, Viola Liuzzo and Leroy Moton, a 19-year Black student were driving protesters to airports, bus terminals and back to universities.  They stopped to get gas at a local filling station and were subjected to verbal abuse and intimidation.  They left Route 80 but were followed and a car tried to run them off the road. Later on a back road returning to Selma, they were pursued by Klansmen who quickly overtook her Oldsmobile. Three Klansmen fired shots directly into the car at Viola Liuzzo. She was hit and killed instantly.

Although he was covered with blood, Leroy Moton was not shot. He lay motionless as the Klansmen checked the car then left. He flagged down a passing motorist, who happened to be another volunteer working to transport protesters from the march.

 

Viola Liuzzo’s funeral was held five days later and was attended by hundreds of people and many civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King and Roy Wilkens. Interestingly, her funeral was also attended by teamster president, Jimmy Hoffa.

 

The FBI quickly arrested and indicted the four Klansmen. (An interesting fact is that one of the Klansman killers indicted was actually an FBI informant.) The trials were something of fiasco. The first trial resulted in a mistrial after the prosecutor used blatantly racist terminology about Viola Liuzzo including calling her a “white n-word.” The second trial was delayed when the defense attorney was killed when he fell asleep while driving. However, in the end, the all-white jury acquitted the killers of murder. Afterwards, they went to a Klan conference where they were greeted with a standing ovation. The defendants were later convicted on federal charges.

 

Viola Liuzzo was criticized by many organizations as having brought her death upon herself for engaging in such risky and dangerous activities as civil rights. This was considered extremely radical and controversial for a white woman, especially a mother.

 

But she has also received many posthumous awards and recognitions.  Her name was added to the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama. There was also a documentary made about her called, Home of the Brave. You can find this documentary in the bookstore at rememberinghistory.com.

 

For her boldness and commitment to civil rights, we honor and remember Mrs. Viola Liuzzo and thank her for her service. (applause)

 

I want to conclude this podcast on women warriors (or heroes or martyrs) by briefly discussing why I chose to devote a podcast to focusing on women.  Yes, in the first podcast, I discussed various people (5 men, and 1 woman) who were killed in the civil rights movement. In the second podcast, I focused only on white people involved (or rather, killed) in defense of civil rights. In this final podcast, I focused on women, both black women and white women, who were killed during the civil rights movement.  Most of the people (perhaps, all) are not widely known.  That is the sad story that links them. So, why did I choose to devote this podcast to women?

 

Because women faced a special kind of violence during the civil rights movement.  In general, women are subjected to specific and focused violence and intimidation in most conflicts even today, and this was certainly true during the fight for civil rights in the United States.

 

Women were specifically targeted and sexually assaulted by racist civilians and law enforcement who battered their genitals, grabbed their breasts, yelled gender/sexual epithets, attacked the abdominal region of pregnant women, threatened the women with sexual violence or actually committed rape.  These were routine occurrences for which the perpetrators were seldom punished.

 

In fact, incidents of ritualistic rape and intimidation were common and remained largely unpunished.  Women, who reported these crimes, were often accused of being prostitutes and faced public criticism and humiliation as well as imprisonment and possibly having their children taken away.

 

Racist groups like the Ku Klux Klan specifically targeted and worked to intimidate women fighting for civil rights. They attacked and isolated women in their homes, or while walking down the street or driving along roads. They used violence, threats and other forms of intimidation (including threatening their children) to try to stop women from participating in civil rights or voting rights activities.

 

We’ve discussed a few examples. Think of Birdia Keglar and Adlena Hamlett who were killed by the Klan on their way home from giving testimony about voting rights. When the Klan drove their car off the road, the elderly women were taken from the car and marched into the woods where they were tortured, mutilated and killed. The men were left in the car. 

Adlena Hamlett been threatened numerous times and had an effigy hanged to intimidate her.  The local sheriff had constantly threatened Birdia Keglar. She actually needed body guards (men who volunteered) to walk with her. Many people remember Birdia Keglar as terrified of the hostile sheriff and afraid every day of her life. And they also remember that she got out every day, registered people with the NAACP and helped other Black people to register to vote—despite her fear. Viola Liuzzo faced many problems even though she was a middle class white woman. Because she was working for civil rights, she was targeted for harassment, criticized as being a neglectful and selfish mother to her five children, and considered to be unfeminine and basically deserved her fate. There was also talk that she was killed because she was in the car with a black man.  Rumors were spread that she was having sexual relations with black men and that she was a “woman of loose morals.” The FBI worked to tarnish her reputation even after she was killed, possibly as a way to try to justify her murder. Many people simply remember as the unstable, wife-of-a-teamster who was murdered because she was in the car with a black man when she should have been home with her kids. (That’s the kind of criticism that women faced and possibly still face.)

 

So, women (of all races) who participated in the civil rights movement were targeted for sexual violence and intimidation that men were not subjected to.

 

And there is a vast amount of information about how white men used sexual violence (including numerous cases of gang rape) against all black women. Often these men were released with a small fine (if any punishment was given) but the victimized black women were brutalized, humiliated and labeled as “amoral jezebels.” (this label is a quote from a Florida judge).

 

So, that is why I wanted a special podcast to discuss the courage and commitment of women fighting for civil rights, knowing that they could face a particularly brutal form of violence and terror.  One interesting fact that is not widely known is that one woman worked tirelessly to meet with women who had faced sexual violence and to investigate and document cases of sexual violence against women. She would appear on the scene usually within hours, spend time with and interview the women, make sure that they were receiving good medical attention and lobby prosecutors to investigate and prosecute the crimes. This brave woman was Rosa Parks—and she was doing this long before her fateful bus ride that sparked the Civil Rights Movement. For her work in support of victims of rape and terror (and for her well-known act of defiance against segregation in busing), we honor and remember Mrs. Rosa Parks and thank her for her undying and courageous service. (applause)

 

 

 

There are interesting books about violence against women fighting for civil rights and against any black woman in the segregationist states.

 

One is s called:  At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance—A New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power (Knopf, September 2010) by Danielle L. McGuire. It is a groundbreaking new work of history that reinterprets the Civil Rights Movement in terms of the sexualized violence and rape that marked race relations in America for centuries.

 

Another book, called Free at Last: A History the Civil Rights Movement and those who died in the Struggle by Sara Bullard and Julian Bond.  This book discusses everyone in this podcast series and many more.

 

Finally, a book that focuses on Viola Liuzzo is called From Selma to Sorrow: The Life and Death of Viola Liuzzo by Mary Stanton. It discusses Liuzzo’s work, her life and her murder. But it also discusses the aftermath of her murder like the trial and J.Edgar Hoover’s campaign to posthumously destroy her reputation and therefore justify her murder.

 

Again, don’t try to remember the names of these books, they are all available for purchase at the rememberinghistory.com Books & Stuff store and listed on the Facebook page.

 

So, this concludes the podcast on woman warriors in the civil rights movement—and this three-part podcast series on lesser known heroes (or martyrs) of the civil rights movement.  I hope that you have enjoyed and learned a lot in this podcast. I have. It has not been easy to hear about elderly women being tortured and killed by Klan. Or to hear about gang rape, intimidation and perpetrators laughing about it , paying $25 to the court then going home.  Again, I state that it is not so important how they died. What is important is their courage, commitment and their vision for a better country with equality and equality rights for all. It is so important to remember and honor them:  Mrs. Birdia Keglar, Mrs. Adlena Hamlett, Mrs. Viola Liuzzo and Mrs. Rosa Parks. (applause.)

 

And it is important to remember that people fought very hard (and were killed) for many of the rights that we enjoy right now (like the right to vote).  So, remember to exercise those rights and use those powers. Get out and vote!

 

What is happening next month? Oh, there’s a lot going on at rememberinghistory.com! Next month’s podcast series will focus on great historic sites and places to visit.  Yes, there are a few places that are well-known and well-visited. That’s great. But there are other places and activities that are not widely known. Those are the places and activities that I’m going to discuss in the May podcast series. It’s great information for a family vacation when the kids are out of school. The places are educational, fun and you’ll see that they are quite unique.

And I just want to let you know that rememberinghistory.com has a Facebook page (of the same name).  On that Remembering History Facebook page, you will find pictures of the people that were discussed, interesting historical sites and great discussions and commentary.  I hope that you will visit there; we know that a picture can speak a thousand words and bring history to life. Would you like to see a picture of Corporal Roman Ducksworth, Viola Liuzzo or Birdia Keglar? You will find them on the Remembering History Facebook page. And you’ll find many more pictures of people and places that are significant in African American history. And, of course, you can feel free to visit the rememberinghistory.com website for the great blog posts and bookstore. Our community can be found in many different places—and they are all connected. Just like us.

 

Let’s wrap it up now. I look forward to seeing you for the next podcast series on great historic sites in African American history. The first in the three-part series will be released on Tuesday, May 12 and every Tuesday for the rest of the month. Mark your calendars! See you soon at rememberinghistory.com where we ARE remembering history and we’re making history!

 

Remember to vote!

 

Bye for now!