Wednesdays in Mississippi
Title | Wednesdays in Mississippi PDF eBook |
Author | Debbie Z. Harwell |
Publisher | Univ. Press of Mississippi |
Pages | 304 |
Release | 2014-08-05 |
Genre | Social Science |
ISBN | 1626744084 |
As tensions mounted before Freedom Summer, one organization tackled the divide by opening lines of communication at the request of local women: Wednesdays in Mississippi (WIMS). Employing an unusual and deliberately feminine approach, WIMS brought interracial, interfaith teams of northern middle-aged, middle- and upper-class women to Mississippi to meet with their southern counterparts. Sponsored by the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), WIMS operated on the belief that the northern participants' gender, age, and class would serve as an entrée to southerners who had dismissed other civil rights activists as radicals. The WIMS teams' respectable appearance and quiet approach enabled them to build understanding across race, region, and religion where other overtures had failed. The only civil rights program created for women by women as part of a national organization, WIMS offers a new paradigm through which to study civil rights activism, challenging the stereotype of Freedom Summer activists as young student radicals and demonstrating the effectiveness of the subtle approach taken by "proper ladies." The book delves into the motivations for women's civil rights activism and the role religion played in influencing supporters and opponents of the civil rights movement. Lastly, it confirms that the NCNW actively worked for integration and black voting rights while also addressing education, poverty, hunger, housing, and employment as civil rights issues. After successful efforts in 1964 and 1965, WIMS became Workshops in Mississippi, which strived to alleviate the specific needs of poor women. Projects that grew from these efforts still operate today.
Wednesdays in Mississippi -- 1964-1965
Title | Wednesdays in Mississippi -- 1964-1965 PDF eBook |
Author | Margery Gross |
Publisher | |
Pages | 102 |
Release | 1965 |
Genre | African American women civil rights workers |
ISBN |
Wednesdays in Mississippi
Title | Wednesdays in Mississippi PDF eBook |
Author | Debbie Zerjav Harwell |
Publisher | |
Pages | 194 |
Release | 2007 |
Genre | |
ISBN |
Wednesdays in Mississippi
Title | Wednesdays in Mississippi PDF eBook |
Author | Debbie Z. Harwell |
Publisher | |
Pages | 654 |
Release | 2010 |
Genre | African American women civil rights workers |
ISBN |
A Ministry of Presence
Title | A Ministry of Presence PDF eBook |
Author | Erica Poff |
Publisher | |
Pages | 80 |
Release | 2002 |
Genre | African Americans |
ISBN |
Wednesdays in Mississippi
Title | Wednesdays in Mississippi PDF eBook |
Author | |
Publisher | |
Pages | |
Release | 2003* |
Genre | African American women civil rights workers |
ISBN |
Northern women of different races and faiths traveled to Mississippi to develop relationships with their southern peers and to create bridges of understanding across regional, racial, and class lines. By opening communications across societal boundaries, Wednesday's Women sought to end violence and to cushion the transition towards racial integration. "Wednesdays in Mississippi: Civil Rights as Women's Work" was founded to preserve the history of these important women who participated in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Its goal is not only to record the past but also to inspire others to further social, racial, and economic justice in the future. WIMS operated under the umbrella of the National Council of Negro Women. Dorothy Irene Height was President of the NCNW and a long-standing leader in the fight for racial and social justice and the protection of black women, children, and families. She was the lynchpin of WIMS. Polly Cowan was the Executive Director of WIMS, as well as Height2s colleague, amanuensis, and close friend. In 1964, Height and Cowan brought Doris Wilson and Susie Goodwillie into WIMS to direct the project from Jackson, Mississippi.
"Like a Long-handled Spoon"
Title | "Like a Long-handled Spoon" PDF eBook |
Author | Debbie Z. Harwell |
Publisher | |
Pages | 764 |
Release | 2012 |
Genre | African American women civil rights workers |
ISBN |