Female Civil Rights Leaders
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Let’s honor some of the courageous Female Civil Rights Leaders!
Female Civil Rights Leaders
In honor of MLK Day, I wanted to write about the fight for civil rights and equality. But as so many things in history, I feel there is a lack of acknowledgement for some of the amazing women who contributed to this fight. So today, let’s shine a light on some amazing Female Civil Rights Leaders!
Septima Clark
Septima Clark was a public school teacher in South Carolina for thirty years. Ultimately, she lost her position in 1956 after she bravely refused to renounce her involvement with the NAACP
Believing literacy to be the key to political empowerment, she went on to set up workshops to teach others basic literacy skills, the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizens and how to fill out voter registration forms.
She continued teaching and advocating for civil responsibilities for the rest of her life. She taught and developed curriculum at key places like the Highlander Folk School for social advocacy, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the American Field Service.
In 1975, she won a seat on the South Carolina School Board, marking a major milestone in her career. Just a year later, the South Carolina governor issued a formal letter of apology to her and officially reinstated her pension.
Her influence continued to grow on the national stage. By 1979, President Jimmy Carter recognized her historic contributions by presenting her with a Living Legacy Award. That same year, she published her autobiography, detailing her courageous journey and her pivotal role within the Civil Rights Movement. You can check it out below!
Amelia Boynton Robinson
Amelia Boynton Robinson was an activist leader in the American Civil Rights Movement. She was a key figure in the Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965. In 1990, she received the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Medal for her lifelong commitment to civil rights
Boynton began her activism in 1934 when she registered to vote, a difficult task in Alabama at the time. A few years later she wrote a play called Through the Years, that recounted her father’s half-brother’s story. He rose from slavery to serve in Congress during the Reconstruction Era.
In 1958, police arrested her son after he attempted to buy food from a white-only counter in a bus terminal. Although the state court found him guilty of a misdemeanor and issued a fine, he refused to let the matter rest. As a law student at Howard University, he appealed the decision himself. Despite losing the initial rounds, he eventually took his fight all the way to the Supreme Court. In the landmark case Boynton v. Virginia, Thurgood Marshall successfully argued the appeal, leading the Court to reverse the conviction.
In 1964 Boynton ran for Congress hoping to encourage black registration and voting. She was the first female African American to run for office in Alabama and the first woman of any race to run on the Democratic Party ticket for the state. She received 10% of the vote.
In 1965 Boynton began working with Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders to plan demonstrations for voting and civil rights. She helped organize a march to Montgomery which took place on March 7th, 1965. The event became known as Bloody Sunday when police stopped and beat the demonstrators. Boynton was beaten unconscious, a photo of her lying on Edmund Pettus Bridge went around the world and is still one of the most famous photographs from the march today.
To learn more about Boynton read one of the books below- including her own Bridge Across Jordon!
Nine More Amazing Female Civil Rights Leaders
Are you familiar with Leah Chase or Dr. June Jackson Christmas? What about Aileen Hernandez or Diane Nash? Sadly, they along with Judy Richardson, Kathleen Cleaver, Gay McDougall, Gloria Richardson, and Myrlie Evers have been mostly left out of the history books. Until now!
Nominated for a 50th NAACP IMAGE Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Debut Author, Lighting the Fires of Freedom is a MUST Read to learn more about overlooked women from the Civil Rights Movement.
Janet Dewart Bell put together these women’s stories from collections of oral narratives and photographs. Each of these women answered the call to fight for freedom with passion, courage, and persistence.
If you’re interested in getting a close look at the women who were on the front lines during this movement- you need to read Bell’s book!
If you enjoyed this historical highlight, here are a few more you may want to read!
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