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Deep in Our Hearts: Nine White Women in the Freedom Movement

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Forty years ago, in regard to the "race question," white people in this country fell into five general categories: those who never gave a thought to race-based segregation and discrimination (the numbers of whom could probably be counted on one hand); those who through ignorance or paranoia thought that African-Americans were in one way or another "inferior" beings, which somehow justified our own brand of apartheid; those who knew or suspected that the "inferiority" premise applied to African-Americans was bogus but who profited from that fiction being maintained; those who knew or believed that the inferiority idea was false but who, through reluctance or apathy, chose to do or say nothing about it, and those who, deep in their hearts, knew that the inferiority thesis was false and cruelly unfair, knew that our apatheid system made a lie of all the claims of equality our nation prided itself on, and who chose to confront it in an attempt to bring segregation and discrimination to an end through personal involvement and direct action. The nine white women who contributed to this book the stories of their development and their involvement in the civil rights struggle were of that last category. They never really saw themselves as particularly strong or smart, although their writing shows them to be exceptionally articulate, and none of them were brought up by their families to become involved in that fight. They took it upon themselves to make their own stands and become part of that effort regardless of the personal risks. "Deep In Our Hearts" is aptly named - what springs out at us from their stories is their simple strength, the heart-deep commitment to social justice, that helped make this country face up to its promises to all of its citizens. That they came from genuinely different backgrounds reflects the diversity that sets our country apart and which puts the lie to common assumptions about them, such as that they were born of affluent families from the northeast and went south with Ivy League educations and high-flown notions of setting things right. What is also remarkable about their stories and their lives is that they have continued with that commitment to equality and fairness in varied ways; they never saw fit to rest upon their laurels once this nation recognized, in words at least, that racial segregation and discrimination were wrong and brought down the obvious barriers to equality. These little stories, none more than forty-eight pages long, also spell out how their subsequent involvement in combating the Vietnam War was a logical progression, the same struggle on a different front. Although some of them became front-line soldiers in the fight to free women from their own set of shackles, all of them contributed to modern feminism and women's rights more by their actions than by their words. To them, and to the many whose stories who are not in this book, we all owe a debt of gratitude. If not for them this country may not have been able to look itself in the eye in the bathroom mirror. The collective lesson of these stories is that one need not come from uncommon beginnings in order to develop the will to lead extraordinary, adventuresome, purposeful lives. Read their stories, be inspired without being preached to, and put some meat on the dry bones of history.

Imagine leaving your comfortable world as you knew it in the erly 1960's. Young white women; some from the north, some from the south. Rural and urban, college kids, middle class, working class and just plain poor. Heading to a dangerous world and joining the early days of the Civil Rights Movement. Leaving behind the scorn, disdain, and ridicule of family and friends. Walking into a climate of hate and bigotry, and joining in civil disobedience against segregation. Walking in the picket lines, sometimes fearing for your life; organizing, and joining in singing hymns of freedom. Going from tears of frustration to smiles of great joy, while hitching a ride on that freedom train and holding on for dear life.
One recent eveing at Northern Lights Book Store and Cafe in St. Johnsbury, Vt., 70 people heard two local women who participated passionately in that movement. The authors read from their book, Deep In Our Hearts: Nine White Women in the Freedom Movement.
The book is an eloquent and powerful one that takes us back to one of the most tumultuous periods in American history; the erly days of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Freedom Summer, voter registrations, lunch counter sit-ins and the rise of Black Power and the women's movement. Deep In Our Hearts is a collection of essays, that take us into the lives of a group of young women who were transformed by the Civil Rights Movement.
The audience listened as Penny Patch looked back and read softly. "I understand well that what was between us will never be again, but still, that experience remains at the core of who I am. The fact that some of us had deep friendships that crossed all racial lines is simply a miracle. For short periods of time, in those early yers, we leaped over all the history and all of the minefields between us."
Perched on a stool and sipping warm tea to sooth a sore throat, Theresa Del Pozzo read from the book. "My involement with the movement began as a moral reaction to the blatant injustice of segregation and the denial of basic human rights of African-Americans. Along the way I got an education in the intricate patterns of racism and began to experience what I think as the small-c culture of the African_American community: the wisdom, dignity, strength, humor, gentleness and creativeness of its everyday life and people. The experience of living within the black world changed forever the person I was to become and the way I live my adult life."
Listening to the authors as they told their stories one could not help but admire their courage and admire this courageous book. They stand as powerful testaments to a time when the goal of universal justice was truly in sight and to the hope that a new generation of blacks and whites will take up the challenge to make the world a better place.

Marvin Minkler of the North Star Monthly

Just finished reading " Deep In Our Hearts", a book I'd like to strongly recommend. It captures on a very personal level, the spirit of the Civil Rights era, from the perspective of nine different white women who were deeply involved in the struggle to bring about more racial justice. It is a moving tribute to all the heroes of that very difficult time. To all who were involved at the time or those who are the least bit curious of "what went down", you cannot fail to admire the stories of these brave women. This is history (herstory) as it should be related-from the participants.

Moving, gripping first-person retrospectives by nine white women who went to the Jim Crow South in the 1960s, often at the risk of their lives, to help African-Americans win voting rights. The stuff of history, and a thrilling read.

I have enjoyed reading the accounts of these white women and their part in the civil rights movement. Being white and from a northern state, I have always been curious to know if we had any positive impact whatsoever. I was in middle and senior high school during this time so didn't pay as much attention as I should have. Now that the whole nation honors Martin Luther King I felt it important that I do some research. This book provided great detail. I would recommend it to anybody.

Across the other side of the world many women were having similar experiences during these times. In reading this book I felt an empathy with the authors and felt for them as they described their committment to what they were doing. They were open in telling about how they moved from one kind of thinking to another and how their experiences were influenced by their thinking and vice versa. Such heroines fullfill their lives and the lives of others, both at the time of their activities, and now by telling us in a clear way how it was. Thank you from New Zealand, where like you, we are still fighting against the effects of racism.

This collection of stories, detailing the lives of nine white women active in the fight to end racial segregation and discrimination in this country, is sure to touch your heart. It is a must read for anyone interested in learning more about the Civil Rights movement of the sixties. I couldn't put it down.