"The Power of Passionate and Determined Individuals Working Together": Judith Frieze Wright's Acts of Resistance

So already, Judith Frieze Wright might not have written Acts of Resistance: A Freedom Rider Looks Back on the Civil Rights Movement had her own adult children not encouraged her to tell her story. I'm so glad that they did--and not just for the sake of her grandchildren who, as a result, will always have a record of her participation in the Civil Rights Movement.

Judy Wright's book does a number of things: it reflects on life decisions, their motivations and impacts, in and beyond the decision-making moment; it continues a personal tradition of political activism that aims tirelessly at justice for all; it chronicles a deepening understanding of white privilege and its consequences; and it makes concrete the day-to-day realities of chipping away at the unjust status quo. Twice during the 1960s, a desire to do something personally meaningful and "right" for others led Judy to Mississippi, where she bravely, quietly, and consistently collaborated with others to eradicate racial inequality and injustice. It mattered then, it mattered to Judy personally and to the country going forward from then, and it still matters--which is why it's so important that Judy wrote this book.

I've known Judy and her husband Sib for a long time, have heard parts of her story from her and others over the years, have even come to a deeper understanding and appreciation of some parts of her story in the past few years. But I hadn't known the whole story--all of its chapters, its chronology, and its intertwined underpinnings and crucial motivations.

Meridian, Mississippi*

Judy's book consists primarily of one long "Civil Rights" story and a series of shorter ones separated by an account of the reflective "back home" interlude between them. The long story chronicles Judy's experiences as a Freedom Rider; the shorter ones relate her voter registration efforts in and around Meridian, Mississippi and her experiences as part of assembled crowds, especially in churches and court rooms.

In many instances, Judy quotes others at length, providing us with the opportunity to be as moved, inspired, and/or deflated by their words as she was. As long as I've known Judy, she's always made space for other people to be and speak their truest selves.** In quoting extensively--for example, from mothers grieving for lost sons and individuals thwarted in their attempts to register to vote--Judy signals that words and the powerful messages they yield truly belong to those who speak them. Such messages need only to be shared, not embellished or explained.

Therein lies Judy's humility, which permeates this book--and which is so deeply part of who she is. Judy's writing of this book is not an exercise in "virtue signaling"; there is nothing here that says, "Look at me and what I did" or "Check out my enlightened perception of this moment or event"; if anything, Judy directs our attention away from herself and toward individuals she recalls vividly. Generally, she presents herself as a member of groups: freedom riders, voter registration activists, courtroom audiences, funeral attendees. She further emphasizes her lack of individual importance when she refers to Acts of Resistance on its back cover as a "little book" and categorizes her own story as "just one of the hundreds that could be told . . .."  

Judith Frieze Wright as seen on amazon.com

But the truth is that the big stories of the Civil Rights era couldn't have been written without the many smaller stories such as Judy's. The writers of those smaller stories reinforced one another's courage and commitment; trained together to persevere through fear and violent confrontation; and then acted, knowing always that they were putting their bodies, and thus their lives, on the line. In an era in which celebrity and greatness are often equated, in which people regularly strive to stand out from the pack, and in which people regularly abandon principle for the sake of "safety" and "success," Judy's and others' small stories and "little books" are much needed.

For that reason, I'm especially excited that Acts of Resistance is such an accessible book, emotionally and intellectually. Judy's writing is both clear and heartfelt. We understand exactly what Judy is feeling at critical junctures, be it fear, grief, frustration, confusion, and/or hope; we marvel at how she manages to persist even in highly discouraging and sometimes dangerous situations. 

We also always understand what's happening and why. Judy provides just enough background information and context so that the events she describes make sense to readers of various ages and levels of "Civil Rights Movement" knowledge. We're told what "COFO" stands for; we're provided with some African American voter registration statistics so that we can grasp the seriousness of the situation that Judy and others are working to change. Regardless of who we are, we're not left out. My ninety-four-year-old father-in-law just read and loved this book--so much so that he chose to write to Judy after he read it. I can easily imagine high school students being engaged by it, too--a very important thing, given that they are coming of age in an era in which inclusive notions of "We the people" are sorely under siege. In fact, Judy speaks about this directly in her epilogue: the need for activism--especially collective, organized activism--continues, she asserts gently but firmly. As she says on the book's back cover, "We must never forget, especially in these times, the power of passionate and determined individuals working together to make change."

"Voices"

On the afternoon of the day my husband and I were driving from Gettysburg to Pittsburgh to visit my father-in-law, we came upon signs indicating that the Flight 93 National Memorial was just a few miles up ahead. And so we stopped to visit "Voices," the tower of wind chimes that memorializes those who died on that Shanksville, Pennsylvania field on September 11, 2001 as result of a deliberate, collective act. We can know their names, as we can know the names of the individual Freedom Riders, but both groups will always be known first and foremost collectively rather than individually--and that's as it should be. 

It takes a lot of important, courageous little stories to create a heroic big story. In light of this, Judith Frieze Wright's Acts of Resistance: A Freedom Rider Looks Back on the Civil Rights Movement isn't really such a little book at all. I strongly recommend it.

* Photograph accompanying this blog post: Malvaney E. (2015, May 15). Mississippi Streets: 1960s Meridian [Web log post]. Retrieved June 17, 2019, from https://misspreservation.com/2015/05/15/mississippi-streets-1960s-meridian/ 
** Just because Judy listens generously does not mean she doesn't listen astutely: she can differ very lovingly with people. I always admire this in her.