In the introduction to Freedom Walk: Mississippi or Bust, Mary Stanton, the author, categorizes her book as "shadow history," books that celebrate the, let's say, supporting actors in major historical events. They're the people that might start something or move something along, but they're not the names history connects to the event. They're not the stars.
Freedom Walk's event is the push for civil rights in the early sixties. It's recent; we can easily name the stars, and they do appear in Freedom Walk—but mostly as offstage characters since this book studies a pretty-much unpublicized event. "On April 23, 1963 Bill Moore, a white mailman, was shot on a highway near Attala, Alabama. He was walking to Jackson, Mississippi, from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to hand-deliver a plea for racial tolerance to Governor Ross Barnett. Floyd Simpson, a white Alabama grocer, was arrested and charged with Moore's murder." (page xiii)
Freedom Walk is then about Bill Moore, racial conditions in the South, and the people who marched as a way of honoring his sacrifice. It's interesting. I first heard mention of the book while reading a book on integration in the Methodist church. In my review I quoted a section that mentioned Freedom Walk, and Emma G. (I'm pretty sure it was Emma G.) posted that her family was in it. So, is Sam Shirah the one in your family, Emma?
Interesting stuff:
1) Long before the walk, Moore was diagnosed as schizophrenic and hospitalized. His stay was probably longer than necessary because he refused to step down from principles he held. "It does no good to yield on one point. They will insist that I yield and yield until I have no independent mind left. Better hold the line and never compromise." (page27) Gotta admire that type of thinking, at least IMHO.
2) In a diary Moore ruminates on that period of his life. "Was I crazy? … Yes, I was crazy as fanatical Christians are crazy, though not quite so bad. I never predicted an eternity of hell for those who disagreed with me." (page 31) Gotta admire that type of thinking.
3) Each chapter begins with a quote, two of which are really cool. A) "Nothing will ever be accomplished if all possible objections must be first overcome." Dr. Samuel Johnson. (page 33) B) "Beware of the man whose God is in heaven." George Bernard Shaw.
4) From Moore's diary: "I think of all the troubles all over the earth and I wonder if I'll ever really be able to do my share to help save the world." (page 84) Are there really people who think that way? Are they crazy? I have enough trouble getting successfully through a day; being responsible for a share in saving the world is way outside my parameters. Maybe I'm just too selfish. Do you think Obama thinks he must take a part in saving the US, or is it all an ego trip?
5) In Fort Payne, Alabama, "Shirah (a young man taking part in a later, Moore-inspired walk) noticed a little white boy clutching at his mother's skirts. With his free hand the boy waved to them. When the mother realized what he was doing she slapped him hard, and he started to cry." (page 121) Two thoughts: A) Yep, hate is taught, and B) I really hope that little boy grew up and realized his mother was wrong.
6) "Simpson (the murderer) knew that not all men were saved and not everyone could claim God's love. Only born-again Christians enjoyed that privilege." (page 141) grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Moore himself was an atheist, a belief that was as despised as much as or maybe more than his position on race.
7) At one point marchers asked J. Edgar Hoover if the FBI could provide protection. He responded, "[W]e most certainly do not and will not give protection to civil rights workers. The FBI is not a police organization." (page 172) Whoooe, Grandpa! Get your rifle. Its open season on the civil rights folks.
8) Shirah was eventually shot ( BTW the shooter was a jealous husband not related in any way to the civil rights movement), and in a memorial service the pastor said of Shirah that "Samuel was one of the children of the parsonage who frightened us by taking what he heard in church more seriously than we ever dreamed he might." (page 206) Yep. Christians better be careful. Someone might actually think you want what you preach. (Scoutgal, please don't be offended. I know not all Christians are hypocrites.)
9) Lets end this part with a quote from George Wallace. "The instincts of a common-sense Alabamian … are better than the brains of any New York intellectual moron." (page 207) AARGH! Please tell me there's a none-of-the-above category.
Final thoughts: I found the book interesting and think anyone interested in the civil rights movement would also.
