With all of the talk about the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Riders, I thought it was appropriate to mention this old article from Glamour magazine about the childhoods of two women from very different backgrounds. Both poor but one black, one white and in 1960's Mississippi, that was enough. One was Angela Lewis, the daughter of murdered civil rights worker James Chaney and the other was Donna Ladd, yes, the editor of the Jackson Free Press.
While this blog has engaged in very colorful criticism of her and her publication, I still recommend reading this article. I'm not going to post any excerpts as I don't want to skew the interpretation and doing so would not do the story any justice. Some of you will be tempted to take potshots at her because of her background discussed in the story. All I can say is I don't begrudge anyone trying to better herself and improve the lot of those around her. Many have left Mississippi to find their way or seek better opportunities and she is no different than the rest of them in that respect.
Then there is the story of Ms. Lewis's childhood? One can't imagine what it was like to grow up in fear as she did, knowing the killers lived only a few miles away and were protected by the state. A childhood lacking a father, unable to even admit who her father was as violence did come to his family after his death. I won't insult her story with any descriptions of it as anything I write will be an insult to her. Its a story that needs to be told and one that should be remembered.
3 comments:
Thank you. I have met Ms. Ladd. She is easily demonized in the abstract, but she is endearing in person. It helps to know that she has true grit, earned the hardest sort of way. As for Ms. Lewis, I agree with you that her story does not require further comment. God bless her and keep her.
thank you for posting this Kingfish.
Good read.
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