Recognizing Anne Moody

Giving Credit to Whom it is Due

By Roscoe Barnes III

Chairman, Anne Moody History Project

Copyright © 2017

#AnneMoody

Anne Moody's book, Coming of Age in Mississippi, will
soon turn 50. It was first published on December 3, 1968

-------------------------------------------------

This month, as we celebrate the Christmas holiday season, my mind is on the legacy and life history of civil rights pioneer Anne Moody. Forty-nine years ago this month, her autobiography, Coming of Age in Mississippi, was published by Dial. And thankfully, it is still in print and still being read in schools throughout the United States.

Her achievement as a literary giant prompts me to reflect on her level of prestige and her place in our history. At the same time, I find myself thinking about her struggles. I think about what it was like for her growing up as a poor black child in southwest Mississippi during the Jim Crow era. I’m also thinking of the sacrifices she made in the interest of freedom and justice, and all the other things that she did to make life better for others.

Moody was, by all accounts, an unexpected star. According to Ed King, former chaplain at Tougaloo College, she was “one of the heroines of the civil rights movement.” Moody was a gentle warrior and a strong black woman who risked her own life in the fight against bigotry, segregation and discrimination. She overcame poverty, hate, and negative stereotypes that smothered rural Mississippi and held black people down. She was jailed and sometimes beaten. She participated in some of the historic peaceful protests of the 1960s. She also worked with major leaders of the movement. Through it all, she never forgot her roots. And fortunately for us, she lived to tell her story.

This Christmas, I am personally thankful to her for the gift of Coming of Age in Mississippi. I am also grateful to Jackie Robinson for encouraging her to write the book. She died in 2015 at the age of 74, but her book lives on.

Over the past few weeks, news reports in Mississippi have touched on the state’s civil rights history. Some of this interest was generated, no doubt, by news of the official opening of the Civil Rights Museum in Jackson, which occurred on Saturday, December 9, 2017. While it was certainly important to discuss the contributions of Medgar Evers, Fannie Lou Hamer, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and other civil rights workers/leaders, it would have been good, I think, to give more attention to Moody.

Moody’s book was originally published in 1968. According to her sister, Frances Jefferson, and Random House, the hardback edition rolled off the press on December 3, 1968. Next year will be the book’s 50th anniversary.

“Coming of Age was a big deal when it came out, and it’s still a big deal now, nearly fifty years later,” wrote civil rights author M.J. O’Brien. “It is read in literature and history classes in high schools, colleges and universities throughout the country, indeed, around the world. It is one of those rare sorts of books that has never gone out of print. It is a modern-day classic.” 

O’Brien is the author of We Shall Not Be Moved: The Jackson Woolworth's Sit-In and the Movement It Inspired  (University Press of Mississippi, 2013). Earlier this month, he visited a Mississippi prison where Moody was being recognized by a state senator. He commented: “It’s high time that she gets that kind of recognition.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Visit here to see how we’re 

working to keep her legacy alive!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Despite the extraordinary success of Moody’s book, including her work as a civil rights pioneer, her name is noticeably absent in many discussions about history in general and civil rights in particular. That is unfortunate.

As a number of people have observed, Moody has not been given the attention she deserves. In an opinion piece published in The Natchez Democrat, Publisher Kevin Cooper noted, “For many Americans, her name may be unfamiliar, but for Mississippians her name should be familiar, but sadly it’s not as well known as it should be.”

A similar view is shared by Darrell S. White, director of the Natchez Museum of African American History & Culture, who believes that more should be done to recognize Moody. In a September 2017 email, he wrote, “The motto of the museum is ‘WE exist to tell our story,’ --  the story of Ann Moody deserves far more exposure than what has been previously offered.”

That sentiment was also echoed by Tracy Carr, director of the Mississippi Library Commission. In an interview earlier this year, Carr stated she was surprised at the lack of attention that had been given to Moody’s work. She commented: “I was a little shocked that she hadn’t gotten the recognition she deserved.”

With the aforementioned views in mind, I want say that one of my Christmas wishes this year, and for the foreseeable future, is for Anne Moody to get the recognition she deserves. May she receive all of the credit she is due.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Visit here to see the timeline of important

events in Anne Moody’s life history!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For more information: 

See the Anne Moody page here.

Questions about the Anne Moody History Project may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III via email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com. For updates on Anne Moody history and the on-going work of this community service project, simply follow this blog or follow AMHP on Twitter (@AnneMoodyHP). #ComingOfAgeinMississippi