By Roscoe Barnes III, PhD
Chairman, Anne Moody
History Project
Copyright © 2018
#AnneMoody
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It was a somber Saturday on Feb.
14, 2015, when about 50 people paid their respects to civil rights pioneer
Anne Moody. They gathered at the Homochitto Association Development Center
(HADC) in Gloster, Miss. Family and friends remembered her as a famous author,
mother, sister, and soldier of the civil rights movement.
Anne died on Feb. 5,
2015, at her home in Gloster, at the age of 74. She had been under the care of
her sister, Adline Moody, who reported she had dementia for several years.
Adline said she stopped eating two days before she died in her sleep.
During the memorial service, people from Anne’s past
and present, consisting of blacks and whites, acknowledged her contributions as
a writer and fighter for freedom and justice. They also recognized her place as an important figure in the nation's history.
“Anne was a freedom
fighter,” said Adline. “She was unmovable in her fight for freedom. She put her
life on the line for all mankind, black or white.”
Related article:
"Anne Moody’s Final Resting Place: Family Buries Her Ashes Beside her Mother in Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery." See here.
National Recognition
Anne had spent her final
years living in reclusion. Few people knew where she was or what she
was doing. Her work as a civil rights worker seemed all forgotten in some
places. But when she died, it seemed the nation stopped for a moment to take
notice, as her name appeared in newspapers across the country.
The New York Times (Feb. 17, 2015) noted her “searing memoir” in a story about her
passing:
“Anne
Moody, whose searing memoir, ‘Coming of Age in Mississippi,’ told what it was
like to grow up black in the era of Jim Crow, died on Feb. 5 at her home in
Gloster, Miss. She was 74.
“Her
death was announced on the website of Representative Bennie G. Thompson,
Democrat of Mississippi. Ms. Moody had had dementia in recent years.”
The Washington Post (Feb. 9, 2015) commented on the enduring legacy of her book:
“Nearly
half a century after its publication, Ms. Moody’s 1968 autobiography remains a
noted volume in the library of first-person accounts describing the inequality
suffered by African Americans of her era. The book recounted her upbringing in
grinding poverty and the experience of discrimination and violence that
propelled her to join the civil rights movement in the 1960s.”
The Associated Press (Feb.
10, 2015) described her story as a “wrenching account” of life in southwest
Mississippi:
“Anne
Moody, whose memoir ‘Coming of Age in Mississippi’ gave a wrenching account of
growing up poor in the segregated South and facing violence as a civil rights
activist, has died.”
Once again Anne’s name was
in the news. While it was pleasing to see the recognition, it was somewhat
of a bitter pill to swallow. After all, a legend was now gone. And all the
praise in the world could not bring her back. People who knew Anne,
including those who read her book, will probably agree that when she died, the
nation lost an icon and Mississippi lost a daughter and heroine of the civil
rights movement.
Daughter of Mississippi
Anne was born on Sept. 15,
1940, in the small rural town of Centreville, Miss. Her parents were Fred Moody
Sr. and Elmira “Too Sweet” Williams Moody. Anne was the oldest of 10 children. In
addition to Adline, her siblings include Fred Moody Jr., Kenneth Jefferson,
Ralph Jefferson, James Jefferson, Vallery Jefferson, Frances Jefferson,
Virginia Gibson, and Leroy Jefferson Jr. Anne’s son, Sasha Straus, and some of
her siblings live in Mississippi.
At the age of 17, Anne
moved to Woodville, Miss. to live with her father, and his wife, Emma. While in
Woodville, she attended Johnson High School and graduated in 1959. She went on
to Natchez College and later to Tougaloo College where she became involved in
the civil rights movement in the early 1960s.
Anne was a student at
Tougaloo College when she appeared in the iconic photo of a sit-in at a
segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter on May 28, 1963, in Jackson, Miss. The
Associated Press reported:
“A
white mob attacked the integrated group of peaceful students, dousing them with
ketchup, mustard and sugar and beating one of the men.
“A
photograph from the sit-in shows Moody sitting stoically at the five-and-dime
counter with food on her head. Moody's eyes are downcast as a man pours more
food on one of her fellow students, Joan Trumpauer.”
Anne lived for a time in
New York. In 1967, she married poet Austin Straus. Her book, Coming of Age in Mississippi, was
published in 1968. It became a bestseller and was translated in many languages.
Their son, Sasha, was born in 1971.
Anne spent 10 years living
in Europe. She returned to Mississippi in her later years. She lectured at
Tougaloo College and the University of Mississippi. She settled in Gloster,
which is only a few miles from her hometown of Centreville.
Memorial Service
Anne’s remains were
cremated on Friday, Feb. 6, 2015. Arrangements were entrusted to Richardson
Funeral Home of Clinton, La. Her memorial service was held at 2753 Antioch
Perkins Road in a rural section of Gloster in southwest Mississippi.
The program opened with a
musical prelude, a hymn of praise, and reading of Psalm 91. The Scripture reading
was followed by a congregational hymn, prayer, a prayer chant and musical
selection.
Several speakers addressed
the audience, including Mr. and Mrs. Robert Chinn, Rev. Ed King, Ben Talbot of
the NAACP, Centreville Mayor Larry Lee, and Dr. Wesley Prater of the Tougaloo College
Board of Trustees.
Lee presented a resolution
on behalf of the town of Centreville, where Moody was born and raised. He said
the town recognized Moody “for her outstanding service to humanity, by and
through her outstanding career in helping others.” He said “she loved working
with young children and teenagers pointing out to them the value of a good
education.”
‘We Shall Overcome’
King, former chaplain at
Tougaloo College and leader in the civil rights movement, remembered Moody as “one
of the heroines of the movement.” He shared a brief message from Psalm 56,
which talks about the difficulties in life and “enemies lying in wait for you.”
King encouraged the audience, saying, “God is on our side and we shall
overcome.”
The Rev. Eva Brown, a
distant relative of Moody, delivered the eulogy. She described Moody as a
warrior for civil rights, a servant, and a “soldier in the army of the Lord.”
She noted that Moody put her life on the line “many times as a soldier” and “she
had so much to say, she had to write it down.” Like the prophets in the Bible,
she “had some good days and some bad days, but she kept on fighting,” Brown
said.
Sister Edna Weatherspoon
provided a solo and Sister Shirley Brown read the Acknowledgments and Obituary.
The program ended with a closing prayer and benediction.
“Anne fought a long good
fight,” said Adline. “Now she’s gone home to be with Jesus Christ, along with
her mother and father.”
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Would you like to know more about Anne Moody?
Visit the Anne Moody page here!
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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
