There was a time in American history when blacks had limited rights and needed protection. Ann Moody was born near Centerville, Mississippi, on September 15, 1940 (Moody, 2011). The child of two low-income sharecroppers and the oldest of many kids, Moody assumed more responsibilities at a young age and quickly became an adult. After graduating from high school in 1959, Moody earned a basketball scholarship to Natchez Junior College and then attended Tougaloo College (Moody, 2011). Moody became an early participant in the Civil Rights Movement, assisting in organizing the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and participating in the May 28 Woolworths sitting in 1963 (Moody, 2011). In this way, the female actively cooperated with the leaders of the Movement in order to achieve her goal. However, Ann Moody considers that the leadership of the Civil Rights Movement has no connection to African Americans. She thinks they can provide inspirational speeches but cannot solve poverty, housing, and welfare problems.
It is essential to mention that the woman was born into a low-income family and has faced racism and other oppression since childhood. Despite this, Ann Moody successfully obtained a decent education and became a writer who supported the Civil Rights Movement all her life (Moody, 2011). The woman not only participated in demonstrations but also highlighted the challenges of racial discrimination in her books. Therefore, Ann Moody’s experience is not typical for several reasons. Firstly, the female received an education and became a famous writer without considering her race (Retzlaff, 2021). Secondly, sexist attitudes were widespread in that period, but this did not affect the struggle that Anne Moody was leading.
The experience of Muda’s struggle can be compared to the bus boycott in the American city of Montgomery. This event occurred in 1955-56 and lasted exactly one year and 20 days (Retzlaff, 2021). In this way, blacks fought against segregation in public transport. The bus boycott was one of the first and most high-profile episodes in the history of the black struggle for civil rights. It was civil liberties that Ann Moody defended; that is why the demands of the individuals who participated in this event are valuable and understandable to her (Retzlaff, 2021). Meanwhile, according to the laws of the city of Montgomery, black citizens were not supposed to occupy the first four rows of buses for whites only. Thus, people opposed the oppression of their rights and demanded officially recognizing racial segregation in transport as illegal. Transport companies were on the verge of ruin, as bus passengers were primarily black; the authorities began prosecuting the activists (Retzlaff, 2021). Eventually, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision was issued in the interests of the rebellious population.
This episode can be correlated with the efforts of Ann Moody, a woman who continually studied U.S. Supreme Court decisions concerning discrimination and segregation. As a result, it presented her with legal evidence that black people have the same rights as whites. Accordingly, she did more than support the civil rights movement; the woman argued from existing case law (Retzlaff, 2021). Thus, the boycott of buses in the American city of Montgomery and other prominent speeches for rights inspired Ann Moody throughout her life. The female studied such events and formed her life stance on the example of strong and independent black persons who were not afraid to defend their rights.
References
Moody, A. (2011). Coming of age in Mississippi: The classic autobiography of growing up poor and black in the rural South. Dell.
Retzlaff, R. (2021). The Montgomery bus boycott and the racial basis for interstate highways and urban renewal. Journal of Urban History, 47(6), 1301-1347. Web.