The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a major event in American history and an inspiration to all who believe in the power of non violent protest. Thank you for including the obituary for this great woman who provides the perfect example that great revolutions succeed due largely to the courage,faith and day to day actions of the common folk.
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What a truly magnificent person.
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Thank you for this wonderful piece.
Now I know about another courageous woman who can inspire us all as we struggle with how to defeat the racist criminal in the White House.
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As someone living in Montgomery, I can say her legacy lives on. So many homecooks in this town produce food for sale for all kind of wonderful causes both political and charitable. Unlike my former home, NYC, there is no one to butt in and tell you that you can't sell delicious bbq and baked beans and corn bread out of your kitchen! The only trouble in finding this delicious stuff is getting on the grapevine.
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We owe much to the many unnamed men and women who, literally, put their lives on the line to defy post-slavery oppression. Thank you for this piece about one of them.
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Thanks for this obit. I first heard her name in the Eyes on the Prize documentary, but this obit gives a lot more detail. Much appreciated. I really value knowing about the contributions of people like her.
Georgia Gilmore's efforts inspire me to think about what I can do in my own small way to feed and fund the resistance....
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RIP Georgia...you were and are an angel of hope. Peace.
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What an insightful story that provides a different viewpoint of the Montgomery Buy boycott inner workings. It's another reminder that behind the big names, there are lesser known, but as equally important people helping to push the agenda forward.
I salute Ms. Gilmore as doing what she could do with her God-given talents and applying them to a greater cause. One fried pork chop sandwich at a time.
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Another extraordinary woman fighting for justice, human rights and a better society. Great obituary about a wonderful American!
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A lovely children's picture book was published in 2018, titled Pies from Nowhere, about Ms. Gilmore.
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Curious about the basics: education? marriage, kids, etc? Usually those things are found in an obituary.
Thanks for this series, however, not trying to nitpick!
Great eye opening look at forgotten people who should not ever have been forgotten. Maybe when series is finished, consider publishing it in book form?
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Georgia Gilmore, always and ever an inspiration. Thanks for telling her story. One person can make change happen.
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"But after collecting herself, she complied and stepped off the bus. Before she could get back on, however, the driver sped off. Right then she vowed never to ride the buses again. Black women were vital to keeping the boycott going, Gilmore said in the documentary, “because, you see, they were maids, cooks.
And they was the ones that really and truly kept the bus running,” she added. “And after the maids and the cooks stopped riding the bus, well, the bus didn’t have any need to run.”
This is the submerged type of absolute, embedded racism that trump supporters won't admit. The end of slavery never did mean that black people got any power.
The bus lines relied on the money of black women who cooked and cleaned for whites, the coins of those who did the menial work; in-home daycare for a pittance so those white people could get educated, influential and powerful.
While relying on those hard-earned coins, the bus line ALSO humiliated the riders who paid them! Get back on thru the back door, then roar off, leaving her like that, after she paid. Then, white people sneered at her for making 'fried chicken' to feed a Christian cause. STILL, republicans are telling us that dark Americans should just go away if they want to have a voice in America. Black people are STILL being used, by our president, no less, as scapegoats for all America's faults, with idiot words we've all heard before from bigots.
As they say, racism is woven into the very fibers of the American flag.
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@deb Thanks so much for that lucid and very well written comment. It articulates for me the pieces I have been trying to put together. As an elderly white woman living for over 50 years in NYC, growing up in rural Washington State, I am sickened that I did not pay better attention to the continuing horrific treatment of black citizens all these years. Yes of course I asked questions and read books on the subject and heard personal stories from black friends of blatant racists' attacks, but until recently I never really understood how it is an active national cause by white racists. There was a panel discussion about the debates on TYT network and they showed a clip of one of the female candidates strongly insist on reparation . And a black member of the panel said it meant a lot to her that a white person was saying it. I was moved to tears. Yes of course we whites must do everything we can to fight this racism and stand for equality at last and of course there should be reparation!
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