Civil Rights Activist Dr. Fannie Rushing Visits Upper School Class

Dr. Fannie Rushing brought her personal experience of being an activist to the Upper School Civil Rights class. Dr. Rushing spoke about her time working with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), a civil rights group made up of mostly Black college students who participated in many noteworthy events of the Civil Rights Movement.

 

“An important part of being able to make change is to understand resistance,” Dr. Rushing said before telling the story of the founding of SNCC and how it traced back to the original sit-in protest in Greensboro, NC. Shortly after this event, famed activist Ella Baker gathered several Civil Rights leaders at Shaw University to discuss how to continue the success of the Greensboro sit-in, and SNCC was born. Dr. Rushing worked as a Field Secretary for SNCC in Atlanta during the 60s. She also taught in Freedom Schools, which arose during Freedom Summer of 1964.

 

Dr. Rushing gave additional information about other inspirational Civil Rights leaders of the times such as Fannie Lou Hamer, Angela Davis, Herbert Lee and Medgar Evers. She also spoke to how the movement grew after the passing of the Voting Rights Act including work outside of the U.S., the rise of the Black Power movement and protesting against the Vietnam War.

 

The class ended with students asking questions that referred to the added layer of being a woman during the Civil Rights era. Dr. Rushing alluded to times when it was more difficult but was greatly inspired by the other female leaders at the time.

 

Dr. Rushing is the perfect example of the leadership and active citizenship that we hope to instill in each of our students. Her story and her legacy are truly inspiring, and we are grateful she was able to come share her wisdom!

 

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