Southern Rural Black Women's Initiative

2007

SOUTHERN RURAL BLACK

WOMEN’S
HALL OF FAME

As a result of a Share Your Heritage Workshop sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and held in Albany, Georgia in October 2004, SRBWI has established the “Southern Rural Black Women’s Hall of Fame.” The Hall of Fame serves to:

Often we take for granted or diminish the extraordinary lives and efforts of the women among us. Recognizing these women in a Hall of Fame is a way of, not only valuing and honoring their contributions to our community, but of providing an opportunity for women to lift up and affirm each other. Too many of our stories are being lost, forgotten and owned by others. – Sophia Bracy Harris, Director SRBWI Alabama and Federation of Childcare Centers of Alabama

· Promote a sense of pride among southern rural black women, their families and their communities;

· Document and preserve inductee’s local legacies, community history and traditions;

· Recognize inductees by public ceremony and enshrine their collective accomplishments in a designated Hall of Fame in their state.

· Create new economic opportunities in 77 counties in the Blackbelt of Alabama and Georgia and the Mississippi Delta.

Inductees are selected from among women who were willing to confront the powers that be, take on the system, and take a stand in their communities. They are women whose everyday choices affected the course of history – whether by championing the rights and futures of children, through their involvement in the Civil Rights movement, or through actions and expressions that have helped to develop and motivate others.

Inductees and their legacies will be honored in the following categories:

Faith – known for spiritual or religious leadership, guidance or example
Sacrifice – known for personal sacrifice or martyrdom
Action – known for taking progressive action
Cooperation – known for fostering cooperation, creating cooperative structures
Reflection – known for documenting, reflecting, guidance
Expression – known for artistic and expression
Education – known for creating educational opportunities or educational attainment
Cultivation – known for cultivating, building, nurturing individuals, organizations and communities

The Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative will hold the Mississippi State Induction Ceremony to publicly recognize inductees and their accomplishments. The Mississippi State Induction Ceremony will be held Saturday October 6, 2007 at the Our House, Inc., 1213 VFW Road, Greenville, MS 38704

The Mississippi Honoree are:

Lillie Ayers, Washington County

Thelma Palmer Barnes, Washington County

Sister Thea Bowman, Madison County (Trailblazer)

Dr. L.C. Dorsey, Bolivar County,

Bertha Burres Luster, Quitman County

For more information contact, Wendy Shenefelt at 601-321-1966 or wshenefelt@childrensdefense.org

We would like to thank the SRBWI Cultural Heritage Planning Committee for planning the Hall of Fame and related activities since 2003. Committee members include: Carol Blackmon, SRBWI; Sarah Bobrow-Williams, SRBWI; Martha Boyer, Jefferson County Board of Education, AL; Sophia Bracy Harris, Federation of Childcare Centers of Alabama; Jeanne Cyriaque, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Historic Preservation Division; Winifred Green, SRBWI, Coalition for Educational Equity; Senator John Hohrn, State Senator, MS; Anthony Knight, Atlanta History Museum; Carolyn McKinstry, Birmingham Civil Rights Museum, 16th Street Foundation; Georgette Norman, Troy University, Rosa Parks Museum, Shirley Sherrod, Southwest Georgia Project for Community Education, Federation of Southern Cooperatives; and Alex Thomas, Mississippi Department of Tourism.