Marching Across the Putative Black/White Race Line: A Convergence of Narratology, History, and Theory

Abstract

This Article introduces a category of women who, until now, have been omitted from the scholarly literature on the civil rights movement: northern white women who lived in the South and became active in the civil rights movement, while intending to continue to live in the South on a permanent basis following their activism. Prior to their activism, these women may have been viewed with suspicion because they were “newcomers” and “outsiders.” Their activism earned them the pejorative label “civil rights supporter.” This Article presents the stories of two such women. It examines their stories from the perspective of the legal narratology movement and compares them with white female activists in other categories. Next, it analyzes their experiences through the lens of therapeutic jurisprudence. This analysis provides another perspective and voice, and deeper understanding of the tumult of the civil rights era. Like works on other categories of women who participated in the civil rights movement, this Article enhances our knowledge of the civil rights movement, race relations, and the roles played by women.