This Bright Light of Ours: Stories from the Voting Rights Fight

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments Deep gratitude and respect go to all of the courageous individuals who entrusted me with their stories. Special thanks to my dear SNCC friends Charles “Chuck” Bonner and Luke (Bob) Block for helping to re-­ create our summer as teenage civil rights workers. Wilcox County community leaders who opened doors and answered endless questions include: W. Kate Charley , Sheryl Threadgill, Alma King, Gloria Jean McDole, and John Matthews . Civil rights photographer Bob Fitch provided historic images that enrich this work immensely. For generous encouragement, insight, and expert counsel over the years despite his own demanding publication schedule: Lewis V. Baldwin. For consistent fact checking, terminology, and po­ liti­ cal theory, thanks to Bruce Hartford, lay historian and web manager for the Civil Rights Veterans website . Scott E. Kirkland, curator of the History Museum of Mobile, played a vital role in the placement of this book. At the University of Ala­bama Press, acquisitions editor Donna Cox Baker embraced this project and ushered it through the publication process. Editor in chief Dan Waterman and the editorial board’s commitment to the full history of the South is admirable. For early encouragement, I am indebted to Kathy Nasstrom, Bettina Aptheker , and the late James Houston. Developmental editor Cassandra Shaylor helped shape the book. Historian Martha Jane Brazy of the University of South Ala­bama enthusiastically embraced the work and contributed to its readability, generously offering me graduate-­ student-­ level attention. Thanks to my cousin Jeanne Hanks for her empathy during years of conversation about this project, and to Debbie Kogan and Esther Bass for friendship and practical assistance. Deep appreciation goes to Joy Crawford-­ Wash­ ing­ ton of BGC Communications for her tireless support and sisterly friendship. Long ago, I wondered why people dedicated books to their spouses or partners, especially when the topic was unrelated to their relationship. Seven xvi / Acknowledgments years later, the answer is clear. My spouse, Samuel Torres Jr., not only provided me with the free­ dom to pursue this project, he also offered frequent and much-­ needed critiques, conducted research, tracked down copyright holders, proofread a dozen drafts, held my hand when I needed it, left me alone when that was best, and did my laundry. I could not have completed a work of this depth and complexity without his love and support. ...