CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

An orange cover of Bernice Reagon’s album of freedom songs features a photograph of Dawson taken on the steps of the state Capitol in Montgomery, Alabama, a few days after the 1965 Selma March.
The cover of Bernice Reagon’s album of freedom songs features a photograph of Dawson taken on the steps of the state Capitol in Montgomery, Alabama, a few days after the 1965 Selma March.

Photo: Courtesy of Kipp Dawson

Kipp Dawson began her Civil Rights activism in the 1950s in high school inspired by her mother’s union work, the horrifying murder of Emmett Till, and the Southern students who were leading demonstrations. Dawson went on to help organize major sit-ins in San Francisco to end racial discrimination in hiring. Arrested six times, she spent a month in jail. She also helped to lead the Free Speech Movement, paving the way for massive student involvement in the anti-war movement.

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