Visit our new website and learn more about the book, This Bright Light of Ours: Stories from the Voting Rights Fight:  ThisBrightLightofOurs.com

This blog was about the experiences of Maria Gitin (formerly Joyce Brians), a student civil rights worker with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) Summer Community Organization and Political Education (SCOPE) project in 1965 and stories of people that she met, lived and worked with in Wilcox County, AL. Her completed book includes letters, notes and memories of a nineteen year old from California and return visits 40+ years later to gather stories of people who were or are related to the local leaders she worked with. Even though the book is  2014 publication date by University of Alabama Press, this blog will continue to be available to document the voting rights history of Wilcox, County Alabama, activities, conditions and needs in the region today. We welcome contributions from residents and former residents, students and other civil rights veterans of Wilcox County, Alabama. Thank you for your interest in this long-neglected segment of The Civil Rights Movement – Freedom Summer 1965.