Shirley Green-Reese
Born
Americus, Georgia, U.S.
EducationSavannah State University (BS)
Georgia State University (MS)
Occupation(s)Professor, Researcher
MovementCivil Rights Movement

Shirley Green-Reese is a civil rights activist, professor, and a researcher who rose to prominence as one of the 1963 Leesburg Stockade Girls. She was one of the fourteen (14) African American girls who were imprisoned during the Civil Rights Movement in Dawson, Georgia and Leesburg, Georgia.[1]

Green-Reese was a councilwoman in Americus, Georgia.[2] She was the first female from Georgia to serve as the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics at Albany State University. She is also a member of Prince Hall Order of the Eastern Star.[3][4]

She was also the first female from Georgia to serve on committees such as National Collegiate Athletic Association Management Council, NCAA National Youth Sports Program, and Cost Containment Committees among others.[5] She was nominated to represent the State of Georgia as one of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators State Nation Builders.[6]

Education

Green-Reese's studied at Savannah State University, where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Health and Physical Education. She further studied at Georgia State University, obtaining a Master's degree in administration of health, Physical Education, and Recreation. She completed her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Administration, Supervision, and Professional Preparation at The Florida State University.[3][5]

Involvement in the civil rights movement

Green-Reese was born in Americus, Georgia, during the era of racial segregation. In the summer of 1963, at the age of 13, she participated in a civil rights protest organized by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The protest aimed to challenge the segregation laws at Americus' Martin Theater, where black patrons were required to use a separate entrance at the back of the theater.[1][7][8]

As a result of her participation in the protest, Green-Reese and at least 200 or more were arrested by the Americus law enforcement. She and other protesters were held in several nearby jails and holding facilities, before she and 13 other girls were secretly transported to the Leesburg Stockade. Despite being only 20 miles away from their homes, their parents had no knowledge of their whereabouts.[4][9][10]

Rescue and aftermath

Green-Reese and her fellow detainees were discovered and rescued by Danny Lyon, a SNCC photographer. Lyon took several pictures of Green-Reese and the girls in the stockade, exposing the horrifying conditions they endured. The photographs were published in various newspapers, bringing national attention to the plight.[11][12]

After their release, the Leesburg Stockade Girls returned to their homes without any formal acknowledgment or apology for their wrongful imprisonment. Green-Reese kept her experience largely private for decades until 2015.[13][14][15]

Recognition

The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture highlighted their story in 2016, and a historical marker advocated by Green-Reese was erected at the stockade's site by the Georgia Historical Society on September 21, 2019.[16][17]

References

  1. 1 2 Rosenzweig-Ziff, Dan (28 August 2021). "During the 1963 March on Washington, these Black girls were locked up in Georgia". The Washington Post.
  2. ↑ "John Lewis Fellowship hears story of Leesburg Stockade Girls". The Albany Herald. 26 July 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Shirley Green-Reese, Ph.D. to run for District 5". Americus Times-Recorder. 16 September 2021.
  4. 1 2 Tuten, Kassandra (2 August 2016). "The Stolen Girls (1963)". BlackPast.org.
  5. 1 2 Klopfenstein, Kelsey (30 November 2020). "FSU College of Education to honor 2020 distinguished alumni". Florida State University.
  6. ↑ Parks, Jennifer (1 November 2018). "Shirley Green-Reese to receive national honor, pass on stockade message to National Action Network". The Albany Herald.
  7. ↑ Esty-Kendall, Jud; Bowman, Emma. "'I Gave Up Hope': As Girls, They Were Jailed In Squalor For Protesting Segregation". National Public Radio.
  8. ↑ Loyd, Greg (16 December 2021). "Georgia Civil Rights pioneer, educator seeking kidney donor". WGXA.
  9. ↑ Poitevint, Bobby (24 October 2020). "Leesburg Stockade girl searching for kidney". WALB.
  10. ↑ "One of the Leesburg Stockade Girls seeks kidney donor". WSAV-TV. 18 February 2021.
  11. ↑ Levins, Sandy (2 February 2022). "The Leesburg Stockade Girls - A Civil Rights Horror of 1963". WednesdaysWomen.
  12. ↑ Jr, Tom Zeller (18 April 2016). "The Unstudied Scars of Civil Rights Resistance". Undark Magazine.
  13. ↑ Parker, Marilyn (1 March 2019). "56 years later: Stockade Girls continue telling their story". WALB.
  14. ↑ Gustafson, Ken (17 January 2020). "Former "Leesburg Stockade Girl" Dr. Shirley Green-Reese shares her experience". Americus Times-Recorder.
  15. ↑ "The Leesburg Stockade Girls, a Forgotten Moment in Civil Rights History". StoryCorps.
  16. ↑ Team, WALB News (3 March 2016). "Smithsonian honoring south Ga. Stockade Girls". WALB.
  17. ↑ Parks, Jennifer (6 March 2016). "Photo of Lee County Stockade Girls to be included in Smithsonian publication". The Albany Herald.
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