Georgia Gilmore

Summary

The History Chicks: A Women's History Podcast

Episode: Georgia Gilmore
Release Date: February 12, 2025
Hosts: Susan and Beckett

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Introduction to Georgia Gilmore

In this compelling episode of The History Chicks, hosts Susan and Beckett delve into the life and legacy of Georgia Theresa Gilmore, an instrumental yet often overlooked figure in the American Civil Rights Movement. Through meticulous research and engaging storytelling, they illuminate Gilmore's pivotal role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott and her enduring impact on community activism.

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Early Life and Background (00:33 - 06:19)

Georgia Theresa Gilmore was born on February 5, 1920, in Montgomery County, Alabama. As the eldest of five children, Georgia faced the challenges of growing up under the oppressive Jim Crow laws, which sought to maintain white supremacy in the South.

• Family Dynamics: Georgia’s mother, Janie Clemen or Clements Gilmore, was the primary caregiver, born between 1886 and 1892 in Tuskegee, Alabama. The identity of Georgia's father remains unclear, highlighting the limited historical records often available for African American families of that era.

• Childhood Responsibilities: Growing up on a small farm, Georgia and her siblings managed typical agricultural chores, including tending to a large garden and caring for livestock. By the age of eight, Georgia was responsible for preparing entire meals, a testament to her strong work ethic and early leadership qualities.

• Education and Employment: Georgia attended St. John the Baptist Catholic Elementary School, a segregated institution established in Montgomery in 1914. Upon graduating from eighth grade, she secured a physically demanding job as a tie changer on the railroad, showcasing her resilience and strength. Over the next fifteen years, she also worked as a laundress and later expanded her skills to become a midwife, serving her community during a time when hospital births for African Americans were limited.

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Segregation in Montgomery (06:19 - 08:25)

Montgomery, Alabama, during Georgia's early adulthood, was a city deeply entrenched in segregationist policies. These laws extended to public spaces, transportation, and education, creating a rigid system that marginalized African Americans.

• Public Segregation: "A black person and a white person couldn't even be playing a public game of checkers together or sharing a taxicab" ([07:56]). Such stringent segregation was enforced through local and state laws, ensuring that African Americans remained confined to inferior facilities and opportunities.

• Impact on Daily Life: The segregation extended to public transportation, where black passengers were relegated to the back of buses and subjected to demeaning treatment by white bus drivers. This systemic racism set the stage for the civil rights activism that would later unfold.

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Montgomery Bus Boycott and Georgia's Role (08:25 - 35:16)

Georgia Gilmore emerged as a formidable leader during the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a pivotal event in the Civil Rights Movement.

• Initial Resistance: At 34, Georgia was working as a cook at the National Lunch restaurant on Court Street. Frustrated by the humiliating treatment from a racist bus driver, she chose to boycott the bus system, deciding never to ride them again. This personal decision exemplified her fierce determination to fight against injustice.

  "You cannot be afraid if you want to accomplish anything. You gotta have the willing, the spirit, and above all, you gotta have the get up." — Georgia Gilmore ([00:17])

• Formation of Support Networks: Influenced by the Women's Political Council, founded in 1949 by Mary Fair Burks, Georgia, along with other African American women, began organizing community support. Under the leadership of Joanne Robinson, the council sought more humane bus loading procedures and equitable service across neighborhoods but faced indifference from local authorities.

• One-Day Boycott: In a strategic move, the Women's Political Council orchestrated a one-day boycott, distributing over 30,000 flyers ([20:11]). Although a modest financial impact, this event galvanized the African American community, leading to the formation of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) and the election of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as its president.

• Sustained Activism: Georgia leveraged her culinary skills to support the boycott, organizing fundraisers by selling fried chicken sandwiches, pies, pound cakes, and other homemade goods. Her restaurant became a hub for activists, providing essential funds and a space for strategizing.

  "We will work and fight until justice runs down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream." — Martin Luther King Jr. ([24:17])

• Legal Battles and Arrest: Georgia's outspoken defiance led to her arrest during a trial focused on her boycott activities. Testifying under the name Georgia Jordan, she confronted racist prosecution tactics, underscoring her unwavering commitment to civil rights.

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Continued Activism and Later Life (35:16 - 58:45)

Georgia's activism did not wane after the success of the bus boycott. She continued to challenge segregation through various efforts.

• Desegregation of Parks: In 1957, after her son Mark was arrested for using a segregated park, Georgia spearheaded a lawsuit against the City of Montgomery. Her persistence resulted in the desegregation of parks, pools, and the zoo by 1959, despite significant opposition.

• Community Leadership: Georgia's home on Derricote Street became an unofficial salon for civil rights leaders, including President John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. Her culinary prowess not only supported the movement financially but also provided a vital space for dialogue and planning.

• Personal Resilience: Despite facing unemployment and social ostracism for her activism, Georgia persevered. With support from the MIA, she opened a restaurant from her home, ensuring her continued role in the movement and securing financial independence for herself and her family.

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Legacy and Recognition (58:45 - 71:59)

Georgia Gilmore's contributions to the Civil Rights Movement have left an indelible mark on American history.

• Community Impact: Georgia's efforts extended beyond the bus boycott, fostering a sense of unity and pride within the African American community. Her welcoming restaurant served as a pivotal meeting place for activists, solidifying her status as a community matriarch.

• Acknowledgment and Memorials: In 1995, the Alabama Historical Commission erected a marker in front of her house, albeit with inaccuracies regarding her residence and death date. Her true legacy resides in the countless lives she touched and the progress she helped secure.

• Enduring Influence: Georgia remained active in community service until her passing on March 9, 1990. Her funeral was a testament to her impact, attended by mourners and Montgomery police officers alike, symbolizing the profound change she helped bring to the community.

  "Every time I take a flight, I'm always mindful of the many people who make a successful journey possible. ... had it not been for people like Georgia Gilmore, Martin Luther King Jr. would not have been who he was." — Beckett ([69:44])

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Conclusion

Georgia Gilmore exemplifies the power of grassroots activism and the profound impact one determined individual can have on the course of history. Her unwavering commitment to justice, manifested through community support and strategic action, played a crucial role in dismantling segregation and advancing civil rights in America.

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Notable Quotes

• Georgia Gilmore: "You cannot be afraid if you want to accomplish anything. You gotta have the willing, the spirit, and above all, you gotta have the get up." ([00:17])
• Martin Luther King Jr.: "We will work and fight until justice runs down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream." ([24:17])
• Beckett on Georgia's Legacy: "had it not been for people like Georgia Gilmore, Martin Luther King Jr. Would not have been who he was." ([69:44])

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Further Resources

For those interested in exploring Georgia Gilmore’s story in more depth, the hosts recommend several books and documentaries, including:

• Books:

  • Pies from How Georgia Gilmore Sustained the Montgomery Bus Boycott by D. Rumicio
  • Sweet Justice: Georgia Gilmore and the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Mara Racliffe
  • Household Workers Unite: The Untold Story of African American Women Who Built a Monument by Pramilla Nadison

• Documentaries:

  • Eyes on the Prize (PBS series)
  • Boycott (HBO)
  • Is it Fast Times at Ridgemont High (for cultural context)

• Online Resources:

  • NationalHumanityCenter.org provides the full text of Joanne Robinson’s memoir.
  • NourishingtheMovement.com is dedicated to Georgia Gilmore and the bus boycott.

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Call to Action

The History Chicks encourage listeners to honor Georgia Gilmore’s legacy by advocating for justice and equality in their own communities. They also invite listeners to participate in ongoing efforts to correct historical inaccuracies regarding Gilmore’s contributions.

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“Lift Every Voice and Sing”, also known as the Black National Anthem, closes the episode with a powerful rendition by the United States Navy Band, symbolic of the enduring spirit of the Civil Rights Movement.

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For more information, resources, and to join the conversation, visit thehistorychicks.com.

Transcript

[Susan]

Welcome to the History Tricks, where any resemblance to a boring old history lesson is purely coincidental.

[Beckett]

And here's your 32nd summary. Georgia Gilmour was one of the unsung heroes of the civil rights movement in America.

[Susan]

She said, you cannot be afraid if you want to accomplish anything. You gotta have the willing, the spirit, and above all, you gotta have the get up.

[Beckett]

The end. Let's talk about Georgia Gilmore.

[Susan]

But first, let's drop her into history. In 1955, Marian Anderson became the first black American to sing at New York's Metropolitan Opera. 20 year old Elvis Presley made his first television appearance on the Louisiana Hayride, a local show in Shreveport, Louisiana. Anthony Eden replaced Winston Churchill as a prime minister of the United Kingdom. The polio vaccine was approved for safe use and worldwide production. The inventor Jonas Salk never earned anything from it. He said, there is no patent. Could you patent the sun? The first edition of the Guinness Book of World Records was published in Great Britain. The TV series the Honeymooners, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, the Mickey Mouse Club, Captain Kangaroo and the Johnny Carson show all premiered. Reba McEntire, Donatella Versace, Deborah Winger, Olga Corbett, Whoopi Goldberg and Bill Nye were all born. Emmett Till was murdered. And in 1955, Georgia Gilmore became a woman from nowhere and walked into history.

[Beckett]

Georgia Theresa Gilmore was born on February 5, 1920 in Montgomery County, Alabama, the oldest of the five living children of Janie Clemen or Clements Gilmore, and maybe Mark Gilmore and maybe Austin Gilmore. Unlike almost every other subject we've ever covered, men are veiled in mystery on this one. We really only know of Austin Gilmore's existence because his name appears on George's only brother Morris's death certificate. Janie's listed as a widow in a later census. So there you go.

[Susan]

Well, I think it's important too, because Janie did all the heavy lifting of parenting of these kids. Mama Janie was born somewhere between 1886 and 1892 in Tuskegee, Alabama. Both of her parents were also from Alabama. But Janie herself was born post Civil War, post Reconstruction and also after Jim Crow laws had started to spring up all over the South. So these are laws that she has grown up with her entire life. Jim Crow laws were officially labeled black codes. They were very strict local and state laws basically, basically designed to keep formerly enslaved people and their descendants from being totally free and really to help establish white supremacy.

[Beckett]

Here's what we do know. As a young child, Georgia lived on a small farm where she and her siblings had your typical chores and responsibilities. They Had a large garden. They had chickens and a cow. And they specifically kept saying hogs. Not pigs, but hogs. You tell me, country people, what the difference is. As she got to school age, Georgia and in fact, all of her siblings would be sent to the St. John the Baptist Catholic elementary school, which had been established in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1914. It went first through eighth grade only for African American children. And it was evidently a giant big deal when you got to leave first grade and go to school upstairs. Little kid rewards are hilarious to me. I remember that it was considered a giant treat to be able to go out and hit all the chop chalkboard erasers against the wall and make the chalk fly, and you would come back in filthy and your mother would be angry at you. But it was meant to be a reward, so it's very tricky. Oh, go up those long flights of stairs up to the functionally third floor to go to school now that you're big for this reward.

[Susan]

Hey, you know that school is actually still there. It merged with another school. Now it is Resurrection Catholic school. Go Eagles.

[Beckett]

Oh, Eagles.

[Susan]

I know. I do love that.

[Beckett]

As soon as they were tall enough to stir the pot, yes, pun intended. Mama taught Georgia and her slightly younger sister, Mary Elizabeth, how to cook. Georgia recalls being responsible also for whole meals by the time she was 8 years old. And I think your mom did that, Susan.

[Susan]

Yeah, she did. We were all responsible for meals at the age of nine. So later, but maybe for a similar reason, my mother worked full time, unlike a lot of the mothers in my town. So we got cooking early.

[Beckett]

In this case, it was definitely that Janie had to go out to work in order to support the family. And then there was some sort of upheaval, death, divorce, or desertion, we don't know which. But by the time Georgia was only 10, the family was boarding in town at 16 Hopper Street. No papa with a local butcher and his wife who worked as a laundress. Mama is listed in the census records as a servant to a private family. Georgia grew up to be a tall, strong young woman. Upon her graduation from 8th grade, all the school that was available to her at the time, she got a job as a tie changer on the railroad. Each wooden railroad tie weighs somewhere in the neighborhood of 120 pounds a piece, if that gives you any idea of how very, very strong Georgia was. Over the course of the next 15 years, she also worked as a laundress, which was, of course, another very brutally heavy job. At some point around the time she was 17, Georgia married a man named Henry Merritt, we think, and had her first three children, Walter, Marion and Mark, all born in quick succession before she was 20. The census of 1940 shows Georgia divorced and living with her mother. And Georgia was listed as working as a maid in a private house. In addition, over time, she began to work as a midwife.

[Susan]

In this era, in this place of Montgomery, Alabama, the hospital system was as segregated as other services. There had been black hospitals in Montgomery as far back as the 1890s. Nevertheless, tradition and cost meant that the majority of births among African American women happened at home with a midwife in attendance. She might charge 5 or $10, which is about 60 to 130 in modern day dollars, but she would also most likely take barter. So that's the way that babies were delivered in this era, in this place. So Georgia was a midwife.

[Beckett]

By 1950, 87% of white babies were born in a hospital or clinic, but only 45% of African American babies were born in hospitals because of the barriers of cost and accessibility. In that same census, 1950, she's listed as head of household, as a, quote, practical nurse for private cases. She's living with five of her eventual six children, two of her sisters, a niece and her mother. That's a lot of responsibility. She's also sending her children through Catholic school. There's a high school now attached to the elementary school, so her children are all going to be able to get more education than she herself was offered. At least there was that bit of progress. The school was still a segregated one, however. And in general, Montgomery, Alabama was a strictly segregated city in almost every way, by custom and by law.

[Susan]

It was so segregated that in Montgomery, a black person and a white person couldn't even be playing a public game of checkers together or sharing a taxicab. That's how segregated they were. Although there were exceptions, like if you were a nanny for a white family, you could go to those places. You could be seen with your charges out in public taking care of them. But that would be the only situation where that would happen if you were domestic working for a white family.

[Beckett]

When Georgia was 32, the Montgomery City Code, this is 1952, says, in part, they want to emphasize that the separation of the races in any room, hall, theater, house, auditorium, yard, court, ballpark, public park, or other indoor or outdoor place to which both races are admitted shall be strictly adhered to and also specifically called out city buses and restaurants. Now, everyone lived here. They went to the segregated schools. They went in the, quote, colored entrances. I Wonder if they enacted this into law, like official law at this late date, because things were slipping. Things were beginning to be tested by the year of this ordinance. This, quote, refresher about how things were. Georgia was working as a cook at a restaurant on Court street downtown called National Lunch. The National Lunch was a restaurant that some call a meat and three Southerners. Does this sound familiar to you? Other people call it a plate lunch. Your main meat, fried chicken or pork chops, meatloaf, whatever you have. And then three veg or starch, and then you get a biscuit and some iced tea, probably with a quarter cup of sugar in it because we're in the South.

[Susan]

You're getting sweet tea.

[Beckett]

I know. We're gonna fight about that, aren't we? I can't bear sweet tea.

[Susan]

Oh, I only like. I don't like it unless I am having, I don't know, like some Southern. Like if you had made gumbo for the Super Bowl, I would have had sweet tea.

[Beckett]

We had gumbo yesterday. It had caribou in it. So is it real? Oh, my God.

[Susan]

What?

[Beckett]

Well, he had this caribou in Dewey sausage.

[Susan]

Oh.

[Beckett]

That he got in. In Alaska. And I think he wanted to both make the gumbo and then treat people to a little bit of a shocking experience. I don't really know, but whatever. Okay.

[Susan]

At least it was andouille sausage. I guess that that makes it okay.

[Beckett]

It's fusion, Susie. Well, okay. Maybe at this restaurant you could get a piece of sweet potato pie for dessert, also with your sweet tea. I don't know how people didn't just roll straight to bed from here, frankly, especially since most of their business was lunch. I don't know. It's also unclear exactly if the National Lunch was a restaurant that served both races. The ordinance required a completely separate colored entrance and seven foot walls to clearly separate a black section from a white one. I read an article about a hot dog restaurant that is still there actually in downtown Montgomery, Alabama, called Chris's hot dogs, founded 1917. Who had to get special permission from the clan. Whoa. To just paint a line on the floor a little way in so the customers of color could stop in and pick up their to go orders as they were not allowed to serve them in the dining room. And also they weren't on a corner and had no way to have a colored entrance. I know. So it might have been the same national lunch, but I have to tell you, behind the scenes, the back of house is all people of color. Georgia was cooking, Sister Alice was dishing. Up the side dishes over at the steam tables. And her son Mark washed dishes, which anyone in a restaurant will tell you is the most important person in the back of house. If the dishwasher fails, the whole thing comes crumbling down. You know, give your dishwasher an order of fries, etc.

[Susan]

How do you. You can't just tip a dishwasher though, right?

[Beckett]

You know, the. Usually the servers tip.

[Susan]

Oh, when they tip out at the end. Yeah, okay. Yeah, okay. If they're smart.

[Beckett]

I'm just saying the new ones won't. The experienced ones will. Or you'll buy the guy a beer or, you know. Okay. Keep them on your side.

[Susan]

I gotcha.

[Beckett]

Winter is very harsh on your skin. And I will tell you in the house of wood, it is so dry in here that the cat's water is disappearing every day.

[Susan]

Yeah, I have fish tanks and water disappears out of those every day, too.

[Beckett]

Oh, my gosh. I mean, winter is something. Winter is harsh. And it's time to keep our skin hydrated and healthy and not just the.

[Susan]

Skin on our faces. How about the skin on the rest of our body below our faces? What's been saving me this winter is Osea's undaria algae body butter. After I get out of the shower, I just slather it on. And unlike a lot of other body butters that I've used before, this one just gets absorbed into my skin very quickly. It doesn't leave me with that sticky skin feeling. It just leaves me with soft, hydrated skin. And the scent. Oh, my goodness. The scent is this very light citrus. Maybe there's some sandalwood in there. I don't know what it is, but it's just a very light, fresh scent. I just love it so much. And because of that, I've made Osea's undaria algae body butter part of my personal care routine for 2025.

[Beckett]

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[Susan]

Also segregated in Montgomery were the buses public transportation. Bus drivers were given the, quote, powers of a police Officer. To keep their buses segregated. There was the front section for the white people. The black population had the back of the bus, but they had to step on the bus, pay their fare, climb back down the bus and walk in the rear door. And if they did not follow that rule and the driver called him out on it, he could have them arrested. That's how serious they were about the segregation of the public transportation in Montgomery.

[Beckett]

When Georgia was 34, there was a landmark case in the Supreme Court, Brown vs Board of Education, which outlawed segregation in public schools based on the 14th Amendment, setting a precedent, clearly, for overruling the former standard of separate but equal. We talked about this more during our coverage of Rosa Parks. I will tell you, but several women who had previously been arrested for refusing to give up seats to white passengers or who had been harassed by white drivers joined a lawsuit based on the exact same principles that had been so successful with Brown versus Board of Education. That case began making its extremely glacial way up the court system that was directly related to the Montgomery bus system and segregation. That same year, though, Georgia took her own stand against the Montgomery bus system. So, as Susan said, the protocol for people of color was enter the bus near the driver and pay, then exit the bus and walk down to the back door. To enter the bus to sit in the, quote, colored section. You could not walk from where you paid to through the white people and sit down. Just forbidden. Even then, if more white passengers got on after you, the driver would yell at you to get up and give the new white passenger your seat. And one day, Georgia had had it. Had it. She described her own self as fiery. By the way, it's not just me.

[Susan]

Yeah. I had read a quote about her. It said, everybody could tell you Georgia Gilmore didn't take no junk. You pushed her too far, she would say a few bad words. You pushed her any further, she would hit you.

[Beckett]

Well, she got a particularly mean, racist driver and just decided not to have it anymore. His revenge, of course, was to wield his teeny tiny power. I was going to say his teeny, tiny pee pee. But that, like, implies he did something else, which he did not do. No, no, just psychologically. And he allowed her to pay her money and get off, and then he drove the bus away. From that moment on, Georgia swore she would never, and I mean never, never, never ride the bus again. A boycott of one. You know what boycotts of one do. I have some of those myself. I have a lot of boycotts of one, actually. Don't we all? I think, yes. Boycotts of one may not hit the target. You know, financially, maybe they won't care, and that's fine. What a boycott of one does is remind you who you are and what you stand for, and they are extremely valuable. Yeah, you know who you are and you know who you are not. Well, it is a 27 minute walk each way from George's house to work. That's about two and a half miles a day. And she said it became a way to clear her head. This had gone on for over a year, this walk, this looking about, this solitude, when on Thursday, December 1, 1955, police arrested Rosa Parks for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on the bus. Again, as we said during the Rosa Parks episode, she wasn't the first, but she was a catalyst for change.

[Susan]

There was a woman's group in Montgomery, Alabama. It was called the Women's Political Council. It had been founded back in 1949 by a woman named Mary Fair Burks. But it consisted mostly of women college professors at Alabama State College, which is now Alabama State University. Go Hornets. But it is a historically back college. I can't tell you what joy I have finding out the mascots. Anyway, Alabama State College, at the time, this group was women who were professors there, teachers and people that worked at the college. A woman named Joanne Robinson took over leadership, and when she did, about the same time we're talking now, the group had over 200 members and three chapters throughout Montgomery. The Women's Political Council had been talking with town government, trying to get better treatment on the buses for a long time. They had been sending letters to the councilmen threatening a boycott. But the thing is that they weren't asking technically for desegregation on the buses. The group wanted to address how the buses were loaded. Wasn't necessarily about segregation, but they wanted the white people to fill in the seats from the front to the back, the black people to fill in the seats from the back to the front, and everybody would be happy. This was a system that was used in other cities, and they're bringing this up in their letters. They're also wanting fairer treatment by the bus drivers. And because the majority of the riders of the buses were part of the black community, they wanted more stops. In the white neighborhoods, the bus was stopping on every corner, but in the black neighborhoods it wasn't, and people had to walk farther. But this is the majority of the bus passengers, and that's all they wanted. They weren't asking about mixing of races on the bus. They just wanted A more streamlined and more humane approach to the bus system. That's it. And all they got was crickets.

[Beckett]

It was this women's group who printed and delivered over 30,000 flyers calling for at the time, a one day boycott of the buses. On Monday they stopped by schools and handed them to school children. They went to places of and handed them. The news was all over town and people were energized. So energized with the rumor mill that by Friday a meeting was called at the Dexter Avenue Baptist church by labor leaders, religious leaders and community leaders to talk about the ramifications of the. I mean, I'm telling you, it's inevitable by now, one day boycotts. What could happen? What is our strategy? An association was formed that night called the Montgomery improvement association. And they elected the young pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist church as their president, one Martin Luther King. Come Monday, sure enough, the buses were over 75% empty. Only white patrons rode the bus and less of them than usual because there were some supporters that had heard about this one day boycott and decided also not to ride the bus. Almost 50,000 African Americans who would otherwise have ridden to work, walked, got the bicycles out, or got a ride from a friend. I would actually like to read a quote from Joanne Gibson Robinson's book. It's a little bit long and as a matter of fact, her whole memoir is a lot more personal than any I have seen about the Montgomery bus boycott. So I highly recommend that and we'll recommend it later, but here it is. Before Monday was half gone, Negroes had made history. Never before had they united in such a manner. There was open respect and admiration in the eyes of many whites who'd looked on before, dubious and amused. Even clerks in dime stores, all white, were more cordial. They were heard to add after a purchase by a black customer, y'all come back to see us. Which was a very unusual occurrence. The black customers held their heads higher. They felt reborn. Important for the first time, a greater degree of race pride was exhibited. Many were themselves surprised at the response of the masses and could not explain, if they'd wanted to, what had changed them overnight into fearless, courageous, proud people standing together for human dignity, civil rights, and yes, self respect. There was a stick togetherness that drew them like a magnet. They showed a genuine fondness for one another. They were really free, free inside. They felt it, acted it, manifested it in their entire beings.

[Susan]

I really liked Joanne Robinson. I. You'll talk about her book later. But at this time, Martin Luther King had a really nice thing to say about her, he said, apparently indefatigable. She perhaps more than any other person, was active on every level of the protest.

[Beckett]

I mean, from the beginning, too, I think she was the OG and it was her organization. Everyone gives credit to Martin Luther King, who does deserve a lot of credit, but he was not the one that had the idea to distribute the flyers.

[Susan]

No, he's not the one that stayed late at work mimeographing them off, because this was before Xerox machines and copiers and printers and, oh, my gosh, they smelled so good.

[Beckett]

So there is, like, there's a part in Is it Fast Times at Ridgemont High where everybody gets their mini graft quizzes and they all smell it. I don't know. It was supposed to get you high, high.

[Susan]

I don't know.

[Beckett]

It just.

[Susan]

It was like smelling markers or something. If it did hurt my brain, I, I, I don't know, did it.

[Beckett]

I was a very little kid, so I don't know that we really knew to smell it. So there you go.

[Susan]

Okay. I was older, but not much. Anyway, the thing was, Joanne Robinson really didn't want to be the face of any movement because she could have lost her job. So she kind of hung in the background. But she is in the whole story.

[Beckett]

This one day of activism was so shocking to White Montgomery, so effective that Martin Luther King called for a mass meeting that night to discuss, perhaps we should make it an indefinite boycott. Georgia Gilmore was in the audience that night at the Holt Street Baptist Church.

[Susan]

She was so excited about this meeting that she got there two hours early because she just knew there was a lot of people that were going to be coming. She had seen all the empty buses going by that day.

[Beckett]

She joined over 5,000 people who had come to hear so many that they spilled into the yard, and speakers were pointed outside to hear Martin Luther King say, there comes a time when people get tired of being trampled over by the iron feet of oppression. There comes a time, my friends, when people get tired of being flung across the abyss of humiliation where they experience the bleakness of nagging despair. We will work and fight until justice runs down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream. He's a notoriously motivational speaker, of course, and I'm not doing his words justice. But it was decided the boycott would continue indefinitely. What can I do? Thought Georgia. What can just one person do who does not love the good things in life? Even though I love a little luxury, what I do not like is paying luxury prices. I'm in fact, married to a man for whom full retail is a massive insult. So when I discovered Quince, that was a bit of a coup. It's luxury essentials at affordable prices.

[Susan]

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[Beckett]

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[Susan]

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[Beckett]

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[Susan]

Quince.com chicks.

[Beckett]

So what could Georgia do? What could just one person do? Well, everybody was asked to look around at whatever talents and resources they had. Examine your environment. Do you have a car? Well, you can give people rides. Do you have access to an office, paperwork and PR filing? What Georgia had was cooking skill and also gumption is what she had. She started out small. She collected only $14 in donations and then came to the very next meeting with hampers full of fried chicken sandwiches to sell to the attendees. From that small beginning, Georgia parlayed her efforts into a city wide fundraising network. Georgia and her group of experienced cooks, some professional, some home cooks, sold pies and pound cakes in town at laundries and beauty parlors and barbershops and offices and factories and cab stands. They actually sold outside of restaurants where people might have bought their lunch, but instead they bought from Georgia. And the people they made box lunches and ready made dinners that they sold at the weekly meetings. Yes, and also two white supporters, a surprising number of them who could of course buy a meatloaf supper with all the fixings or a pie a lot more easily than other forms of overt support.

[Susan]

There were two meetings a week on Mondays and Thursdays. It's decided that Georgia is going to be the face of all of these people because there are a lot of people that are doing the cooking who do not want their employers to know that they're supporting this boycott in any way. But Georgia would collect the money from all of the ladies. She would take the money out that needed to buy supplies for the next week, and then she'd put it all in an envelope, and she'd bring it up to the table at the church at the Thursday meeting, and she'd sing a gospel song on her way down the aisle. And she'd present this envelope full of cash, and there were people recording where the money came from. And she said, nowhere. The ladies all started to call themselves the club from nowhere.

[Beckett]

As the weeks went on and the boycott showed no signs of stopping, Montgomery officials were getting more and more upset, which, of course, is the point. By january, the bus company had to double its fares from $0.10 to $0.20 just to stay even. The mayor literally urged white montgomery to stop giving rides to their employees. He was trying to force everyone back onto the bus.

[Susan]

The town council went so far as to enact a law where taxi drivers could not charge 10 cents, which would have been the bus fare to transport black citizens. They it was illegal for them to charge just 10 cents because that was the same price as the bus had been.

[Beckett]

In late january, Martin luther king was stopped for going 30 in a 25, arrested, fingerprinted, and jailed. And he said, don't stop. My intimidation is nothing if victory can be won. And on January 30th, Martin Luther King's house was bombed. Literally bombed. Well, luckily, his family was okay, but the consequences were very serious. I mean, this is actually getting quite dangerous. By february, one of george's neighbors, one rufus lewis, had organized a vast fleet of over 300 cars and trucks and a system of between 50 and 100 official carpool stops. The number of stops varies widely based on the book that you read. And all of these vehicles needed gas, didn't they? Tires, repairs. Georgia's fundraising club was key to the sustainability of the alternate transportation system, key to keeping the pressure on the city. And Georgia was able to present, on behalf of her club during those meetings, hundreds of dollars each week in support of the cause. A friendly rivalry grew up with another food operation. A lady named inez ricks was, I think, enamored with the glory, you know, of george's presentation of the envelope. She decided to start her own group called the friendly club across town as a little bit of a rival. But competition is really good for success. I think it is.

[Susan]

And I think geor Georgia, in any interview I saw of her afterwards, she Kind of loved this. It was like we compete each week, and everybody that was in attendance at the meetings was very anxious to see which side won. You know, it was like it was a big draw for the meetings.

[Beckett]

And she said that sometimes people would like thinking, oh, no, it might be close. They would, like, get an extra pie just in case.

[Susan]

And we're talking, you know, you said how much she was making, but it was 100, like about 125 to $500 a week. But that's in $1955. In modern day dollars, that's 1500 to almost $6000 a week.

[Beckett]

That's good. And, you know, I actually thought about this. You know, those games where you, like, sort three things like Candy Crush or whatever. It's almost like Georgia and Inez were gamifying the fundraising.

[Susan]

Yes, yes.

[Beckett]

You give everyone a little shot of dopamine every Monday, and they come back to the well, you know. Yeah, it's very good and it's super fun, and everyone loved it. And it's a way that black women, most of whom worked in white Houses, actually could contribute to a greater cause, you know, so if you've ever said, what can I do? I'm only one person. Many drops of water make a mighty ocean. My grandma used to say that.

[Susan]

That's a very nice thing to say. And, you know, I think that there were a lot of white female employers who bought their dinners from their cooks and their. That were.

[Beckett]

Yeah.

[Susan]

And they just presented them as their own dinner or whatever. Just don't tell my husband, you know, that's how they were giving him rides. Don't tell my husband, you know, just. Just do it. You see, it needs to be done. You don't need any fanfare. Just do it.

[Beckett]

The weekly meetings were also of great psychological benefit. It was a place to tell your story of all the tribulations you'd had to go through to realize you were not alone. You'd look around in the morning also walking side by side with your neighbor or riding side by side with your neighbor, and you would understand that you were part of something bigger than yourself, that you were not alone.

[Susan]

If you see any pictures or there's a. We'll recommend a documentary later. It looks almost like a parade coming down the street. There are so many people packed on these small city sidewalks in Montgomery, Alabama, because they're all walking to work. They're walking to wherever they need to go.

[Beckett]

I love it. And Georgia was a powerful figure in this burgeoning movement. Here's a Story of Georgia's temper and her near invincibility. Also, that, I think, is kind of a window into her personality. She was once walking along and some white teenagers yelled out the window, hey, and don't, you know, it would be easier on you if you walked? And she's like, no, cracker. I would rather walk than get on that bus. And you have a nice day.

[Susan]

Yep. In late February, there were more arrests because the government and the mayor of this town were just wanting to stop this boycott. The bus companies were complaining. They were losing money every single day. So they had 89 people that were associated with the boycott, including Dr. Martin Luther King, including Joanne Robinson, including Rosa Parks, that were arrested on the charge of. From a 1921 law that said boycotts were illegal without probable cause. They got caused. I think they got caused.

[Beckett]

Martin Luther King, though, of course, was the one that they focused on. And on day two of his very public trial, Georgia Gilmour, who gave her name as Georgia Jordan. It's a tantalizing clue. It can't be followed up on. It's breaking our heart. Was called to testify. It was her firm fieriness that caught everyone's attention. She told the story of the bus driver who had driven away. She related word for word, pulling no punches and sparing no feelings comments that the bus drivers had said to her. And people she knew, she left the language in. They kept trying to pin down her stopping, riding the bus to the beginning of the quote. Conspiracy is what they kept calling it. Like, surely you stopped writing on December 5th. Correct. Well, but there she had them, because she herself, of course, as we know, stopped writing a year before that. And it was bewildering. Like, what, a year before? Like. No, this year, December 5th. Yes. I. I mean, I'm hearing what you're saying. She said it. They. It was back and forth, over and over. No, it was a year before that. The defense kept trying to establish a pattern of poor customer service, and that was what Georgia was there for. The prosecutors were trying to establish a conspiracy to defraud a public institution starting on a certain day for no reason. She also said, much to the shock of the hearers, when I paid my fare and they got my money. They don't know Negro money from white money, and they shouldn't. And what do you think happened after the trial, after her appearance in the newspaper? In a nice suit, by the way?

[Susan]

I think it was pink, wasn't it?

[Beckett]

It was black and white Picture, Susan? I really don't know. I don't Know how you could interpret that? It was pink.

[Susan]

How did I interpret? I don't know. I had pink in my head. You know what, though, Susan?

[Beckett]

Time travel. I know.

[Susan]

Well, here's the thing. I. When I started watching TV as a child, it was black and white. We didn't have a color TV until.

[Beckett]

The mid-70s because we had.

[Susan]

The black and white ones were still working. So everything was color in my head. Even though it was black and white, we colored everything. I think that was a good exercise in creativity, now that I say it.

[Beckett]

There used to be a commercial for color TV that's like, my skirt is green, my hair is blonde, and if you're not seeing the colors that I'm seeing, blah, blah, blah. And then whenever that commercial would come on, my little brother and I would be like, and my teeth are butter yellow. We would totally make fun of that commercial. I'm interested. I'm gonna go on YouTube and see if I can.

[Susan]

Yeah, I do. I don't remember that one. That's funny.

[Beckett]

Well, more seriously, after she so publicly let everyone have it, George's employer fired her after her appearance in court. And there is great consternation. She had six children to provide for and other relatives under her roof. She's the head of household. She quickly also found, much to her dismay, that she was on some sort of a blacklist for other employment as a cook as well.

[Susan]

Martin Luther King had said to her, georgia, all those years, you've worked for someone else. Now it's time to work for yourself.

[Beckett]

She decided that she was going to run a restaurant out of her house. Martin Luther King and the rest of the MIA helped her fit up part of her house on Derricote street as a dining room. They bought her pots and pans and other equipment. And, I mean, she had raised more money for the cause than anyone. That's the least they could do, right?

[Susan]

Sure. And they knew they were going to benefit. They've been benefiting from her cooking for months now.

[Beckett]

And so George's house became, honestly, a salon, you know, from the age of enlightenment, Literally a modern version of the gathering places for people of like minds to talk, white and black alike, crowded in sometimes to perch wherever you could find a spot to eat their fill of stuffed peppers and meatloaf and pound cakes and macaroni and cheese and pork chops and slaw and beans with hog maw, which I'm going to step back from. And her famous fried chicken.

[Susan]

I got so hungry with this one, I have to tell you.

[Beckett]

Right.

[Susan]

I was like, you know what sounds really good for dinner? Pork chops. And then I was like, you know, it sounds really good as a sweet potato pie. So I made pork chops. I made sweet potato pie. I didn't make macaroni and cheese.

[Beckett]

But can I please tell you, hilariously, I tried to make Georgia's pound cake. She was famous for her pound cake, right? And evidently, pound cake is one of the most. Like, if you want to test a baker, you have them make a pound cake with no recipe. I had a recipe, and it is. You're supposed to.

[Susan]

Okay, I am just going to tell you. I'm going to take the picture that you sent me, and I'm going to put it in the show notes.

[Beckett]

Okay? So to explain what on earth you're looking at there, when you take a pound cake out of the oven, you're supposed to turn it upside down, and it gradually kind of slides out of the pan. Because you're not supposed to leave a pound cake in the pan because you want that nice crunch on the outside. And if you leave it in the pan, it will steam itself. And so I turned it upside down and, like, the innards came out, even though I had baked it for 10 more minutes. Then it said, now, Georgia said that pound cake is one of those things. You have to know your oven. You have to know where you put the pan. You have to know your ingredients. You have to know the temperature of your house. You have to know the humidity. And I'm like, it's macaroons all over again. I'm not. I have not got the knowledge, obviously, and it tasted fine. But I'm not going to be making a pound cake ever again because it was, like, comically embarrassing.

[Susan]

I showed the picture to Brian. I'm like, look, Becket made pound cake. And then I showed him my sweet potato pie.

[Beckett]

One of them looked, sweet potato pie looks way better.

[Susan]

Yeah, it looked like. He's like, that looks like pumpkin. I said, it kind of tastes like pumpkin.

[Beckett]

Ooh. I think those are fighting words. I think people that like sweet potato pie would not appreciate. I'm interested in your responses.

[Susan]

My sweet potato pie does not taste like pumpkin pie. But I was trying to sell it to my husband, who loves pumpkin pie.

[Beckett]

Ooh, nice day. Just back from the brain. So I was in New York and my husband was in Alaska. So my cats were all by themselves. It was really sad. But then when I came home, they both ran to me and then immediately turned on their backs and put their feet in the air. Tell me what that means I don't really know. Well, it means the murder button has been activated because if you are tricked and touch their stomachs, it's all over for you. It's not like dogs. It was a threatening gesture of I dare you that I did not take up. My little kitties have very strong personalities and they're great companions. They don't ask for much. My presence number one, which I didn't get them. But they're also very, very picky with what food they like. Just like their mama. Our next partner has made an impact on two of the most important members of my family, my kitty cats, Peep and Louise. This is why we should all try Smalls. This next sponsor, Smalls cat food is full of protein made with preservative free ingredients that you would find in your own fridge and it's delivered right to your door. My cat at least Peeps favorite flavor is called other bird hilariously. And on the label it says food for cats. Which is hilarious because I say that when I feed them, I'm like, look, it is food for cats. And they run right over. They love it.

[Susan]

Well, Smalls was started back in 2017 by a couple of guys that were home cooking cat food. They were making it in small batches for their friends. Now a few years later, they've served millions of meals to cats across the US Including Peeps and Louise.

[Beckett]

A key indicator of the fact that someone has a cat is often when you come into the house, you can smell the litter box immediately. Guess what is slowly being fixed in my house? Yes, really. Maybe similar to my beef with hummus on an airplane, this cat food is handling a situation from the inside. Also, I don't really have a hairball situation anymore. So I can only attribute it to Smalls because that's the only thing that I've really changed.

[Susan]

Wow, that is very impressive.

[Beckett]

They love it. But in the unlikely event that they don't, Smalls will refund you your money. So it's really risk free.

[Susan]

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[Beckett]

One last time, that's promo code chicks for 50% off your first order plus free shipping. So Georgia Gilmore knew everyone and called most people baby. Except Martin Luther King, who had found security by the Way in having meetings in a place surrounded by like minded individuals as the pressure was building outside. He also needed to eat places where he could trust the food, you know, how sad that you had to think that way. Well, anyway, she called him Heifer and he called her Tiny. She was actually not very tiny. She weighed upwards of 300 pounds and was extremely strong. And so I'm glad that they found joy in those nicknames. I don't think I would like to be called either.

[Susan]

I know. I was actually debating like, should I say that he called her that? I thought Heifer was kind of funny.

[Beckett]

But she also called somebody prominent an W h O R e. Like a preacher of something.

[Susan]

Yeah, One of the other organizers. Yes, One of the other pastors. There was an organizer in the mia.

[Beckett]

A pastor?

[Susan]

Yes.

[Beckett]

Well, she is just spicy. I just don't know.

[Susan]

Well, you know what she. I love this. What she said of her restaurant being used for all of these important meetings. She said, I just serve them and let them talk.

[Beckett]

I like it.

[Susan]

Perfect hostessing.

[Beckett]

In June, a district court ruled that the earlier case, remember I talked about this, that earlier case that was making its way through the courts about whether segregation fell under the 14th Amendment. Well, it was ruled Montgomery's bus segregation was illegal under the 14th amendment. But the city appealed the decision.

[Susan]

And of course this is making the people of the town even angrier. They thought that these boycott was going to be over all along. Since February of that year, a group of angry white racist men who called themselves segregationists had started their own rallies to kind of compete with the meetings of the mia. They called themselves the White Citizens Council and they became the largest white organization in Montgomery. And their message basically was, this is not how we do things here in Montgomery. We are not going to mix the races. One senator, Sam Engelhardt, who was an organizer of this group, had this to say, quote, 90% of white people in Alabama are for segregation. But in the last few years, we've had quite a few backsliders who for political reasons, to further their political ambitions, have been trying to garner the Negro vote. He said the citizens council is out.

[Beckett]

To utterly destroy these people after that district court ruling. For months they'd give tickets, unwarranted tickets, to the carpool drivers. They would stop and yell at them for no apparent reason. They'd harass the people walking along the street. Make it very difficult, I assure you, if there was a puddle and there was a walker, there was a splash. It was an atmosphere of hostility that grew and grew and it took until November 13, 1956, for the supreme court to uphold. Hold the lower court decision. The supreme court said, quote, the Montgomery segregation policies violate the due process and equal protection clauses of the fourteenth amendment to the constitution of the United States. Their decision took effect in December. After 381 days, the Montgomery bus boycott was over.

[Susan]

Georgia, who was cooking in her kitchen, she said she was listening to gospel music. And they stopped to say that the boycott would be ended. And so I decided that I was just so excited, I didn't believe it. So I ran and turned the TV on. And that's when she got confirmation that, yes, the news was telling her exactly the same thing. The boycott was over. There was one more step. The Montgomery improvement association did have to have another meeting. Martin luther king stood up at the podium and said there was one more vote they needed to do for this session. And those in favor of stopping the boycott, please stand. And everybody did.

[Beckett]

Ooh, I love the visual there.

[Susan]

I saw a video. I'll try and find exactly where I saw it. You can watch everybody stand up. It's so cool. You know what? It's in that documentary. We'll recommend it later.

[Beckett]

All right. So bus segregation was over, but not, of course, the cause of civil rights. The very next year, one of George's real sons, not her adopted heifer and baby sons that ate in her din dining room, got into municipal trouble again due to segregation. In 1957, angered by the outcome of the boycott and the desegregation of buses, the city of Montgomery passed some laws flat out banning African Americans from using city parks and other places of recreation. Mark Gilmore took a shortcut one day home from work through oak park and was immediately arrested for his presence there. Georgia Gilmore, his mother, was the lead plaintiff in the two year case to force Montgomery to desegregate its parks, pools, and zoo. When the City lost in 1959, they filled in all eight swimming pools with dirt. They closed all the parks completely to everyone and sold all the zoo animals to other zoos rather than admit they had been defeated by Georgia Gilmore at the court. Again, that takes something that takes. I don't even know what to say about that. That's horrible. And it wasn't until the 1970s that Montgomery Parks and libraries were truly integrated. You know, for a while, the libraries would let both races in, but take all the seats up so nobody would be sitting together and that kind of thing. Different parks were kind of leased to private white schools. There was, like a lot of trickery, and she had to Go back and do like a cleanup type of lawsuit to handle the crumbs from that case.

[Susan]

You know, when you read about, just in this specific story, how Montgomery, every time there was a law towards desegregation passed, how they filled in all the blanks, it's kind of like a little kid. Well, mom didn't say, I couldn't have that cookie. You know, that's why any legalese you read it has so many disclaimers on it is because things like this happen. You know, when they're writing it, they have to look ahead. At this point in time, they're living it. You know, every time they make one step forward, the government is pulling two steps back.

[Beckett]

So we did take a little teeny tiny time travel to the 70s. But let's go back to the 1960s. One book I read described her kitchen and dining room as, quote, an executive dining room for the civil rights movement. Much of this civil rights work happened in George's house. Anytime civil rights workers of any level came to town, the first place they were taken was George's house. John F. Kennedy ate at her table and took chicken and peach cobbler to go on Air Force One. That's how good that chicken is.

[Susan]

Well, Lyndon Johnson was there too, because, you know, we've already talked about how much he loves his Southern cooking.

[Beckett]

Do you know what his favorite thing was there? Deviled eggs. I love a devil.

[Susan]

But so what we're saying is Georgia kept her restaurant open and it never had a name. They always just said, we're going down to Georgia's to eat. And again, she's just serving the food and letting them talk. She's also able to save money. In an interview later, she said that Martin Luther King had told her, if I only made $1 a week to save 50 cents of it. That's how I went forward with the money I saved. I sent my children to school and got on my feet. And she added how proud she was when she was able to buy her own car. No longer walking, no longer relying on any type of public transportation, she could take herself wherever she needed to go in her own car, which she bought with her own money.

[Beckett]

Georgia was sort of a mother to all in the community. I just feed em and let em talk, she said, cursing you and patting you and handing you a plate as you sat on her windowsill. Cause there was nowhere else she would.

[Susan]

Like, write her menus out on a piece of notebook paper and just leave a couple of them on the counter. And people would order from those and Just sit wherever or take it to go.

[Beckett]

One guy was saying how awesome it was that if. If all you could do is sit in the kitchen, sometimes you'd get the chicken straight from the grease and it was piping hot and cracking. Sounds dangerous, but okay. Now, of course, on a more serious note, JFK was killed in 1963, months after proposing landmark civil rights legislation. His successor, LBJ. We talked extensively about LBJ, Bad Johnson and good Johnson during our Zephyr Wright podcast, which I really, really advocate you going to listen to. He passed the Civil Rights act of 1964, and Zephyr Wright, his own African American cook, the closest person he knew of color, you know, willing to stand up to him and tell him how it is was a big part of convincing him to do that.

[Susan]

We talked a lot about him also during the Lady Bird Johnson episode. So we'll link you up to both of those.

[Beckett]

When Georgia had some trouble with an insurance company that was not about to re up her policy, she was saved by sort of a group project. The community got together and felt like they owed her a great debt of honor and handled that situation. They owed her for the work and spirit of Georgia's place and Georgia Gilmore's, the space she made for everyone to work. All in all, little changed in the South. It came very slowly. Progress restaurant sit ins were taking place. Voting rights protests led to violent reactions from the segregationists in the state. And all of this is a little out of our story. Here. We'll find you a better link to the specific acute violent turbulence of the period between 1963 and 1965 in Alabama, there were two marches attempted from the city of Selma to the Capitol in Montgomery. The first has been referred to as Bloody Sunday, if that gives you any indication of how violent it was. The third march from Selma to Montgomery over the Edmund Pettus Bridge was successful. At the end, there were 25,000 protesters.

[Susan]

I think that particular protest had so much interest because the first one, the tragic one where people were shot by the police for their marching, was broadcast. It was being filmed for the news. So everybody all over the country was seeing exactly what was happening in real time on their television sets.

[Beckett]

And the second one, Martin Luther King had been convinced by honestly, practicality, to take his marchers only so far and then turn around and go back just to prevent violence, which people sometimes judged him for, that he shouldn't have backed down in the face of threats. I, you know, what would you do?

[Susan]

Yeah, what would you do?

[Beckett]

It's your responsibility. And so he Was able to. To have an event and not have anyone get hurt. It was the third march that was successful and he gave this speech at the Capitol. The end. We seek a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience. I know you're asking today, how long will it take? I come to you this afternoon. However difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long. And after presenting a petition to a representative of Governor George Wallace, who did not have the nerve to come out himself by the way, Martin Luther King went straight to Georgia's place for comfort food and celebration.

[Susan]

Now, Georgia has not lost her fire one teeny tiny bit. When she was in her early 40s, she cussed out, and that's putting it nicely, a garbage truck driver who deserved it most likely. He of course was white. She of course was arrested, brought to court and found guilty and fined $25, which was about 260 modern dollars. So she's not settling down. She's still full of all that fire she's famous for and apparently colorful language.

[Beckett]

You know, there's another story I wasn't going to tell and I don't have it written down, but she is a big fan of instant justice. Somebody downtown refused to sell her grandson something, doesn't matter what it was. And he had threatened the grandson with either you'll read a gun or a stick, doesn't matter. Whatever it was, Georgia Gilmore went down there, straight down there, didn't she? With her apron on. And she took the weapon from the guy and hit him across the side of the head with it like, nope, you do not. The end. Georgie Gilmore. This is my address. Goodbye. Sell him the thing leaves. Yeah. No arrests were made, no fines. I think he was deathly afraid of.

[Susan]

Her, freezing as he should have been. Speaking of her home in 1964, Georgia had saved up enough money to buy a new house. It is right down the street from her old house. She moved from 405 Derricott to 453 Derricott.

[Beckett]

Georgia Gilmore continued her work of what was called the welcome table. I like that. For two and a half more decades, through the turbulent 60s and the 70s and even halfway through the 80s, she lived through the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy. She lived through the Civil Rights act of 1965, the reclamation of voting rights. She lived through the Black Panther era and never lost sight of her critical role in community building throughout everything. She didn't retire from service until 1986.

[Susan]

In 1990 there was a 25th anniversary celebration in Montgomery celebrating the march from Selma. Lots of people were coming to town, and Georgia put her apron on again to cook for them. She was frying chicken. She was making potato salad when she suddenly felt very ill. She was rushed to the hospital, where she died the next day on March 9, 1990. She was 70 years old.

[Beckett]

The food that she'd prepared was served at her funeral to the mourners, and her pallbearers included Montgomery police officers. A thing that, had you told her 30 years happened, she never would have believed you.

[Susan]

She is buried at the Greenwood Cemetery in Montgomery, Alabama.

[Beckett]

In 1995, the Alabama Historical Commission put up a marker in front of her house on Derricote Street. If you're ever going to the Martin Luther King museum on Dexter street, you are almost there.

[Susan]

Yep.

[Beckett]

Take the extra couple of seconds, and.

[Susan]

When you read that marker, you're probably going to easily see the three errors that are on. It says that this was the house that she lived in during the Montgomery bus boycott. It was not. This is the newer house she lived in. Her original house is no longer there. It was torn down. It says that she was arrested on a bus, which she wasn't. And it also lists the wrong death date. It lists March 3rd. When she died on March 9th.

[Beckett]

Complicated.

[Susan]

I know. And I'm like.

[Beckett]

I kept looking.

[Susan]

I'm like, somebody fixed this.

[C]

It's.

[Susan]

This is. And I'm not the only one that saw it. I saw other things where people had noticed that, you know, it was wrong, and apparently it isn't. So maybe there's another letter writing campaign we need to get going.

[Beckett]

I know. We need to get that fixed. That could be our next quest.

[Susan]

Beckett, you know what is a problem of small town living? Well, I mean, there's several. Let me talk about the Facebook group for the town. But our grocery store, it's predictable. I know what's going to be there. There's nothing new. The things that I know are nutritious. I'm kind of tired of. So Hungry Root is solving a problem for me. I mean, I'm sure other people, even in big cities, have the same problem. They want more variety. And that's what Hungryroot is giving me. Hungryroot is a meal delivery service, but they are also a grocery delivery service. When you put your order in, you can pick from one of 15,000 recipes that can be put together in 15 minutes or less. The ones that I've gotten are all four ingredients.

[Beckett]

Super.

[Susan]

So easy. But I'm also able to get some snack Items that I can't find at my usual grocery store.

[Beckett]

Important to me. There's no high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners or preservatives in any of Hungry Roots food. They only source top quality meat also and seafood free of hormones and antibiotics.

[Susan]

I mean you can get things like smoothies or kids snacks ready to eat meals. That's one ingredient, right? It's already made. Salad kits, even supplements are available on Hungryroot.

[Beckett]

And the knowledge Hungryroot has is cumulative. They learn what you like. They learn what's been a success in the past. And increasingly your orders are tailored to you specifically, like having a personal shopper.

[Susan]

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[Beckett]

That's hungryroot.com chicks code chicks to get 40% off your first box and a free item of your choice for life. Hungryroot.com chicks code chicks. And that will do it for our coverage of Georgia Gilmore. And now, as usual, it is time for media and we will start with books. The two biographies that we found are quite delightful. They are both children's books, surprisingly or not surprisingly, because this does lend itself to good illustrations. Pies from How Georgia Gilmour Sustained the Montgomery Bus Boycott by D. Rumicio and Sweet Justice Georgia Gilmore and the Montgomery Bus Boycott by Mara Racliffe. Also, I am absolutely in love with this book. It's called the Pot Liquor A Food History of the Modern south by John T. Edge. It also has just following the George Gilmore section, a very nice section about Zephyr Wright, someone else we covered. And pot liquor is spelled P O T L I K K E R.

[Susan]

Another book along those lines is Household Workers Unite the Untold Story of African American Women who Built a Monument by Pramilla Nadison. And there's lots of biographies in there. And it all weaves together how these women were just the backbone of the civil rights movement.

[Beckett]

And then the book we mentioned earlier, the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the women who started it, the memoir of Joanne Gibson Robinson. This, remember, is the woman who advocated for a bus boycott earlier in the 40s, but who printed the tens of thousands of flyers to get the real bus boycott started place. Also, you can read this one online. We'll provide you a link. The NationalHumanityCenter.org has the entirety of the text of that book as a PDF online.

[Susan]

That makes reading easy, doesn't it? There's a graphic nonfiction. You know how I feel about those. I'm kind of a big fan. It's a part of the graphic history series called the Montgomery Bus boycott by Carrie O'Hearn, Frank Walsh and De Martinique. And it begins with enslavement and it ends with establishment of Black History Month.

[Beckett]

Along those lines, remember we talked about the marches from Selma to Montgomery. There is a series of graphic novels authored by Congressman John Lewis, who participated in those marches. So by Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aiden and Nate Powell called Nothing But March. And it is a three book set covering the three different Selma, two Montgomery marches.

[Susan]

This is a travel book. It's called US Civil Rights Trail by Deborah Douglas. It's your basic travel book. This is how you would travel from Washington, D.C. to Nashville to Birmingham to Montgomery, to Selma to Atlanta, to Charleston. It's a map. There's a map and then there's, you know, like a travel book. It tells you places to stop. I think it's out of date, but I think it's a really good place to start if you're planning like a road trip traveling the civil rights trail.

[Beckett]

There is a book called Southern Food and Civil Rights. Feeding the Revolution by the appropriately named Frederick Douglass with two S's. Opie, highly recommend that. And then by Emily. I don't want to say her name wrong. Emily. B L E J W A S the Story of Alabama in 14 foods.

[Susan]

There's actually a kids book, too. It's called Recipes for Change by Michael Platt and Aliana Harris. And it's 12 stories of black civil rights activists. And each month there's just. It's for kids. There's just a little bio and a recipe. And Georgia got December with her famous pound cake.

[Beckett]

Ugh. I again, I think Susan has threatened to put the picture of my pound cake with all of its innards.

[Susan]

It's impressive, though. I mean, for the year. Epic failness. I mean, you said it was good, right?

[Beckett]

Yes, ish. I don't think I would make it again. It's not even worth. No, it didn't turn out like you would think. And that's okay. I know I don't have a good oven for baking.

[Susan]

Well, you know your oven then.

[Beckett]

Yeah, that's what Georgia said, right? That's what Georgia said. So. I know. Don't make pancake in it. I have a lot of links. I guess I. I'll go through some of them really quick. But, you know, it's kind of boring to to hear a list of links. There's. There are interviews with Georgia herself which is a rare enough prize on this particular show. So not just one but several interviews will provide you a link to those. And also the Kitchen Sisters did a show like a six minute, very highly produced, you were there type of thing about Georgia Gilmore and Georgia's house. And so we'll link you to that too. Also, let's see the whole entire text of the Martin Luther King trial. It's hundreds of pages, hundreds of pages. So we will let you know right after that link what pages Georgia is on speaking. But the transcript of that whole trial is on there. Also a timeline of the Montgomery boycott and also both of the lawsuits Gilmore versus the city of Montgomery that emerged from the segregation or slash desegregation of the park system.

[Susan]

There is a website called Nourishing the Movement, Georgia Gilmour and the Club from Nowhere and it's dedicated to her and the bus boycott. So you can get lots of information on there. Eyes on the Prize is a PBS series. It's a six part documentary about the history of the civil rights movement and the first episode is about the Montgomery bus boycott. There is actually a historical fiction movie called Boycott. It's produced by hbo. It's not for kids. It starts there's a lynching right at the very beginning. Photographs of it and it's disturbing. But the rest of the movie is actually really well done and that is on MAX as well as a number of streaming services.

[Beckett]

I wanted desperately as the last song to put on the hem the Last Mile of the Way. That's the song they all sang that first night after the One Day Best boycott when they determined that it was going to go on indefinitely. But even though the writing is in the public domain, I was not able to find a recording for which I could have clearance. So I'm going to use a different song. There is a very good version by Mahalia Jackson that I cannot use because I don't have clearances. But we could provide you a link to it so you could listen.

[Susan]

There's a YouTube video. We can put that in the show notes too. I'll take a look.

[Beckett]

And in closing, Martin Luther King once said the following which applies to Georgia Gilmour. Every time I take a flight, I'm always mindful of the many people who make a successful journey possible. The known pilots and the unknown ground crew. So you honor the dedicated pilots of our struggle who've sat at the controls as the freedom movement soared into orbit. You also honor the ground crew without whose labor and sacrifices the jet flights to freedom could never have left the earth. Most of these people will never make the headlines and their names will not appear in who's who. But had it not been for people like Georgia Gilmore, Martin Luther King Jr. Would not have been who he was. Thanks for listening.

[Susan]

Bye.

[Beckett]

If you liked what you heard today, please tell a few friends about us or leave a review for us on Apple Podcasts. We would absolutely love for you to find someone who doesn't think they can make a difference right now and have them listen to this episode. And we're always interested to know how you're making a difference in your own communities. In fact, speaking of that, what do you think about the letter writing campaign to the Alabama Historical Society? Let's work out what we're going to say to these fine people in the lounge. How do you join us there on our Facebook page, the History Chicks. You'll see a button in the middle that says Join Group. Just click and make sure you're not a robot and you're in. We're also on threads as the History Chicks and there's a Pinterest board for every episode with links and rabbit holes for your scrolling pleasure. The song at the end is Lift Every Voice and Sing, otherwise known as the Black national anthem since 1919, written 125 years ago by James and Rosamond Johnson. So Happy birthday to the Black National Anthem. We'll put a link to the history of this song in the show [e-mail] this particular recording is by the United States Navy Band. We'll see you next time.

[C]

Lift every voice and sing till earth and heaven ring Ring with the harmonies of liberty Let our rejoicing rise high as the listening skies Let it resound loud as the rolling sea Sing out a song full of the faith that the darkness has taught us Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us Facing the rising sun of our new day begun Let us march on till victory Let us march on till victory we will, we will march on till victory we will march on till victory March on for freedom March on for truth March on, Let us march on till victory is wonderful.

[D]

Hey listeners, this is Toni Collette and I'm so excited to introduce my new audio fiction series, Madame Ram. Madame Ram tells the incredible dramatized true story of Georgia Frontier, A former showgirl turned owner and heavy hitter in the Boys club, that is. When her sixth husband, Carol Rosenblum, dies, she shocks everyone by inheriting the LA Rams and taking the reins of a major sports franchise. Relying on astrological charts to make key decisions, she turns the NFL on its head and to this day remains one of the most beloved, despised and controversial figures in modern sports. Madame Ram, the woman who took on a man's world and 1. Follow Madame Ram on Apple podcasts, Spotify or wherever you're listening now. To be among the first to listen.