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Mary Meyers | Atchison Globe

Civil rights hero, Joan Trumpauer Mulholland, left, interacts with her audience and autographs some mementos from her visit Wednesday night at Atchison Middle School.

MARY MEYERS | Atchison Globe

Joan Trumpauer Mulholland, one of the iconic activists of the civil rights movement to desegregate the South.

Mary Meyers | Atchison Globe

Joan Trumpauer Mulholland autographing a paper for a member of her audience after her presentation Wednesday night at Atchison Middle School.

Ask Joan Trumpauer Mulholland about her four-year college experience along with her friends, and she might tell it was quite a life-changing ride not only for her, but for many others throughout the land.

Mulholland, a civil rights activist, came to town earlier this week to share her experience in what became known as the desegregation movement.

Mulholland was reared in the Arlington, Virginia, area of the South, where she became well-versed in the Christian beliefs from the Bible verses, prayers and hymns she learned in church.

Mulholland said the way of the life during her childhood and adolescence was very segregated based on skin color and ethnicities. It was unlawful for black persons to sit with white persons in restaurants or on buses. Nor were black persons allowed to drink from the same water fountains, or attend the same school.

Black persons were denied the same rights as the white persons. Mulholland said as she matured she determined her church and freedom for all doctrine of Declaration of Independence did not match the lifestyle of the South.

After her revelation, Mulholland strived to make a difference and became involved in the civil rights movement. It was a passion that put her at odds with her parents and family members.

It was 1961 when Mulholland was a 19-year-old attending Duke University. It was also when she stepped into the realm of activism and became involved with sit-ins and protests with other like-minded students. Although Mulholland left Duke, she did not leave her cause. She went deeper into the south and became the first white person accepted to attend Tougaloo College, a historically black college located in Mississippi. The movement intensified.

Mulholland was one of the protesters known as the Freedom Riders, who boarded buses that traveled throughout the south in protest of segregation. Along the way the group encountered intimidation. A bus was intentionally set ablaze and destroyed by fire. Joan and her activist colleagues then boarded another bus to keep the protest momentum going she said. They were arrested and incarcerated for two months in a prison facility.

"When you start something you don't know how it will end," Mulholland said. She emphasized once an activism cause is stepped into one does not go back, but only forward.

The intimidation and violence escalated throughout her endeavors like Freedom Summer and the March on Washington. Mulholland worked closely with Medgar Evans and was also personally acquainted with Martin Luther King.

Both men were assassinated for their civil rights cause. Other colleagues lost their lives for the desegregation cause. Mulholland, was on the Ku Klux Klan most wanted list.

She was present at the Woolworth lunch counter sit-ins throughout the South. Sometimes violence would erupt. A photograph of Mulholland and her colleagues at one of these lunch counters is considered to be one of the most iconic images of the civil rights movement.

Although aware of the risks, Mulholland said she was not afraid to face death for the cause.

"Don't be afraid because it is counterproductive," she said. "It can get you killed."

Mulholland's audience for the evening viewed the film, "An Ordinary Hero," a documentary about her civil rights endeavors made by her son, Loki Mulholland. Following the film, Mulholland answered some questions and interacted with her audience.

The event took place Wednesday, March 20, in the auditorium at Atchison Middle School auditorium. Mulholland's visit and presence were made possible through donations from numerous businesses, individuals and area schools.

For more photos of Mulholland visit the photo gallery at www.atchisonglobenow.com.

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Source: https://www.atchisonglobenow.com/eedition/page-a3/page_85ab75d3-f590-55a9-9773-2a1035a63941.html

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