Civil Rights In Her Words: People Were Ready To Die

January 18, 2011

People weren’t playing.
People were ready to kill.
But people were ready to die so we could so we could go where we want to go today.
So we could sit where we want to sit today.

Profound words for a young Century girl that dreamed a dream of  people overcoming.

Born and raised in Century — a product of the segregated Carver High School and Pilgrim Lodge Baptist Church — there was a fire inside Mercy E. Moore.

At 17 she would ride with other youth in the back of an ambulance from Morris Funeral Home to the sit-ins at Woolworth’s Lunch Counter in Pensacola.

“They put mustard and ketchup on our heads and on our back and write notes…’N***** Stew’,” she said of the hours standing for equality at that lunch counter.  “We just sat there…We were praying quietly.”

Now 72 and a retired attorney, Moore reflected on her experiences during a Martin Luther King, Jr. service in Century Monday morning.

Her story is in the video below, in her own words…

(If you do not see the video above, it is because your firewall
or filtering software  is blocking YouTube videos.)

Comments

One Response to “Civil Rights In Her Words: People Were Ready To Die”

  1. MERCY MOORE on January 21st, 2011 2:24 pm

    Thank you for sharing part of my story. I am very proud of Century and grateful for my positives experiences there. Keep up the good work.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under FEATURE TOP STORY, Features, News