Susan Butler Journey To Freedom

Susan Butler drove from New York City to Washington, D.C. with five other women to join the March on Washington. Inspired by Martin Luther King’s words and James Baldwin’s writing, the following year she volunteered for the Mississippi Freedom Summer project. In 1965, Susan journeyed to Selma, Alabama, where she demonstrated for voting rights. Following Dr. King’s assassination, she flew to Memphis for a silent memorial march led by his widow, Coretta Scott King. A retired teacher of the deaf, Susan now lives in Chestertown, New York.

The Journey to Freedom project has recorded the stories of women and men from the Capital Region of New York who participated in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Many traveled to the segregated Deep South. Others were active in their home communities. All worked to advance social justice. Their stories highlight the powerful impact that regular folks can have in effecting change, and the importance of documenting the histories of everyday heroes.

Siena College professor Dr. Paul Murray and co-producer educator Donald Hyman worked with videographers Kirk Daniels and Zebulon Schmidt to record and make publicly available the histories of 15 activists. Attendees of this webinar will learn the history of this project, its development process, and ways they can undertake similar projects in their home communities.