HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Joan Trumpauer Mulholland, freedom rider and sit-in activist of the civil rights movement will be the guest speaker at the Central North Alabama Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated’s luncheon event to be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, October 22, 2022, at the DoubleTree Hotel, in Decatur, Ala. This event is open to the public.
Admission to attend the luncheon is $65 per person or $550 for a table of eight. To purchase a ticket or sponsor a table, please contact Cassandra Lee at (256) 565-0130 or email her at cassandra.lee1959@gmail.com.
Mulholland, a native of Arlington, Va., will share her amazing story of faith and her call to activism as she continues to fight for equality for all people. She will also share stories about how she was haunted by the Ku Klux Klan for execution and disowned by her family because of her actions in the movement. She was arrested and locked up for months in a death row cell in a Mississippi prison.
“We are honored to have our Delta sister Joan Trumpauer Mulholland share her inspiring life experiences as a civil rights activist,” said Terry R. Green, President of the Central North Alabama Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated. “She was involved in many of the most influential moments of the 1960’s civil rights movement, And, she remains a lifelong activist. We invite the community to join us in experiencing an afternoon of living history.”
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Her journey in the movement started when Mulholland was a student at Duke University in 1961. At that time, she became one of the original Freedom Fighters at the age of 19. The Freedom Riders were a series of peaceful and nonviolent protests. The activists were challenging laws in the southern states that enforced segregation at different transportation facilities.
Mulholland, also participated in more than 50 sit-ins and demonstrations by the age of 23. She was the key activist in the Woolworth’s counter sit-in held in Jackson, Miss., in 1963. This was considered one of the most violently attacked sit-ins during the1960’s. For an estimated three hours, the student and faculty activists endured insults and attacks by a violent white mob. She was also involved in the March on Washington and the Selma to Montgomery March, just to name a few.
Mulholland also became the first white student to attend the historically black Tugaloo College in Mississippi. And, while at Tugaloo, she joined Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated as one of the first white members.
As a retired teacher, Mulholland has established the Joan Trumpauer Mulholland Foundation, which is dedicated to educating youth about the civil rights movement and how to make a difference in their communities.