Joan Mulholland grew up in Virginia in the 1950s and often visited her grandmother in Georgia. She witnessed firsthand the segregation of the South, and, after seeing a rundown schoolhouse that had been set aside for "blacks only," she realized that such action was wrong. Though only a little white girl, she vowed she would do something about it-she would make a difference.As a young adult, she joined the Civil Rights Movement and began attending demonstrations and sit-ins during college. She was an active participant in the Freedom Rides of 1961. She, along with several other protesters, were arrested and sent to Parchman Prison, where her cell was around the corner from the death chamber.Undaunted, when she was released, she began attending Tougaloo College, a historic black college, and participated in a sit-in at the Woolworth's counter-which quickly turned into a dangerous mob situation with other white people attacking her and calling her a traitor.Joan was there during the March on Washington to hear Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I Have a Dream" speech. She was there for the Selma to Montgomery March in 1965 and the Meredith March in 1966. She was there to see the Civil Rights Movement succeed.Her willingness to stand up for what was right was an inspiration to many people-especially her own family.In her own words, she says, "Anyone can make a difference. It doesn't matter how old or young you are. Find a problem, get some friends together, and go fix it. Remember, you don't have to change the world . . . just change your world."
