The Original Drum Majors of the Williamston Civil Rights Movement

The Williamston Civil Rights movement began in the summer of 1963 and continued for thirty-two consecutive days under the tutelage of Sarah Small, Mary Louis Mobley, and Golden Frinks. Blacks held nightly meetings, formulated sweeping demands, and participated in dozens of marches and sit-ins. Throughout the fall of that year, Sarah Small, Mary Louis Mobley, and Golden Frinks continued to meet and engage in direct action demonstrations, pressing for the abolishment of Jim Crow customs of separate and unequal seating and service in public accommodations and for an immediate end to discrimination in employment. Faced with this challenge, they and hundreds of others filled the town's small jail beyond its capacity, and on many occasions cells in surrounding towns and counties housed the overflow. The history of these three martyrs was instrumental in changing racial conditions not only in Williamston but also in the nation.

Williamston, North Carolina · United States