Fifty years after the publication of Coming of Age in Mississippi, there are generations of readers who now consider Anne Moody's autobiography a critical part of their understanding of race, resistance, and history.

Through the commemorative work of the Anne Moody History Project, ongoing academic research, and discussions of Moody in a number of general interest publications, new readers continue to discover and engage with her work, keeping her memory alive and her voice heard.

On This Page

The Anne Moody History Project

Academic Writing

Books Featuring Anne Moody

The Anne Moody History Project

The members of The Anne Moody History Project-- Roscoe Barnes, III, Ruby Dixon, Emma Taplin, and LaVern Taylor -- have worked to insure that Anne Moody is remembered and celebrated by citizens of Wilkinson County, MS. Their efforts continue to yield extraordinary results. Inmates at the Wilkinson County Correctional Facility have created remarkable artwork and writing inspired by their encounters with Moody's work. A local street has been named for her, and recently copies of Coming of Age in Mississippi were distributed to new readers throughout the region. Through their creativity and commitment, the members of the Anne Moody History Project are uniting enthusiasts of Anne Moody's work and providing an example of the power of public history.

Photo: Roscoe Reporting: Members of the Anne Moody History Project

Academic Research & Writing

Selected Books Featuring Anne Moody

We Shall Not Be Moved: The Jackson Woolworth’s Sit-In and the Movement It Inspired by M.J. O’Brien is a thorough and moving account of the 1963 non-violent demonstration. O’Brien draws readers into the lives of key participants, exploring their stories both before and after that day. His blog is frequently updated and is a rich source of additional information.

University Press of Mississippi (New), Advanced Book Exchange (Used), Your Local Library

Minrose Gwin's Remembering Medgar Evers: Writing the Long Civil Rights Movement illuminates the power of Evers’ influence on the Civil Rights Movement and on those in Jackson who were moved to action by his direct influence as an organizer and activist. A portion of Gwin's 2008 presentation, Mourning Medgar Evers features a discussion of Anne Moody and can be viewed here. The entire presentation  can be viewed here.

Indie Bound (New), Advanced Book Exchange (Used), Your Local Library

In a portion of Mississippi Mind, Gayle Graham Yates highlights Anne Moody's 1985 lecture at Millsaps College. There, as a college student, Moody had attended a reading by the writer, Eudora Welty. Yates describes Moody’s long-term trauma following her departure from Mississippi and her drive to communicate her own story.

Louisiana State University Press (New), Advanced Book Exchange (Used), Your Local Library

Carter Dalton Lyon's Sanctuaries of Segregation examines the direct action of Anne Moody and others through the lens of efforts to integrate church services in the Jackson, MS area.  Anne Moody is among the activists in the photograph featured on the cover of the book. Video of Lyon reading from his work is available here.

University Press of Mississippi (New), Advanced Book Exchange (Used), Your Local Library

Kathaleen Amende’s contribution to Emmett Till in Literary Memory and Imagination (Harriet Pollock and Christopher Metress, editors) is mentioned in the listing of academic writing above. While her work is the only extensive study of Anne Moody in the collection, the entire book offers an illumination of the varied physical and psychological reactions to Till’s murder, providing useful context for Anne Moody’s own complex response.

Louisiana State University Press (New), Advanced Book Exchange (Used), Your Local Library