Willie Mae Brown is the author of a new book My Selma: True Stories of a Southern Childhood at the Height of the Civil Rights Movement. The book, written for young adults, reflects on her time growing up in Alabama and how the civil rights era shaped her coming of age. Today, we’ll hear her message for the next generation of activists.

Brown lived in Selma, Alabama until she was 17, when she moved to New York City. Growing up in Selma, she experienced the civil rights movement first hand - including meeting Martin Luther King Jr. when she was 12.In the intro, Brown explains, “I write these stories of a Selma that I knew and loved. My own Selma. A Selma that brought me joy, troubled me, and baptized me into racial injustice and into the race for justice.”

Where We Live Senior Producer Tess Terrible guest hosts this conversation.

GUESTS:

• Willie Mae Brown: author and visual artist. She recently published her first book, My Selma: True Stories of a Southern Childhood at the Height of the Civil Rights Movement.

Cat Pastor contributed to this episode which originally aired February 4, 2023.

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