Lee Stockade women nominated for Presidential Medal of Freedom

WASHINGTON — Three members of the U.S. Congress submitted a letter to President Barack Obama in April nominating the Lee County Stockade Women for the 2016 Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Reps. Sanford Bishop, Hank Johnson Jr. and John Lewis, all from Georgia, nominated the women who — in the summer of 1963 — were imprisoned as young girls for their participation in the civil rights movement. In all, 15 girls ages 12-15 were confined in a stockade in Leesburg for two months under extremely poor conditions.

The girls were sent there, without the knowledge of their parents, after taking part in a 200-strong peaceful march from Friendship Baptist Church to the Martin Theater in Americus to purchase tickets at the theater’s white entrance as a protest against segregationist practices. The girls were incarcerated in Dawson overnight before being held in the stockade.

They were ultimately freed after Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee photographer Danny Lyon took photos that eventually circulated throughout the country. By that time, they had survived the deprivation of basic necessities including clean water, sleeping accommodations, proper nutrition and hygiene products.

“These innocent girls, who were arrested yet never charged with any illegal or criminal acts, suffered acute physical and psychological turmoil as a result of their struggle for equality and justice,” the letter sent to President Obama said.

Shirley Green-Reese, a councilwoman in Americus, was one of the 15. She said Thursday she made the recommendation for the nomination and that she is grateful to all three of the congressmen — noting specifically that Bishop has been very supportive of the group’s recognition.

She added that she is “tickled pink” over the consideration of such a prestigious award and still expresses gratitude to the number of people who worked to get her and her peers released in September 1963.

“It’s the greatest honor myself and the remaining Stockade Girls could receive,” she said. “It will help us to bring closure to our plight and get recognition (for our story) that is very long overdue.”

Green-Reese said Lewis was among the players instrumental in securing her and the other girls’ release. The next step, she said, is to wait “for the big ball to roll.” She said the group is hopeful the nomination will be approved, ultimately giving peace of mind to the women.

Nine of the 15 are still alive.

The nomination letter goes on to say that even after several decades, the women still live with the emotional scars and that their stories bring to light the impact the fight for civil rights had on children and young adults.

“We hope you agree that these courageous African-American women of Americus, Georgia, who have given so much to our nation and continue to fight for equality, are deserving of your consideration for the Presidential Medal of Freedom,” the letter concludes. “We respectfully urge you to consider our request and bestow this well-deserved honor upon the six women that have passed on and the nine living women of Leesburg Stockade. If they were to be selected, we believe it would send a powerful message about our nation’s fight for equality and justice that continues to this day.”

A picture of the girls taken by Lyon is being included in “Double Exposure: African American Women,” a publication from the National Museum of African American History and Culture at the Smithsonian Institution. Green-Reese said she has been in contact with officials at the museum, and that two of the surviving women may be in attendance for its opening ceremony on Sept. 24.