Alice Walker’s Meridian strips away the romanticism often attached to the Civil Rights Movement. Instead of focusing on the fiery speeches or the iconic marches, Walker asks us to look at the quieter, more enduring labor of activism. Meridian Hill is not a leader in the spotlight; she is the woman who stays behind, teaching in rural schools, registering voters, and carrying the emotional and physical exhaustion of a movement that demanded everything.
Her sacrifices—giving up her child, living in poverty, enduring illness—are not framed as weakness. They are testimony to the cost of choosing principle over comfort. Walker reminds us that freedom work is not glamorous. It is wearying, lonely, and often thankless. Yet it is precisely this kind of endurance that sustains movements long after the headlines fade.
Discussion Questions
• How does Walker’s portrayal of Meridian challenge the way we usually remember the Civil Rights Movement?
• In what ways do we undervalue the “quiet” forms of activism today?
Social Work Policy Practice 
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