History often remembers the Civil Rights Movement through the names of men—King, Malcolm, Lewis. But Meridian insists we look again. Women were the backbone of the struggle: organizing voter registration drives, teaching literacy, housing activists, and sustaining communities under siege. Yet their names rarely appear in textbooks.
Through Meridian, Walker critiques this gendered silence. Women were expected to sacrifice without recognition, to serve without acknowledgment, and to carry the emotional weight of both the struggle and their families. By centering Meridian’s story, Walker reclaims space for women’s voices and insists that their contributions are not footnotes but foundations.
Discussion Questions
• Why do you think women’s contributions to the Civil Rights Movement were so often overlooked?
• How does Walker’s novel serve as a corrective to that historical erasure?
Social Work Policy Practice 