In which year did this American voting rights activist, a leader in the Civil Rights Movement, and philanthropist, who wrote an autobiographical essay on the aftermath of the lynching of Joe Pullen, represent her party at Democratic National Convention?
Joe Pullen Joe Pullen or Joe Pullum (c. 1883 - December 15, 1923) was an African-American tenant farmer who was murdered by a lynch mob of local white citizens near Drew, Mississippi on December 15, 1923. While the circumstances that precipitated the violence were typical for that place and time, Pullen's case is unusual in that he managed to kill at least three members of the lynch mob and wound several others before ultimately perishing himself. Because of his courage, Pullen became a folk hero and his bravery was championed by the Universal Negro Improvement Association. While the incident received only brief national news coverage, the local repercussions were far more profound. As civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer recalled in an autobiographical essay on growing up in a nearby Mississippi town: "it was a while in Mississippi before the whites tried something like that again."
Kathleen N. Straus Kathleen Nagler Straus (born December 3, 1923) is an activist who served as a member of the Michigan State Board of Education from 1993–2016. She has been continuously involved in civic organizations in Michigan since moving to Detroit in 1952 as a young mother. Her many volunteer and professional roles have included the Presidency of the League of Women Voters of Detroit, Executive Director of People and Responsible Organizations (PRO) for Detroit, President of the Michigan State Board of Education, and Secretary of the National Association of State Boards of Education.