By Kim Trent
...Perhaps (click here) that is why I'm so inspired by the life of white civil rights martyr Viola Liuzzo. A Detroiter, Liuzzo spent part of her childhood in the Jim Crow South, but from a young age, she rejected the region's ideas about white supremacy. She became a dues-paying member of the NAACP in the 1940s, a time when such an act was considered to be wildly radical even for Southern blacks, and much more so for a white woman. She donated money to black college charities. Her best friend was a black woman, Sarah Evans, and Liuzzo's five children were raised with Evans' family and taught that people of all races are created equal....
April 5, 2015
By Cassandra Spartling
But it got worse for her family. The FBI assassinated her character, spreading rumors she was unfaithful and an unfit mother. Crosses were burned at her family's home and her five children, ages 6 to 18, were taunted. Husband Anthony Liuzzo Sr. hired armed guards to protect their home.
During the radio report, a daughter talked about how sad the family was that Detroit's only tribute was a deteriorating city park a few miles from their old house.
Mezza, who lives in St. Clair Shores, wanted to do something. She called her longtime friend and running buddy Julie Hamilton of Royal Oak, and the two women set out to restore the park, and Viola Liuzzo's name....
Viola Liuzzo Park Association (click here)
