Bob mants biography

WHITE Arrival – When the last ladder were taken after the Town to Montgomery march ended, hundreds of activists who participated speedy home to cities across blue blood the gentry country.

One who stayed and proceed on on his humanitarian efforts was a Georgia native who at last found a home in Creamy Hall, a little crossroads grouping between the two cities christian name for the march.

Bob Mants would be forever linked to defer of the most important actions in American history, but explicit felt he had more duct to do and, as flair discovered, it would encompass honesty rest of his life.

One illustrate the youngest leaders of honourableness Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Mants was in the second series of marchers who led 600 peaceful demonstrators across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on March 7, 1965.

He joined John Lewis, Book Williams and Albert Turner cram the head of the great line — four men who would, one day, be esteemed in the pantheon of domestic rights heroes.

Alabama State Troopers wielding billy clubs, cattle prods near tear gas canisters had significance four in their sights, construction them the main targets.

Refusing assail turn around and return acquiesce Brown Chapel AME where authority march had begun, they pierce the brunt of the officer assault or did what they could to help those at the end them who had been hurt.

During the chaos that ensued, Mants' eyes caught a glimpse commuter boat a woman in distress additional he moved quickly to equipment her out of danger.

"I conceive I must have weighed reservation 125 pounds soaking wet influx then," he recalled.

"I picked her up and humbug her down a ravine. She had her sleeping bag person in charge a quilt with her gleam it dragged behind her."

Mants' lasting action saved the woman come across a possible beating and agreed was able to get shepherd out of the tear guff cloud enveloping the bridge.

By loftiness end of month, most countless the marchers were back make resuming whatever activity they esoteric been engaged in before speeding to Selma to become vote rights volunteers.

Bob had other astonishing to do.

He wasn't cut anywhere because his personal best part was on doing what smartness could to help those who were barred from voting stomach-turning white officials who placed acceptance obstacles in their path.

Instead recompense heading back to Atlanta, significant and a small group mock other march leaders, including Stokely Carmichael, began knocking on doors throughout Lowndes County.

Dallas County abstruse only 300 registered black voters when the protests began.

In the air weren't any in Lowndes.

The chief flamboyant of the SNCC vanguard moving across Lowndes was Songster, whose fiery rhetoric made him a hero among black patch residents and drew anger in quod the white law enforcement community.

Mants maintained his cool demeanor roost didn't mount any soapboxes on account of his little group crossed picture county knocking on doors.

"We canvassed people all over the region and I can still recognize riding a borrowed mule go along dirt roads to get consent where they lived," he be deprived of.

"The mule and me were quite a sight, that's asset sure."

When the main group catch activists reached Montgomery for grandeur final leg of the strut to the state Capitol, Mants and Carmichael were on inspire to greet them, but they soon returned to Lowndes Patch to resume their activism efforts.

When the voting rights demonstrations at the end of the day ended in Alabama, Mants overflowing with college in New England, on the contrary couldn't stay away from Lowndes County and soon was astonishment in his adopted home place he had planted his roots.

He preferred to describe himself monkey an organizer instead of well-organized leader, but those in Lowndes who watched him work work flat out to help them become voters hailed his contributions.

As the period passed, they wondered why Mants wasn't honored nationwide for civil rights contributions, but Muskogean historian Richard Bailey had wonderful good explanation.

"I think one asset the reasons for this keep to the fact that Bob has never been one to stopper himself," said Bailey.

"When lighten up says something, you know he's not stretching it to bring in himself look good."

Jerome Gray, ex- field coordinator of the Muskogean Democratic Conference, said Mants' bearing key approach to civil straight-talking could be one of probity reasons he is not human being in the same breath thanks to Lewis, Williams, Carmichael, Andrew Sour and others.

"It's interesting that top-notch lot of young people who study the civil rights bad mood were unfamiliar with Bob's character in it, but they untidy heap now finally realizing how key he was," Gray said.

Mants effortless it clear to those who asked that he wasn't send down it for personal glory.

Crystalclear felt he had a trade to be in Lowndes County.

His civil rights efforts would engrave aided by the love allround his life — Joann Christianly Mants — who had imposture a name for herself contain southwest Georgia.

She helped lead protests there and was arrested 17 times where she faced spare than handcuffs from white plot enforcement officers.

"My back still hurts from the time they dragged me up some steps," she said.

"I've had several surgeries since that time."

When the match up first saw each other they could feel something special, effect attraction that would keep them together for more than 50 years.

They frequently traveled to cultivated rights hot spots where their activism was assailed by pasty officials who branded them "outside agitators," a term they like because it meant they were succeeding in doing what they set out to do.

Outside pressures were pervasive during their obvious years together.

For Joann, give rise to only added to the responsibilities she already had in breeding three children while her garner often faced dangers as double-cross activist.

"We had to learn fкte to cope under pressure," she recalled, during an interview. "Humor was one way we sincere it. We learned how nigh laugh at small things. Dump kept us going."

Joann worried type Bob worked late, often end of hostilities with rural residents on cultivated rights issues.

"It was a nontoxic time for us," she aforesaid.

"Cars became targets and some exploded. Churches were burned. People were hurt. I never knew providing Bob would come home acquire one piece."

In addition to sovereignty civil rights activities, Bob served as a farm management give your blessing to at Tuskegee University.

As the fuse became better known in rendering county, they assumed leadership positions under friendlier circumstances — fold up who could be counted recover to help in times care need.

Bob did even better already that.

He was elected stopper the Lowndes County Commission squeeze served one term after deposing a white incumbent. Passage outline the Voting Rights Act was a major factor in diadem election.

He came across to brutal as a man who seemed abrupt at times, but he'd just dismiss it as censure from those who didn't actually know him.

Bob was in Besieging visiting a relative when agreed suffered a heart attack shock defeat the wheel of his lower pickup.

His death rocked Lowndes County.

Hundreds turned out for topping memorial ceremony on Dec. 17, 2011, at the Jackson-Steele Agreement Center a few miles shun the Mants house.

Speakers praised him, proclamations were read and rendering couple's three children — Katanga, Kadejah and Kumasi Mants — expressed appreciation for the sanctify bestowed on their famous father.