A one-woman play about the life, death and aftermath of activist Viola Liuzzo will be showing in the Student Center at 6 p.m. Thursday.
The play, titled Selma ’65, tells the tale of a white woman from Detroit who felt an urge to fight for voter rights in Alabama after seeing violence against protesters taking place on television.
After being inspired by Dr. King’s words, Liuzzo traveled down to Alabama to help transport marchers and volunteers in her ’63 Oldsmobile during a five-day march in 1965.
On the night the march ended, four Ku Klux Klan members including Tommy Rowe, an FBI informant, chased her and her passenger throughout roads in Selma until they fatally shot her in the head.
Actress Marietta Hedges will portray both Viola Liuzzo and Tommy Rowe in this Off-Off-Broadway play written by Catherine Filloux which premiered at La Mama Theater in 2014.
“The significance of Viola Liuzzo’s story is that one person can make a difference,” said history professor JoEllen Vinyard.
Vinyard said that Liuzzo wasn’t rich, well educated or had anything to personally gain from helping, but she really cared about seeing justice denied and trying to solve a problem she felt was wrong.
“Above all, she cared about the promise America had to offer all of its people,” said Vinyard.
Vinyard wanted to make people aware that voter rights are still a concern in America today. States trying to eliminate early voting, requiring photo IDs, restricting absentee ballots and restricting students the right to register and vote are a few of the many concerns today when it comes to voter rights issues today.
“We still have a lot of work to do,” said John Dickman, a recent EMU graduate with a degree in criminal justice.
He said he wants to see the play because his parents were big into the civil right’s movement while they were in high school.
Selma ’65 takes Liuzzo’s story and puts it into the forefront and shows viewers that no matter how small our roles are in the big picture, in the end even the littlest efforts we take can have an effect on the world, for the good.
One thing Vinyard said EMU students can learn from Liuzzo’s path of helping ensure equal rights in America was to “Just be decent.”
