Bob Smith, Activist

Hi. I’m Bob Smith from Mississippi. I’ve been in the struggle for justice since I was a teenager, and I’ve spent my life standing up for civil rights, voting rights, peace, and human dignity.

I was born in Brookhaven, Mississippi and came of age in the Jim Crow South. I learned early what it meant to be treated as less, but my parents taught me that we are all equal in God’s eyes, and I’ve carried that truth with me ever since.

As a young organizer with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, I led voter registration work and marched for voting rights in Mississippi and beyond, including in Selma, Alabama. Like many others in that struggle, I was beaten, arrested, and locked up, but I refused to let hate take root in my heart.

Over the years, I’ve marched, organized, spoken out, and taken part in demonstrations across this country. Some days it’s just me and a sign on a busy street corner. Other days I’m marching in a Pride parade or speaking at a No Kings rally. Big crowd or no crowd at all, I believe we have to keep showing up for one another.

I’m 81 years old. I’m still here, and I’m still doing my part.