JANS – Activist Dorie Ann Ladner died March 11, 2024. She was 81. Ladner is remembered as a giant in the civil rights movement who worked closely with such leaders as Bill Ware, George Greene, and George Metcalfe, among others.

“Dorie Ladner was a vital part of the grassroots effort to change Mississippi and America,” said Dr. Stuart Rockoff, executive director of the Mississippi Humanities Council. “A native of the small community of Palmer’s Crossing, she took her experience in the Mississippi movement to become a national leader in the effort for civil rights. The Mississippi Humanities Council looks forward to honoring the life and legacy of Ms. Ladner and her sister Joyce with a new Freedom Trail Marker to be dedicated in their hometown on May 4th.”

Ser Seshsh Ab Heter-Clifford M. Boxley, who knew Ladner personally, recalled why he brought Ladner to Natchez in 2015 for the 50th anniversary of the modern civil rights movement as part of his annual Black and Blue Civil War Living History program.

“I brought her back to Natchez to tell her story and free her spirit from all the pent-up stress generated when she did outstanding community organizing for [the] SNCC Voters Project,” he said.