As the first week of Women’s History Month unfolded across the nation, the recent Crown Forum atmosphere encouraged reflection. Moderated by David Wall Rice, the discussion brought a living history to the stage. While the narrative of the Civil Rights Movement is often framed through the singular lens of heroic men, the Daughters of the Movement – a collective of women who are the direct descendants of the movement’s most iconic figure – are shifting that perspective.
Growing up at the dining room tables where marches were planned and sit-ins were strategized, these “legacy holders” shared what it means to carry the oral history, cultural values, and wisdom of revolutionary leaders into a new era.
The domesticity of resistance
Dr. Hasna Muhammad, daughter of the legendary Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, remembers a childhood where the fight for justice was as fundamental as daily chores. For her, the home was not a refuge from the struggle, but the center of it.
“Our home was our training ground, the place where we learned about what we as a people, as a family, and as individuals must do in this continuing fight for justice,” Muhammad said. “We grew up knowing that we had a place in the relentless fight for justice just as we knew we had to make our beds and brush our teeth.”
The burden and the blessing
For Keisha Sutton-James, granddaughter of the formidable Percy Sutton, the legacy of the movement is a complex inheritance. She recalls learning from a man who was not just a grandfather, but a Freedom Rider and the attorney for Malcolm X.
“I came to understand that getting arrested as part of civil disobedience is a powerful way to defy the power structures that oppress us and to lift up our plight,” Sutton-James said. She describes the unique experience of her lineage as “the blessing and the burden,” carrying a mantra her grandfather lived by: “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.”
Moving the needle forward
Gina Belafonte, daughter of Harry Belafonte, grew up in a home filled with “art and activism.” She recounts the moment her father’s life shifted—a four-hour meeting with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that transformed him into a lifelong servant of the movement.
“Never go through a day where you have not done at least one thing for racial and social justice,” Belafonte says, quoting a family principle passed down from her grandmother. “Where you have not done something to move that needle forward for a more equitable world.”
The collective mission
Suzanne Kay, daughter of the groundbreaking actress Diahann Carroll, joins these women in a mission of “raising consciousness.” During Women’s History Month, the Daughters focus on ensuring that the movement’s female architects and storytellers finally receive their due.
“Together, the Daughters of the Movement uplift the history of the civil rights movement while inspiring communities to continue the work towards justice, equity, and opportunity for all,” the group asserts.
A mandate for the next generation
The forum concluded with a powerful call to action for the students in attendance. Dr. Hasna Muhammad emphasized that while we honor the icons of today, the true power of the movement lies in its constant forward motion and the preparation of those who will fill the seats of leadership next.
“We can talk about Kamala Harris and Ketanji Brown [Jackson] and all those others, but we have to talk about who’s coming next. Who in these seats is going to take the next place? The next Barack Obama, the next Jesse Jackson, the next Martin King—that’s what we need to talk about. And you make the decision in your mind, and you reach back and you get your little brother and you put him in your seat and move forward. That’s what our movement is. That word ‘movement’—moves. And so must we.”
By equipping today’s youth with the courage to break “survival silences,” the Daughters are betting on a new generation of “doers” to carry the torch. Their parents never shied away from showing up when a wrong needed a voice; now, the mandate has shifted to the seats of the AUC to do the same.
