Jocie: Southern Jewish American Princess, Civil Rights Activist

What an adventure I have had converting from a typical Southern Jewish American Princess into an honored civil rights activist. After Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated in my town, I started calling my maid "Mrs." -- while my husband and children didn't. The family's prominence in business gave me the security to change.

Born in 1940, I hit adulthood in Memphis during its 1960s turmoil. My value system was turned upside down. I tried to straddle the life I was reared to live and the life that was revolting against the former me.

A second sanitation workers strike was threatened for July 1969. July, as in flies The mayor and the union were at an impasse. Enter the women I found myself leading a march on city hall and demanding resolution, pretty darn well. The sanitation workers and the city deserved better.

I got divorced, became an attorney, started mediation in Memphis, and founded an award-winning human relations organization, the Memphis Panel of American Women.

From Memphis to the State House to the White House, this book charts my journey through sacrifice, even death, but also crazy situations and funny incidents. I learned "HTSFIAMI." Read the book to find out what it means. Along this path, I have walked beside some incredible people.

The balance sheet is positive. There was new insight, new friends, and new values, banjo picking, and an old crush -- who loves me still today.

Author: Jocelyn Dan Wurzburg
Publisher: Hillhelen Group LLC
Published: 04/25/2018
Pages: 380
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.22lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.85d
ISBN: 9780996345859

About the Author
Wurzburg, Jocelyn Dan: - "Jocelyn Dan Wurzburg grew up in Memphis going to Vollentine, Snowden, Central, then Rhodes College where she received her B.A. in Sociology/Anthropology; J.D. from University of Memphis. A fifth generation Memphian, married with three children, she thought her life was set - until the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King in 1968 shattered her belief system. That was a transformative event that raised her consciousness to racism and its role in society. She founded the local Panel of American Women that year to address prejudice and celebrate differences. She started the Concerned Women of Memphis and Shelby County, credited with averting a second sanitation workers' strike a year after Dr. King's death. Jocelyn jumped into civil rights, women's rights, and social justice activities serving on the Social Action Commission of Reform Judaism. President Gerald Ford appointed her to the International Women's Year Commission, and she served Governor Winfield Dunn on the Tennessee Human Rights Commission, where she wrote Tennessee's first anti-discrimination law in employment, public accommodations, and housing. At age 35, Jocie went to law school hoping to be more effective in her "causes." After four divorce trials, she pursued mediation as a saner process, becoming Memphis' first professional mediator. She founded the Mediation Association of Tennessee despite resistance to mediation by the bench and bar. She helped start the Association for Women Attorneys and chaired the Family Law and the ADR sections of the Memphis Bar Association. Devoted to jazz, she founded the Jazz Society of Memphis, feeling music could bring people together."Hillman, Jacque: - Senior Partner, The HillHelen Group Publishing Co.; editor, award-winning journalist for 30 years; former English teacher; graduate, Delta Leadership Institute Executive Academy 2010-2011; Sterling Awards: 20 Most Influential Women in West Tennessee 2014.Hillman, Jesse: - Senior Partner, The HillHelen Group Publishing Co.; former newspaper publisher, editor, freelancer for 25 years; professional photographer; specialty, information technology.

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