Birmingham native Virginia Foster Durr was a constant presence in progressive Alabama politics and the movement for civil rights in the second half of the twentieth century. In the early 1950s, Virginia Durr and her husband, attorney Clifford Durr, were living in Montgomery and became involved in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. For most of the 1960s, the Durr household was a hub of civil rights activity, as the couple opened their home to journalists, activists, and attorneys during the Freedom Rides and the Selma to Montgomery March. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Virginia Durr continued to write and speak on behalf of progressive political causes. In 1985, she published her autobiography, Outside the Magic Circle, which was widely praised. She remained active in state and local politics well into her early nineties, often protesting nuclear weapons and working to achieve economic equality.
Photos courtesy of: Alabama Department of Archives and History, “Slides”