Accidental Activist: Changing the world one small step at a time
On December 1, 2023, peacefully but unexpectedly, Mary Allen Jolley died. Her death came just
16 days after she and I had delivered the manuscript of this book to Dr. Joe Taylor, Director of
The University of West Alabama’s Livingston Press. It was my great pleasure to volunteer over
several years with Mary as her editorial assistant in the book’s creation. It’s now my privilege
and pleasure to represent Mary in sharing her story and wisdom so she can continue to be a good
influence in the world! All royalties go to the Alabama Network of Family Resource Centers,
which Mary was instrumental in founding, and which works to end intergenerational poverty.
—JAN PRUITT
“Few women have lived a life as courageous and consequential as Mary Jolley’s. From the impoverished Alabama farm where she was raised during the Depression and where her parents taught her the value of education and the virtues of making a difference in the lives of others, she worked her way into the halls of the U.S. Congress, where she arrived in the mid-1950s as a legislative aide to Alabama Congressman Carl Elliott, becoming his right-hand woman (almost always the only woman in the room). Her tireless behind-the-scene efforts helped pass the National Defense Education Act, which has provided millions of deserving students across the nation the opportunity of a college education. With wit, wisdom, and riveting detail, Jolley shares a behind-the-scenes look at the most fiery decade in the history of Alabama and of the nation-—the 1960s—working with Elliott and others to push back against the forces of racism, intolerance and ignorance, not just in her own state but across the nation. Here, she details her lifelong journey, with a cast of characters ranging from John F. Kennedy to George Wallace, and shares how her
efforts to make other lives better has continued over the ensuing half century, right up until today, as she closes in on her 100th birthday. This is a story that will enrich and inspire all Americans, and certainly all Alabamians.”
—MICHAEL D’ORSO, co-author (with Rep. John Lewis) of Walking With the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement and (with Rep. Carl Elliott) The Cost of Courage: The Journey of an American Congressman.
“When I reached my 90s, some friends and colleagues told me I should tell about my life and some things I helped to get accomplished. I’ve resisted doing that, but now, though I know my story is not going to change the world by itself, I’ve decided to tell it because it might help somebody else see that they can help change things for the better.
“. . . I personally didn’t do big things. I did little things. . . that helped big things happen. You can do the same..”
—MARY ALLEN JOLLEY