In the month before the March on Washington, there was the Stolen Girls in July of 1963. The Stolen Girls were approximately 15 black girls aged 12-15 who were imprisoned for 45 days without charge. They were imprisoned for marching against the segregation of a movie theater in Americus, Georgia. The march was orchestrated by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), who had begun to use more protests for civil rights and integration of public spaces.
The building the girls were held in was in disrepair and barren. The girls slept on concrete floors, had water from a dripping shower, and the girls shared one toilet. They were fed scraps and food such as under-cooked hamburger. They were threatened that they would be taken one by one outside to be killed. Their families did not know where they were or what happened to them. They were finally rescued in September after 45 days of imprisonment and their parents had to pay a $2 boarding fee. They were released on a Friday and were expected in school the following Monday.
Two of the girls continued the fight for civil rights and were added to the Hall of Fame of the National Voting Rights Museum in Selma, Alabama. The Georgia Historical Society erected a Historical Marker at the Stockade as part of the Civil Rights Trail in 2019. The Stolen Girls were nominated by Georgia Congressmen for the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016. Although they did not win, Culture Blurb thanks the Stolen Girls for their contribution to civil rights against Jim Crow laws.