Joan's activism was branded as mental illness

Joan’s activism was branded as mental illness

Written by Buffy Naylor
September 14, 2021

The reaction to Joan’s participation in sit-ins and protests was that she had to be mentally ill. She was taken in for evaluation after her first arrest.

Duke’s dean of women pressured Joan to stop her activism. As a result, in the fall of 1961, Joan dropped out of Duke.

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Buffy Naylor

Buffy Naylor is managing editor of Channel Futures. Prior to joining Informa (then VIRGO) in 2008, she was an award-winning copywriter and editor, then senior manager of corporate communications for an international leisure travel corporation and, before that, in charge of creative development and copywriting for a boutique marketing and public relations agency.