Meriam Megaphone Spring 2026, Issue 1

By Ann Wilson
Meriam Library Communications
California State University, Chico

The U.S. Civil Rights Movement brings to mind a familiar set of names like Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Malcolm X. Their leadership was essential. Yet social change has always been powered by a much wider range of people: artists and writers, organizers and allies, thinkers whose influence didn’t always come with headlines.
This month’s fourth-floor book display highlights lesser-known civil rights activists whose work illustrates that activism takes many forms and that culture, art, and solidarity are just as vital as legislation and protest.

Soundtracking a Movement

Bob Dylan isn’t usually labeled a civil rights activist, but his early music helped give voice to the movement’s moral urgency. Songs like Blowin’ in the Wind, The Times They Are A-Changin’, and Hurricane captured the questions, frustrations, and hopes of a generation grappling with racism and war. Dylan performed at the 1963 March on Washington, and his lyrics became anthems for young people seeking change.
Rather than offering slogans or solutions, Dylan’s music invited listeners to think critically and feel deeply. That emotional engagement helped make protest culture accessible and powerful for students and activists alike.

Language as a Tool for Liberation

Poet, essayist, and activist Audre Lorde believed that words could challenge systems of power and help people survive them. A Black lesbian feminist, Lorde confronted racism, sexism, homophobia, and classism, often criticizing social movements that claimed to seek justice while excluding marginalized voices.
Her essays and poems argue that difference is not a weakness, but a source of strength. Lorde’s work continues to shape conversations about intersectionality, identity, and equity, reminding readers that silence, too, can be a form of oppression.

Centering Indigenous Voices

Joy Harjo, the first Native American U.S. Poet Laureate, uses poetry to reclaim Indigenous history, memory, and presence. A member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Harjo weaves storytelling, music, and activism to address colonization, environmental justice, and survival.
Her work insists that Native voices are not peripheral to American history but are foundational. By placing Indigenous experience at the center of her art, Harjo challenges readers to rethink whose stories define the nation.

Civil Rights Through Journalism

Journalist and activist Helen Zia played a critical role in advancing Asian American civil rights, particularly during the national response to the 1982 murder of Vincent Chin. Her reporting exposed how anti-Asian racism was often minimized or ignored by the justice system.
Through journalism and organizing, Zia has worked to dismantle stereotypes and assert that Asian American experiences are an integral part of U.S. civil rights history.

Allyship with a Price

Virginia Foster Durr was a white Southern woman who became a committed civil rights ally at great personal cost. After rejecting the segregationist beliefs she was raised with, Durr worked to abolish poll taxes, supported voter registration efforts, and publicly opposed Jim Crow laws.
Her activism led to surveillance, harassment, and social isolation, yet she persisted. Durr’s life is a reminder that allyship is not passive and requires risk, reflection, and the willingness to challenge one’s own community.

Solidarity Across Movements

Yuri Kochiyama devoted her life to civil rights, anti-war activism, and cross-racial solidarity. After being incarcerated in a Japanese American internment camp during World War II, Kochiyama became deeply committed to fighting injustice wherever it occurred.
She worked alongside Black civil rights leaders, including Malcolm X, advocated for reparations, and supported political prisoners. Kochiyama believed that liberation struggles are interconnected and that progress depends on standing together.

For more information on Civil Rights Activists We Should Know,
please check out this LibGuide!

Looking for a way to get your hands literally dirty while doing something good for yourself and the planet? Meriam Library has just launched our Seed Library, a new resource where students, staff, and faculty can “borrow” seeds to grow at home.

Located on the second floor of Meriam Library, the Seed Library works much like a traditional lending library. You check out heirloom seeds, plant them, grow your own food or flowers, and ideally return seeds from your harvest to replenish the collection for others. Don’t worry, there are no fines for not returning them, but contributing back helps keep the library thriving and self-sustaining.

The seeds available aren’t just your average garden variety. The collection includes heirloom seeds purchased from small, BIPOC farmers and Indigenous seed-keeping organizations. For example, you’ll find Aunt Lou’s Underground Railroad Tomatoes from Sistah Seeds, which revives culturally significant seeds from the African Diaspora. Or try Lemon Basil and Mexican Mint from the Alliance of Native Seedkeepers, an organization supporting Native American farming traditions and a seed sanctuary preserving ancestral plants. Every packet comes with planting and harvesting tips, and the library also offers books on seed saving, gardening in small spaces, and even related cookbooks.

Seed libraries promote food sovereignty, biodiversity, and climate adaptation. Seeds saved and replanted year after year adapt to local conditions, becoming stronger and more resilient. Plus, sharing seeds strengthens community ties and makes gardening more accessible for everyone, especially those on tight budgets.

According to the American Library Association, more than 500 seed libraries exist in the U.S. alone, with some tracing their roots back to the early 2000s. The Richmond Grows Seed Lending Library in the Bay Area, for instance, has inspired hundreds of similar projects worldwide. These grassroots efforts help keep rare or endangered plant varieties in circulation and out of corporate seed vaults.

Anyone affiliated with Chico State is welcome to check out up to five seed packets. Just fill out the binder checkout sheet to let us know what you’ve taken. And if you’re new to gardening, don’t worry. The Seed Library is planning hands-on workshops this spring to teach you how to start seeds, grow in containers, and harvest seeds for next season. We also have a huge selection of informational fliers, articles, and books available to help you on your way.

Whether you want to grow tomatoes on your apartment balcony or attract bees in your backyard, this is a great way to get involved in sustainable living. Stop by the second floor of Meriam Library and check out our new Seed Library!

If you would like to look at learning materials available in support of our Seed Library, check out these LibGuides!

Meriam Musing: Seeds of Change

Sometimes history doesn’t shout. It whispers . . . and changes everything.

Refusing to give up a library card: In the 1950s and ’60s, segregated libraries were quietly challenged when Black students and community members applied for cards or attempted to use reading rooms. These small, nonviolent acts helped force desegregation of public libraries across the U.S.
A scientist who didn’t clean up: Alexander Fleming noticed mold growing in a messy petri dish, and instead of tossing it, he looked closer. That mold turned out to be penicillin, the world’s first true antibiotic.
A student questioned NASA: In 1988, a graduate student noticed odd data in climate models and asked about it. The question helped accelerate serious scientific attention to global warming.
An inexpensive pamphlet: Thomas Paine’s Common Sense was written in plain language and cheaply sold in 1776. It reached ordinary colonists, not just elites, and dramatically shifted public opinion toward American independence.
A scientist who shared her data: Rosalind Franklin’s X-ray diffraction images were crucial to understanding DNA’s double-helix structure. Her meticulous lab work, shared without fanfare, made one of the most important scientific discoveries of the 20th century possible.
Keeping “old” seeds: In the early 20th century, some farmers resisted switching entirely to industrial hybrid seeds and preserved heirloom varieties. Those acts of preservation now underpin seed banks and biodiversity efforts worldwide.

Protecting books: During periods of censorship, librarians and private citizens hid banned books rather than destroy them. Many works, especially by marginalized authors, survive today because preservation was chosen over compliance.