The Black civil rights leader who sued to be called “Miss” episode artwork

EPISODE · Mar 14, 2026 · 25 MIN

The Black civil rights leader who sued to be called “Miss”

from Code Switch

It’s Alabama, 1963. A black woman stands before a judge, but she refuses to acknowledge his questions until he addresses her by the same honorific given to white women: “Miss.” That woman's name is Mary Hamilton. Her case eventually reached the Supreme Court and changed the courts, and eventually broader culture, for good. We’re revisiting the largely forgotten story of Miss Mary Hamilton, a Freedom Rider who struck a blow against a pervasive form of disrespect.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Mar 14, 2026

Embed this episode

NOW PLAYING

The Black civil rights leader who sued to be called “Miss”

0:00 25:37

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Code Switch?

This episode is 25 minutes long.

When was this Code Switch episode published?

This episode was published on March 14, 2026.

Can I download this Code Switch episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!