Jack and John Windom: Remembering Alice

Jackson (Jack) Windom is Alice's oldest younger brother. He was born in Illinois and moved with his family to Texas and St. Louis. He served in the military for 22 years before retiring and moving back to St. Louis.

John Windom Jr. is Alice's youngest brother. He was born in Prairie View, Texas, and worked in school administration at the St. Louis Public Schools until he retired. 

Jack and John described Alice's formative years as being spent on the campus of Prairie View A&M in Prairie View, Texas.

Jackson even relayed that the move to St. Louis traumatized him and Alice, leading her to her activism.

Labeled map of Prairie View A&M's campus.
Image courtesy of the Griot Museum
Labeled map of Prairie View A&M's campus. Image courtesy of the Griot Museum

Jack and John described Alice as her mother's daughter: strong-willed and courageous. Jack even described an anecdote where his mother used him as a tool to integrate a local park in St. Louis.

When Alice decided to spend time in Africa, her mother was against it. But Alice went anyway. This is a letter from Alice to her mother while overseas in Africa.

A letter from Alice to her mother on February 3, 1966, while Alice was in Africa. Image courtesy of the Griot Museum
A letter from Alice to her mother on February 3, 1966, while Alice was in Africa. Image courtesy of the Griot Museum
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Alice and Jack stayed in contact from wherever they were in the world. Jack was in the military, which led him to travel all around, and would send letters and postcards to Alice, some of which she kept.

A letter from Jack to Alice in December 1972
Image courtesy of the Griot Museum
A letter from Jack to Alice in December 1972 Image courtesy of the Griot Museum
Postcard from Jack to Alice with an image from Venice, Italy, on the front.
Image courtesy of the Griot Museum
Postcard from Jack to Alice with an image from Venice, Italy, on the front. Image courtesy of the Griot Museum

Barnes Hospital is a huge part of Alice's activist story. When their father was dying, Alice fought to get him a room in the white-only hospital. Jack and John remember that room, next to the boiler room in the basement, as the last place they saw their father. This treatment as well as the segregation of the hospital and its workers led Alice to never go to the doctor until the very end of her life.

If she felt sick, she would read and learn about what she needed to keep herself healthy.

She helped with the protest at Barnes Hospital, which led to the integration of the facility. 

In her final days, she stayed at Barnes. Jack and John remember how--even bed-ridden--Alice's fighting spirit showed through how she interacted with the medical personnel taking care of her. 

Protesters in front of Barnes Hospital.
Image courtesy of the Griot Museum
Protesters in front of Barnes Hospital. Image courtesy of the Griot Museum
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