Lillian Smith

Explore the life and career of Lillian Smith (December 12, 1897 – September 28, 1966), American novelist and social critic, her bold fights against segregation, her most notable works like Strange Fruit and Killers of the Dream, and her enduring influence through the Lillian Smith Book Awards.

Introduction

Lillian Eugenia Smith was an American Southern writer, educator, and outspoken social critic who used both fiction and nonfiction to challenge the racist and sexist norms of her time. Although she came from a privileged white Southern background, she became one of the earliest white voices in the mid-20th century to critique segregation, white supremacy, and cultural hypocrisy in the South. Her work provoked controversy, but also inspired later civil rights advocates and writers. Today she is remembered not just for her novels, but for her courageous moral stance and her belief that Southern society must confront its own injustices.

Early Life and Family

Lillian Smith was born on December 12, 1897, in Jasper, Florida, the seventh of nine children in a prominent family. In 1915, the family’s fortunes declined after her father lost his turpentine business, and the family moved to the mountains of Clayton, Georgia, where they already had a summer home.

Part of their property was developed into Laurel Falls Camp for Girls, which later became a major focus in her life.

Smith’s early education included one year at Piedmont College in Demorest, Georgia (1915–16), and two separate stints at the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore (1917 and 1919), where she studied music.

She also spent time teaching and working at her family’s camp. Over time, the camp would become a site not just of recreation and instruction, but of social reflection.

Career & Activism

Writer & Social Critic

Smith’s work spans both fiction and nonfiction, with a strong moral and social mission. She is best known for her willingness to address taboo topics in the Jim Crow South — interracial relationships, segregation, the psychological harms of racism, white privilege, and cultural change.

One of her first public platforms was the publication (with her lifelong partner Paula Snelling) of a small journal initially called Pseudopodia, which evolved into North Georgia Review and finally into South Today (1936–1945). This journal offered space for more liberal, critical Southern voices.

Major Works

Here are some of her most significant books:

• Strange Fruit (1944) – Probably her most famous work, this novel addresses an interracial relationship in the Deep South and the social consequences of crossing racial lines.

  • Strange Fruit was banned in some cities (e.g. Boston, Detroit) for “lewdness” and was at one point barred from U.S. mail.

  • Its title evokes the iconic Billie Holiday song about lynching; Smith claimed the phrase also referred metaphorically to “damaged, twisted people” shaped by racial culture.

• Killers of the Dream (1949) – A collection of essays blending autobiography and social critique, in which Smith examines the psychological roots of Southern racial attitudes, the damage of segregation, and the toll on white southerners’ consciences.

• The Journey (1954) – This work explores themes of white guilt, privilege, and moral awakening; it also includes reflections on her own health struggles.

• Now Is the Time (1955) – A nonfiction work calling for enforcement and moral embrace of Brown v. Board of Education, arguing that compliance and integration were morally imperative.

• One Hour (1959) – A novel in which she critiques McCarthyism and ideological conformity.

• Other works include Memory of a Large Christmas (1962) and Our Faces, Our Words (1964).

Smith also contributed essays, speeches, and articles to periodicals like Saturday Review, Life, The Nation, New Republic, New York Times, and others.

Social Activism & Influence

Beyond books, Smith was involved in civil rights movements. She was an early white Southern critic of segregation. She corresponded with Black and white civil rights leaders and allied with organizations like CORE and SNCC.

She gave speeches and addressed issues such as “The Right Way Is Not a Moderate Way,” urging moral clarity over timidity.

Her essays and books circulated among civil rights activists, and some of her critiques of white southern culture became influential as movements grew in the 1950s and 1960s.

Personality & Challenges

Smith lived with breast cancer for part of her life, and her book The Journey includes reflections on her illness. She battled declining health while continuing to write and speak.

She maintained a long, private partnership with Paula Snelling; though their relationship was never openly acknowledged publicly, letters and historical scholarship confirm a lifelong bond.

Smith often faced backlash and censorship, particularly from Southern conservatives, due to her frank treatment of race and sex. Her status as a white Southerner critiquing her own society made her both controversial and compelling.

Legacy & Recognition

Lillian Smith’s legacy continues in multiple ways:

• Lillian Smith Book Awards: Since 1968, the Southern Regional Council (later other sponsors) has presented awards named after her, honoring authors whose work addresses social justice, race, and Southern life.

• Lillian E. Smith Center (Clayton, Georgia): Operated by Piedmont College, this center (on her former Laurel Falls Camp grounds) supports scholarship, retreats, and research on social justice and Southern culture.

• Her works, especially Strange Fruit and Killers of the Dream, remain studied in Southern literature, civil rights history, and intersectional critiques of race and class.

• She is inducted in the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame, and her writings are often cited in academic fields exploring race, Southern identity, and women’s literature.

• Her courage in speaking about race as a white Southerner has earned retrospective respect, though in her time she endured social ostracism and censure.

Famous Quotes

Here are some notable quotes attributed to Lillian Smith:

• “Faith and doubt both are needed – not as antagonists, but working side by side to take us around the unknown curve.”

• “Man, born of woman, has found it a hard thing to forgive her for giving him birth. The patriarchal protest against the ancient matriarch has borne strange fruit through the years.”

• “The human heart dares not stay away too long from that which hurt it most. There is a return journey to anguish that few of us are released from making.”

• “Segregation is evil; there is no pattern of life which can dehumanize men as can the way of segregation.”

• “When you stop learning, stop listening, stop looking and asking questions, always new questions, then it is time to die.”

These reflect her moral seriousness, her commitment to truth, and her psychological insight.

Lessons & Themes

From Lillian Smith’s life and work, several lessons emerge:

1. Speak truth even if it alienates. She challenged the dominant racial orthodoxy in her own community, accepting that moral courage often comes at personal cost.

2. Complexity over simplification. Her works show that issues of race, identity, and power are tangled; she resisted reductive solutions.

3. Use both fiction and nonfiction. She blended storytelling and social critique to reach different audiences and evoke both empathy and analysis.

4. Sickness and struggle can deepen insight. Her reflections on illness, mortality, and vulnerability added nuance to her moral voice.

5. Legacy is built beyond one’s life. Through the book awards and center named after her, her moral commitment continues to inspire future generations.

Conclusion

Lillian Smith was a Southern writer who refused to stay silent. Born into privilege, she used her pen and platform to illuminate the deep injustices and hypocrisies of segregation, race, and gender in the American South. Her fearless voice in Strange Fruit, Killers of the Dream, and other works helped pave the way for more open conversations about race and conscience in America. Though she faced censorship and resistance in her own time, her intellectual and moral legacy endures through scholarship, the Lillian Smith Book Awards, and the many readers and writers who continue to engage with her bold, uncompromising vision.