One died for rights; the other raised her children

[Rose Siding]

Sarah Evans' name doesn't appear in history books. Her life in Detroit hasn't been chronicled through many newspaper, magazine or television accounts. By no stretch is she recognized as a heroine of the civil rights movement.

But those who knew and loved Evans say the sacrifice she made for a white woman and her five children back in 1965 should be one for the books.

It started with a promise nearly 40 years ago.

Viola Liuzzo, a white housewife and part-time student at Wayne State University, decided to travel to the South to help register black voters in Alabama at a time when local authorities fought against it. She left her husband and five children behind in their brick home on Marlowe in northwest Detroit.

Liuzzo, 39, who was both employer and best friend to Evans, made one request: If anything were to happen to her in Alabama, would Evans help raise her children? Evans warned Liuzzo about the dangers and begged her not to go. Still, she pledged to support Liuzzo's family....

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