Young comments on the leadership style of Jessie Daniel Ames, who was head of the Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching during the 1930s. According to Young, Ames was an effective orator who appealed to southern women in her campaign to prevent racial lynchings. As Ames describes it, women were naturally disposed to the idea of lynching; however, it was Ames's abilities as a leader that drew them to action. Earlier in the interview, she hinted at the numerical impact of Ames's efforts when she recalled that over 40,000 southern women signed the pledge of the Association.