Civil Rights Workers In Mississippi

1
Civil Rights Workers In Mississippi

• The battle of equality vs. segregation

2
Background Information

• It was extremely well known that racism existed
  in the south, however Mississippi was a special
  case state since it had the reputation of being
  the most violent and racist
• There were several of the officials and members
  of boards who attempted to keep Mississippi in
  their segregated ways

3
Background Information

• This would include keeping blacks out of the loop
  as far as employment and crucial rights such as
  voting
• The black students and workers of Mississippi
  were ready to put an end to these actions between
  the early and mid 1960s

4
SNCC (Snick)

• MLK brought about this concept to have more
  dignity than segregationists
• Formed in 1960 by Ella Baker and students who
  organized sit-ins in order to provide a
  nonviolent protest for the rights of African
  Americans
• Used nonviolence to attack segregation and other
  forms of racism.
• Central in Freedom Rides, March on Washington,
  Freedom Summer, Mississippi Democratic Freedom
  Party

5
Charles Cobb, organizer for SNCC

• It succeeded in its way, I suppose, I mean, it
  changed the state forever. It more or lessyou
  know, Phil Ochs had a song back around, roughly
  that same time, I think. It had a line that went
  something like "Mississippi, find your self
  another country to be part of." I think that is
  the way that line went in the song. Well after
  '64 Mississippi became a part of America. What
  you could see at the end of '64 was that
  Mississippi was really a part of the U.S. I mean,
  it wasn't some weird and obscure place. That is a
  bitter lesson. I think that is part of why the
  Mississippi delegation wasn't seated in Atlantic
  City and why Mississippi today has a lot of large
  problems that are generally associated with urban
  northern communitiesif my own quick surveys of
  Greenwood and Greenville are anywhere near
  accurate today. And for the people who
  participated in the project, it changed them a
  lot. I mean, you talk to young guys now, somebody
  like say Wilbur Cologne, who is a Mississippian
  in Columbus, Mississippi, now a businessman, but
  who was a Freedom School student. It had a big
  impact on him. I think the legacy is probably in
  some people who were involved both expanded,
  extended, and changed their lives. You know, if
  you mean legacy in a political sensewell, I
  don't think the MFDP Mississippi Freedom
  Democratic Party is much of a presence in
  Mississippi now. But certainly efforts nudged the
  Mississippi Democratic Party into something other
  than what it had been, and that's a part of the
  '64 project.
• http//www.usm.edu/crdp/html/cd/impact.htmaudio

6
Bob Moses and SNCC

• Director of SNCC
• Freedom Summer, 1964 voter registration drive.
• increase black voter registration in the state
• organize "Freedom Democratic Party" that
  Mississippi Democratic party
• establish "freedom schools" to teach reading and
  math to black children
• Help blacks get legal and medical assistance
• Result 6.7 of Mississippi's voting-age blacks
  were registered to vote
• By 1969, that grew to 66.5, 5.5 above the
  national average.

7
CORE

• Abbreviation for Congress for Racial Equality
• Participated in Mississippi Freedom Summer
• Efforts along with SNCC, NAACP led to 1965 Voting
  Rights Act

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Violence in Mississippi

• Reverend George Lee who was a NAACP worker was
  killed for enticing more blacks to vote in the
  Mississippi Delta area in 1955. He was shot in
  the face with many witnesses around to testify
  that the situation occurred. No one was charged
  or found guilty.

9
Violence in Mississippi

• In 1961, Hebert Lee died in Liberty Mississippi.
  He was killed by a member of the Mississippi
  State Legislature (EH Hurst). It was said that
  Hurst wanted Lee dead because of his involvement
  with encouraging blacks to vote in southwest
  areas of Mississippi

10
Violence in Mississippi

• In 1963 Medgar Evans, a NAACP State Director, was
  murdered in the front of his Jackson home by a
  White Citizens Council Member (Byron de la
  Beckwith)-from Greenwood, MS

11
Violence

• Moodys Uncle Clift is murdered because of her
  Civil rights activities
• 3 CORE workers are killed near Philidelphia,
  Mississippi Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman,
  and James Chaney
• 37 black churches and 30 black homes and
  businesses burned
• More than 1000 black and white volunteers were
  arrested
• 80 were beaten by white mobs or racist police
  officers.
• Assassination attempt on Bob Moses in Greenwood

12
Violence

• June 17, 1965 Mrs. Aylene Quinn, a civil rights
  activist from McComb, Mississippi, went with her
  four children to the Governor's Mansion in
  Jackson to protest the seating of Mississippi
  congressmen elected from districts where no
  Blacks were allowed to vote. Refused admittance,
  Quinn and her children sat on the steps of the
  mansion. They carriedsmall American flags. In
  this photograph, a Mississippi highway patrolman
  wrestles American flag from five-year-old Anthony
  Quinn.

13
Government Involvement

• Telegram (3/27/63) from A. Philip Randolph urging
  the President to send U.S. marshals and FBI
  agents to Greenwood, Mississippi where civil
  rights workers involved in voter registration had
  been attacked "A WHITE MOB IS GATHERING IN THE
  AREA ABSOLUTELY IMPERATIVE IMMEDIATE FEDERAL
  ACTION BE TAKEN. REIGN OF TERROR BEING WAGED
  AGAINST NEGROES MUST END."

14
Works Cited

• Civil Rights Leaders and the President. John F.
  Kennedy Library and Museum. 9 Oct. 2004
  index.html.
• Freedom Summer. 9 Oct. 2004 ne.org/history/freedom_summer.htm.
• Ghosts of Mississippi. Castle Rock, 1996.
• Mississippi Freedom Summer. Civil Rights
  Movement 1955-1965 Mississippi Freedom Summer.
  10 Oct. 2004 story/civilrights-55-65/missippi.html.
• On the Impact of the Movement. 11 Oct. 2004
  
  .
• On Violence and Nonviolence The Civil Rights
  Movement in Mississippi. Mississippi History
  Now. Mississippi Historical Society. 10 Oct.
  2004 4/ms_civil_rights.html.
• SNCC. TheFreeDictionary.com. 10 Oct. 2004
  .
• When Youth Protest. Mississippi History Now.
  Mississippi Historical Society. 10 Oct. 2004
  ilrights.html.