“The students, black and white, poured into Greenwood and fanned out all over the Delta to conduct Freedom Schools, teaching reading and writing, and assist Negroes in registering to vote. They came from prestigious schools such as Harvard and Yale, Sarah Lawrence and Vassar, and many were from wealthy families. Many were sloppy in their dress and some were outright dirty.

“They set up schools in Negro churches, and many of the local Negroes were wary of their being in their neighborhoods and refused to have anything to do with them. Bill Street with the Commercial Appeal and I spent one day going around to some of the Freedom Schools and observing them and talking to them. Most of them looked as if they had not had a bath or washed their hair in a month. When we got back to the house for lunch the first thing we did was give our hands a good scrubbing. It was quite an experience.”