Monthly Archives: February 2012

“The following day was very tense as Greenwood awaited the arrival of the marchers, whose numbers had been variously estimated to be between 500 and 1000, led by Martin Luther King. Some of the reporters said De La had been … Continue reading →

“About 2 p.m. three of the freedom marchers, all black, were arrested after they attempted to put up tents for the marchers on school grounds. Among the three was Stokely Carmichael, who had been here before and always spelled trouble. … Continue reading →

“Another tense period came during the Freedom March in 1966. The Freedom March developed after James Meredith began a march from the northern state line to Jackson which was pretty widely publicized. After he had gone a short distance he … Continue reading →

“In May of 1966, on a hot Sunday afternoon, we attended a Ku Klux Klan rally on the grounds of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Clubhouse. Russell, Carol Franklin of the Commonwealth and I drove out to the site where a … Continue reading →

“Many of those who had taken part in the activities in Greenwood were active in the MFDP (Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party) and in newspaper reports which have included some of the activities of the Sovereignty Commission during the ’60s it … Continue reading →

“The Negro Voters’ League, led by a school teacher, David Jordan, as much a racist as De La, became more and more active after the blacks started voting in large numbers, and white candidates soon realized they would have to … Continue reading →

“One of the complications which arose from the addition of thousands of illiterates to the voting rolls was the time required to select a competent jury. Many who were called for jury duty had to be excused because they could … Continue reading →

“When the first election was held after all the new voters had been added, the Justice Department attorney John Doar set up an office for several days in Greenwood to direct federal observers who had been sent here to watch … Continue reading →

“On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Voting Rights Act. We did  not fully realize how much this would affect our city and county and state in the years to come. After the Voting Rights Act … Continue reading →

“The summer of ’64 was finally over, and the rest of the year was fairly quiet. All of the college students went back to their schools, and we really never knew whether they felt that had accomplished anything or not, … Continue reading →