Category Archives: Uncategorized

“Spring came again to Greenwood in 1964 and with it came the marches. Richard Frey, a 27-year-old white Pennsylvania civil rights worker, announced that a march for registration drive would be staged on March 25 with plans for 300 Negroes … Continue reading →

“We started off the year [1964] with a case in County Court involving 45 Negroes arrested and convicted in Justice of the Peace Court in Itta Bena the previous June. They had been charged with breach of the peace and … Continue reading →

“After De La’s arrest things were fairly quiet in the summer and fall of 1963. The Negroes continued to come to the Courthouse to register but there were no more marches, and it was hoped that the worst was over. … Continue reading →

“The arrest of De La threatened to bring on more demonstrations by the Negroes. About 50 showed up at the Court House at noon and decided to eat lunch on the steps. Sheriff John Ed Cothran advised his deputies the … Continue reading →

“De La continued to fight integration and to show up whenever there were any racial troubles. He later became more obsessed with Jews than Negroes and was always telling me that I was working for a ‘Jew newspaper’ and that … Continue reading →

“During De La [Beckwith]’s trial District Attorney Bill Waller, later Governor, read a letter written by De La on April 16, 1957, which read: ‘When I die I’ll be buried in a segregated cemetery. When you get to heaven you’ll … Continue reading →

“His [De La Beckwith’s] wife was of pioneer stock, a descendant of Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island. She had been in the WAVES. They had been married twice and apparently fought all the time they were married. At … Continue reading →

“Charles Edmundson, a reporter for the Commercial Appeal, wrote in an article published the day after De La was arrested: ‘Once a showplace, the family home was built by Lemuel P. Yerger in 1900 and still remains in the family. Now … Continue reading →

“After [De La Beckwith] was arrested I got a call from a man with Life Magazine saying they were in Greenwood and understood that I had known De La for a long time. They wanted to talk to me about him. … Continue reading →

“He [De La Beckwith] always played the role of the true Southern gentleman, greeting the ladies with a bow and ‘Howdy, Ma’am’ and always saying ‘Sir’ to the men. He liked to dress in white and once when he met … Continue reading →