Mississippi Civil Rights Project

History of the 82 counties

Background/History

There is no "Background/History" article currently associated with this county.

Currently, there are no images associated with this county.

Currently, there are no videos associated with this county.

Currently, there are no audio files associated with this county.

Currently, there are no documents associated with this county.

Jack Young
Jack Young was a self-taught civil rights attorney. Young lived in Jackson with his wife, Aurelia, and their two children.
Hazel Palmer
Mrs. Hazel Palmer, and elementary school maid, was an activist for the Freedom Democratic Party.
Mrs. Gladys Noel Bates
Mrs. Gladys Noel Bates was an eighth grade science teacher at Smith Robertson School in 1948 when she filed a lawsuit, later joined by R.
Dr. Margaret Walker Alexander
Dr. Margaret Walker Alexander (1915-1998) was a writer, poet, and teacher. Her role to scholars and interpreters of culture was similar to Medger Evers' role to activists of the movement.

Places

Tougaloo College
Tougaloo College was founded in 1869 by the American Missionary Association on land formerly occupied by an antebellum cotton plantation worked by slaves.
State Fairgrounds
For decades leading up to the 1960s, the state of Mississippi had staged two annual state fairs – one for whites only, followed by a "colored"fair.
F.W. Woolworth Store
After demands for the desegregation of commercial businesses went unanswered, the NAACP decided to engage in direct action.
Former Site of Trailways Busway Station
The first of two busloads of Freedom Riders – nine African American males, two African American females, and one white female – arrived here from Montgomery, Alabama, on May 25, 1961.

Events

East 1960 Boycott
Date of Event:
1960
The Easter 1960 boycott of the downtown businesses on Capitol Street was the beginning of the most active phase of the Jackson civil rights movement.
Lynch Street Shooting
Date of Event:
May 14, 1970
On May 14, 1970, a protest among Jackson State students erupted on Lynch Street.
Bus Sit-In of 1961
Date of Event:
1961
At Lamar and Capitol Streets on April 20, 1961, three Jackson State students, George Washington, Doris Bracey, and Walter Jones, and a Campbell College student, Johnny Barbour, Jr.

Organizations

Mississippi Free Press
The Mississippi Free Press, a four-page social and civil rights weekly newspaper, was written by Medgar Evers and John Salter, among others, and later edited by Henry J. Kirksey in Hinds County.
Republic of New Africa
The Republic of New Africa (RNA) was an African American nationalist organization that sought to secure lands in five southern states.
Jackson Nonviolent Movement
In 1961 and 1962, the Jackson Nonviolent Movement (JNM) was an offshoot of SNCC.
The Clarion-Ledger
The Clarion-Ledger is Jackson's daily morning newspaper and the most widely circulated newspaper in Mississippi.