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NEWS RELEASE Voter Education Project5 Forsyth Street, N. Atlanta, Georgia Ja. 5-0595 or Ja. 2-8764FOR RELEASE: All Papers Sunday March 31, 1963
The Voter Education Project released today a chronological listing of 64 acts of violence and intimidation against Negroes in Mississippi since January 1961.Almost all of the incidents are directly related to efforts by Negroes to register to vote. The last item on the list is the March 27 dispersal by Greenwood policemen and their dogs of Negro registration applicants, and the jailing of registration workers. “We are sure this is not a complete list," said Wiley A. Branton, Director of the Voter Education Project."It does demonstrate conclusively, however, the pattern of discrimination and violence which exists in Mississippi, and makes Constitutional rights virtually inoperative in that state." The listing, he pointed out, does not include the riot at the University of Mississippi last fall, nor subsequent harassment of James Meredith. “All the world knows that story, as it does the earlier stories of Emmett Till and Mack Parker. This listing, nearly all of which has been compiled from the daily press, shows that what happened at the University should have been expected by anyone familiar with the Mississippi record."
News Release - 2. Because of the near-fatal gun attack of February 28, 1963 against three voter registration workers, a concerted, saturation registration campaign was announced on March 1, 1963 in LeFlore County, Mississippi, of which Greenwood is the county seat. The LeFlore campaign represents the combined efforts of the Mississippi Council of Federated Organizations, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Congress of Racial Equality, and the local NAACP Youth council. The announced objective of the campaign is to get every qualified Negro in LeFlore County registered to vote, if he or she has any desire to do so. This unprecedented concentration of resources in LeFlore County has led, said Branton, to unprecedented results. “For the first time in a Mississippi county, there has been a breakthrough of the fear which has held Negroes back. Since March 1, over 500 have waited determinedly at the Greenwood court house, trying to register. Because of the long drawn-out process in Mississippi, how many will be passed by the registrars is not yet known. Weekly mass meetings are thronged, and LeFlore Negroes are saying emphatically and courageously that they will not wait any longer to be treated as American citizens. them.0And police suppression will not stop
News Release - 3.Branton also noted that the u. s. Department of Agriculture had made a welcome contribution to Negro morale by successfully pressuring the county to resume, on April 1, distribution of federal surplus food, which had been cutoff by the county last fall • .. This was interpreted by the local people," he said, "as an act of support and encouragement by the federal government." "However, he continued, 'the federal government has done little to protect the peace in LeFlore, or elsewhere in Mississippi. Sixty-eight years ago, in the case of In re Debs, the Supreme court said that the •entire strength of the nation may be used to enforce in any part of the land the full and free ·exercise of all national powers and the security of all rights entrusted by the Constitution to its care.• The peace of the United States is broken and shattered by the lawlessness in Mississippi. The federal government has an obligation, which it is not fulfilling, to restore it." The Voter Education Project is a program of the Southern Regional Council, with offices in Atlanta.-END'""'
CHRONOLOGY OF VIOLENCE AND INTIMIDATION IN MISSISSIPPI SINCE 1961
1961 January 1, Greenville, Washingt-20 .. court'ty: /?Wo y9ung _white ~men\ rode a motorbike through a residential area and, according to the local police chief, fired a volley of shots into a group of Negroes. George Mayfield, 18, was seriously wounded in both legs: Percy Lee Simmons, 19, was shot in the right leg. March 30, Jackson, Hinds County: Club-swinging police and two police dogs chased more than 100 Negroes from a courthouse where nine Negro students were convicted for staging a sit-in demonstration. several were struck by the clubs and at least one person was bitten by the dogs. May 7, Jackson, ijinds County: Several white youths, riding in an open convertible, lassoed nine-year-old Negro Gloria Laverne Floyd with a wire and dragged her along the street. The girl suffered a deep gash in her head that required three stitches, cheek bruises, a laceration of her right shoulder, and burn marks on her neck. Police made arrests. August 15, Amite County: Robert Moses, Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) registration worker, and three Negroes who had tried unsuccessfully to register in Liberty, were driving toward McComb when a county officer stopped them. He asked if Moses was the man " ••• who's been trying to register our niggers." All were taken to court and Moses was arrested for "impeding an officer in the discharge of his duties," fined $50 and spent two days in jail. Auqust 22, Amite County: Robert Moses went to Liberty with three Negroes, who made an unsuccessful attempt to register. A block from the courthouse, Moses was attacked and beaten by Billy Jack Caston, the sheriff's first cousin. Eight stitches were required to close a wound in Moses' head. Caston was acquitted of assault charges by an all-white jury before a justice of the peace.
August 26, McComb, Pike County: Hollis Watkins, 20, and Elmer Hayes, 20, SNCC workers, were arrested while staging a sit-inat the F. w. Woolworth store and charged with breach of the peace. They spent 36 days in jail. August 27 and 29 1 McComb, Pi.ke County: Five Negro students from a local high school were convicted of breach of the peace following a sit-in at a variety store and bus terminal. They were sentenced to a $400 fine each and eight months in jail. One ofthese students, a girl of 15, was turned over to juvenile authorities, released, subsequently rearrested, and sentenced to12 months in a state school for delinquents.August 29, McComb, Pike Co~qu: Two Negro leaders were arrested in McComb as an aftermath of the sit-in protest march on city hall, charged with contributing to the delinquency of minors. They were Curtis c. Bryant of McComb, an official of the NAACP,and Cordelle Reagan, of SNCC. Each arrest was made on an affidavit signed by Police Chief George Guy, who said he had information that the two " ••• were behind some of this racial trouble."August 30, McComb, Pike County: SNCC workers Brenda Travis, 16,Robert Talbert, 19, and Isaac Lewis, 20, staged a sit-in in the McComb terminal of the Greyhound bus lines. They were arrested on charges of breach of the peace and failure to obey a policeman's order to move on. '!'hey spent 30 days in jail. September 5, L:ll?erty, Am=J:i:....£!?.!-mty: Travis Britt, SNCC registration worker, was attacked and beaten by whites on the courthouse lawn. Britt was accompanied at the time by Robert Moses. Britt said one man hit him more than 20 times. The attackers drove away in a truck. September 7, Tylertown, Walthall County: John Hardy, SNCC registration worker, took two Negroes to the county courthouse to register. The registrar told them he " ••. wasn't registering voters" that day. When the three turned to leave, Registrar John Q. Wood took a pistol from his desk and struck Hardy over the head from behind. Hardy was arrested and charged with disturbing the peace. September 13, Jackson, Hinds County: Fifteen Episcopal ministers(among them three Negroes) were arrested for asking to be served-2 -
at the lunch counter of the Greyhound bus terminal. They were charged with inviting a breach of tm peace. They were found not guilty of the charge on May 21, 1962, by County Judge Russell Moore September 25, Liberty, Amite £g_un~: Herbert Lee, a Negro who had been active in voter registration, was shot and killed by white state representative E. H. Hurst in downtown Liberty. No prosecution was undertaken, the authorities explaining that the representative had shot in self-defense. October 4, McComb, Pike c9unty: The five students who were arrested as a result of the August 29 sit-in in McComb returned to school, but were refused admittance. At that, 116 students walked out and paraded downtown to the city hall in protest. Police arrested the entire crowd, but later released all but19, all of whom were 18 years old or older. They were charged with breach of the peace and contributing to the delinquency of minors and allowed to go free on bail totaling $3,700. At the trial on October 31, Judge Brumfield, finding the students guilty, and sentencing each to a $500 fine and six months in jail, said: “Some of you are local residents, some of you are outsiders. Those of you who are local residents are like sheep being led to the slaughter. If you continue to follow the advice of outside agitators, you will be like sheep and be slaughtered. “October 5, McComb, Pike County: Charles Sherrod was arrested on the street, thrown into a police car, and charged with resisting arrest. Cordelle Reagan was a~so arrested and charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Both were fieldworkers for SNCC. October 11, McComb, Pike County: Paul Potter of Philadelphia, a vice president of the National Student Association and To Hayden of Atlanta, both white, were dragged from their car and beaten as they drove alongside a group of Negroes making an anti-segregation march. When the two slowed their car for a traffic light, a heavy-set white man opened the door and dragged the driver out and hit him several times. He then walked around to the other side of the car, opened the door and knocked the second man to the street. The incident occurred in the businessI-3 -
section of the city. Octc,ber l1..&.. McCorg}?.,1., ..F_ils;e County: Police Officer B. F. Elmore shot and killed a Negro motorist. Police Chief George Guy said that Elmore said he had stopped Eli Brumfield at 4 a.m. for speeding. Brumfield allegedly jumped from his car with a pocketknife in his hand and attacked Elmore. A coroner's jury ruled Elmore fired in self-defense.October 22 1 Jackson, Hinds County: Dion Diamond, a SNCC worker, was arrested for "running a stop sign" after being followed all day. In court the next day, the arresting officer told thejudge, "He is a Freedom Rider. Throw the book at him." Diamond was refused legal counsel and fined $168.November 9, McComb, Pike County: Jerome smith, 22, Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) field man, and four companions, Dorothy Smith, 18, Alice Thompson, 22, Thomas Valentine, 23, and George Raymond, 18, were attacked by a mob of 30 to 40 whites when they sought service at the lunch counter of the Greyhound bus terminal in McComb. Smith, who suffered head injuries when he was slugged with brass knuckles during the attack, said FBI agents were present at the time of the attack, but did "nothing but take notes" while the mob kicked and beat his companions. The victims were rescued from the mob by a Negro truck driver and Negro cabdrivers. November 10. Jackson, Hinds County: Jessie Divens, twelve-year old, was arrested for refusing to move to the rear of a city bus. Judge Carl Guernsey released the girl to the custody of the Rev. G. R. Horton, chaplain at Campbell College where she attended classes. Judge Guernsey continued the case until November 17,"with the understanding that the Rev. Mr. Horton and the child come back with a workable plan which would cause the child'smind to be concerned with education rather than social reformation. "November 18, McComb, Pike County: Persons unknown fired a shotgun blast into the bedroom of Dion Diamond and John Hardy at 702 Wall Street. Investigating officer Frank Williams found shotgun pellets embedded in the window frame. December 1, McComb, Pike County: Four white men attacked three- 4 -
newsmen on the street, sending one crashing into a plate glass window of a store. The newsmen were Torn Uhrborck and Don Underwood, Life Magazine, and Simmons Fentress, Time Magazine.December2, McComb, Pike County: Police broke up an attempt by; white attackers to drag three Freedom Riders from an automobile at the Greyhound bus terminal. Four men kicked at the locked car and beat upon the windows in an attempt to reach the young Negroes and their driver, Thomas Gaither, field secretary of CORE. The police, who were standing by when the riders arrived aboard a bus from Jackson, pulled the men away from the car, but made no arrests. December 26, Jackson, Hinds County: Rafford Johnson, Negro, was severely beaten by two law officers after being involved in a minor collision with a car driven by a white woman. Johnson underwent surgery for skull injuries.-5 -
1962February 6, 1962, Clarksdale, Coahoma County: Miss Bessie Turner,19, a Negro, was walking with a young man down a Clarksdale street when Clarksdale police officers stopped them and accused Miss Turner of having been involved in a theft. Miss Turner said the officer stook her to the jail, forced her to unclothe and to lie on her back. She said one of the policemen then beat her between the legs with his belt. A few minutes later, Miss Turner said, the other officer beat her across her naked breasts. Miss Turner filed federal charges against the officers. March 15,1952. Sh~lby, Bolivar county: Aaron Henry, state president of the RAACP, was convicted in Justice of Peace Court on charges ofmakir~g ,!-)2:rvsrse advances on a white teen-age hitchhiker. Henrysta"'.:eC: ·::l1at the charges were a complete fabrication! 2.rd pr8sentedan alibi st~pported by sworn witnesses pealed .The con~Jiction has bee:1 ap-When he later stated in a press conferer.ce that the prose-cutor and the police chief, who figured in the trial, had conspiredto fiu'lmehim, Henry was sued by the two for defamation. A Mississip-pi white jury awarded the prosecutor $25,000 and the police chief,$15,000.April 12, 1962, Taylorsville, Smith County: Corporal Roman Duckworth, Jr.,u. s.Army, a Negro, was shot and killed by policeman Bill Kelly when, according to an NAACP news release, Duckworth" insisted on his right to sit where he chose on an interstate bus. "Policeman Kelly claimed that Duckworth was drunk and started-6-
fighting. No charges were brought against Kelly. Duckworth was in route from Camp Ritchie, Maryland, to see his wife who was ill in a Laurel, Mississippi, hospital. April, 19~2, Lucedale, George Countv: Mrs. Ernestine Denham Talbert,•who lives in George County but teaches in Green County, was notified by the Green County School Board that her teaching contract would not be renewed. Mrs. Talbert had tried in January to regis-ter to vote but had been refused.May17,~1962, Bankin County: The Negro editor of the Mississippi Pres§ said he and a companion were beaten by Rankin County officers and a highway patrolman. Lawrence Hudson, Jr., of Jackson, said the beating occurred after he was stopped enroute from Jackson to Forest to check on a rumor that a Negro man had been killed by a white man. He was jailed, refused permission to phone a lawyer, tried the next day on several charges and fined $151.cr.une 21, 1962 1 Clarksdale~ Coahoma County: A white lawyer from Jackson and four college students were jailed in Clarksdale for 20 hours without outside communication. One of the students was a Negro. William Higgs, the lawyer, and the students were jailed on a Sunday night by county officers and were released the following day, without charges being filed against them. Julys, 1962, Jackson, Hinds County: Jesse Harris, 20, and Luvaghn Brown, 17, SNCC workers, charged that they were beaten and threat med with death while serving a 30-day sentence in the county jail for contempt of court. The young Negroes had refused to move from-7-
•a court bench customarily occupied by whites while they were attending the trial of Mrs. Diane Nash Bevel.The young men said that,in the courthouse elevator, a deputy sheriff called Harris "a damned nigger" and beat him about the head with his fist.At the countyfarm, they were singled out as Freedom Riders and wore striped uniforms.Both were beaten by guards.Harris was beaten by a guardnamed "Keith" while other prisoners held him."Keith" beat himacross the back with a length of hose threatening, "Nigger, I'llkill you~"August 16, 1962, Greenwood, Leflore county: Sanuel Block, 23, SNCCfield secretary, said three white men accosted him in a parking lotand "started beating me with their fists."He said they threatenedhim and then beat him for about five minutes •."There is no use re-p:>rting it to local authoritie~" he said.August17,1962, Greenwoog, t,eflore County: SNCC workers SamuelI•Block, Luvaghn Brown, and Lawrence Guyot were forced to flee fromthe second story window of their voter registration office.Theysaid armed white men invaded the premises intent upon doing themharm.August 17, 1962, Ruleyille. Sunflower County: Mayor Charles Durroughasked Mr. Lenard Davis, a Negro employed by the city, what he knewabout the registration school being conducted at a Negro church.Mr. Davis replied that he didn't know anything at all about theschool, and did not attend any of the classes.The mayor then toldhim that he, the mayor, knew what kind of school they were having.-a-
•The ma~or said he knew it 6resumably civil rights for the Negr9/was coming, but he wasn't aoing to allow it to be forced on them.The mayor said that anyone attending the school would be given aone~way ticket out of town, and if that wouldn't do it, they woulduse whatever they had available. (See entry below for September3, 1962.)August,1962,Greenwood,L~floreCOWJty: Welton McSwine, Jr., 14-year-old Negro, was arrested by police after a white woman's househad been broken into.an officer said:When police got the youth to the station,"All right, nigger, you know why you are here,and we want to know who broke into that white woman's house."McSwine told :'them he knew nothing of the incident, saying that hespent all his time in the cotton field, and suggesting that hismother could co~roborate this.McSwine said officers then tookhim to a cell and beat him, first hitting him in the head with ablackjack: then one of the policemen beat him in the face with hisfist while another hit him in the stomach with his club; then theofficers made him lie naked on the floor on his side while they beathim with a whip. McSwine was released after intercession of hisfather's white employer.August 21, 19§2, Liberty, Amite County: s·am Wells and Tommy Wea- •thersby went to the courthouse to register.While they were waitingto get into the registrar's office, they stood on the front porchof the courthouse.your -Deputy Sheriff Daniel Jones told them, "Getoff the front porch, and don't come back on." Weathers-by and Wells got off the porch.A few moments later, rain began,-9• ·
and the two wanted to take shelter in the courthouse, but DeputySheriff Jones would not permit it.August 21, Lil)e,;ty., . Amite county::~Dewey Greene, Jr .. , MississippiPress reporter, was taking pictures of Negroes waiting toregister at the courthouse ..An unidentified young man working inthe office down the hall from the registrar's office snatchedGreene's camera away, and refused to return it.Greene was toldto leave town by three white men, one of whom was flourishing alength of lead pipe.He left.August 29 1 1962, Clarksdale, Coahoma county: Seven Negroes werearrested after attending a voter registration meeting.David Dennis,CORE field secretary, was charged with "failure to yield right-ofway" after a police officer had forced him to submit to a longharangue of threats and abuse.Samuel Block, John Hodges, J. L.Harris, Richard T. Gray, and Albert Garrer, SNCC field workers, andDewey Greene, Jr., reporter for the Mississippi~ Press, wereforced by Clarksdale police to alight from their car, and werecharged with loitering in violation of the city curfew.August 30 1 1962, Indianq_~a, Sunflower County: SNCC workers C.R.McLauren, Albert Garner, J.o. Hodges, Samuel Block, and RobertMoses were arrested by Indianola police on a charge of distributingliterature without a permit.The registration workers had been tak-ing leaflets announcing a registration mass meeting door-to-door inthe Negro community.Lafayette Surney, 17, another SNCC worker, wasarrested and then released to Rev. James Bevel, of the Southern-10-
Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).August 31, Indianola, Sunflowe ~t.:·. County:During the trial of SamuelBlock on ~harges of distributing literature without a permit, theMunicipal Judge informed Block that he could cross-examine the arresting officer.Block asked the officer, "Did you actually see mehand out a leaflet?"The judge turned to the officer and said, "Hecan ask you anything he wants to, but you don't have to anS11er."The judge told Lafayette Sumey if he was caught in Indianola "agitating" again, he would be sent to the penal farm.September 3, 1962, Ruleville, sunflower County: Because of registration activity, two Negro-owned dry cleanin9 establishments wereclosed (allegedly for violating city ordinances).September 3, 1962 1 Ruleville, Sunflower County: Lenard Davis, 49,sanitation department worker, was told by Mayor Charles M. Durrough,"We're going to let you go.school."Your wife's been attending that(He referred to a registration school conducted by SNCCworkers in Ruleville.)September 3, 1962, Ruleville, Sunflower County:Fred Hicks, 40, whodrove field workers to the plantations, was told he could no longeruse a bus without a commercial license.Hicks said the bus ownertold him that, because Hicks' mother had registered to vote: "Wegonna see how tight we can make it - gonna make it just as tight aswe can.Gonna be rougher and rougher than you think it is."September 3, 1962 1 Ruleville, Sunflower County: Moses and ArnzieMoore, a local Negro leader, were walking down the street.A whiteman in a pickup truck drew up alongside and asked if they were the-11-
"folks getting the people to register."answered, yes, they were.The man asked if they could come outto his plantation to reg is tel~ people.they could come.Moses and MooreThe two answered, yes,The man said then, "I'-ve got a shotgun waitingfor you, double barrel."September 3, Ruleville, Sunflower county:A letter from MayorDurrough notified the Williams Chapel Missionary Baptist Churchthat tax exemption and free water were being cut off becausethe property was being used for "purposes other than worshipservices."The church was a meeting place for voter registrationworkers.September 10, Ruleville, Sunflower County:Marylene Burkes,20,and Vivian Hillet, 19, were severely wounded when an unidentified assailant fired through the window of Miss Hillet'sgrandparents• home.The grandparents had been active in voterregistration work.October 3, Biloxi, Harrison county:ANegro frame residence anda gasoline station were ·targets for two "Molotov cocktails" whichcaused more than $4,000 damage.One of the bombs struck thehome of Dr. Gilbert Mason, a Negro physician, who is active inintegration efforts.The other crashed through the window ofa service station operated by Emmett Clark, a Negro.Octobers. Harmony, Leake County:4Night riders fired shotgunsinto eight Negro homes and a Negro store.An elderly Negrosaid he was struck in the knee by a squirrel shot while he andhis 9-year-old grandson were sleeping.seriously hurt.He said he was notHarmony Negroes had recently petitioned authori-ties for school desegregation.October 10, Columbus, Lowndes County: A"M~lotov c_o cktail" wastossed from a speeding car into the home of Dr. James L. Allenof Columbus, vice chairman of the Mis~issippi Advisory Committee-12-
to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.October 29, ClarkSd~-~ t Co~11oma Coun~:Charles McLaurin, SNCCregistration worker, was stopped by police as he was taking agroup home from the courthouse.to vote.~he group had tried to registerThe officer asked to see McLaurin's driver's license.McLaurin showed it.doing there.The officer asked McLaurin what he wasMcLaurin told him he worked in voter registration.Then, accompanied by obscene remarks, the officer said, "Nigger,do you know the way out of town?McLaurin replied, "Yes."The officer said, with more obscenity, ''Nigger!can't you say•yes, sir? 111 The officer's partner asked the officer what charger·hould be put on the tickets.The officer said, "Charge the- - - - $26 on both charges.""Nigger, you got $52?"replied, "No."McLaurinThe officer said, "Then you• re going to jail."At the jail, McLaurin learned that the officer was ClarksdalePolice Chief Ben Collins.McLaurin was in jail a few minuteswhen his companions posted bond for him in the amount of $103.They decided to forf~it bond rather than run the risk of a higher fine or incur the legal expense of an appeal.October 31, Jackson, Hinds county:minister,Thomas E. Johnson, a whiteand a member of the Mississippi Advisory Committeeto the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights1 saw a group of neighborsdumping garbage on his lawn.Johnson had just returned fromtaking his car to a safe place because of threats by neighborsto damage it.Johnson sought a peace bond againstthe man whom he had observed leading the garbage-dumping-13-
operations of his neighbors.The man presented eleven witnesseswho swore that he had been in their presence at all times on theevening in question.The Justice of the Peace accepted theirtestimony and refused the bond.Then the Hinds County Grand Juryindicted Johnson and his wife on perjury charges, because of theirtestimony at the peace bond hearing.November 6, 1962, Greenville, Washington County: Two WAF's and twoairmen (all white) from the Greenville Air Force Base were fined $55and given 30-day suspended sentences on charges of creating a disturbance by entering a restaurant and seeking service with two Negrovoter registration workers.December 26, 1962 1 Clarksdale, Coahoma County: Ivanhoe Donaldsonand Benjamin Taylor, students from Detroit, brought a truckload offood, clothing and medicines for distribution to the Delta's needyfamilies who had been cut off from federal surplus commodities.(The medicines had been donated by a physician in Louisville, andwere consigned to Aaron Henry, a licensed pharmacist.)They werearrested by Clarksdale police and held for "investigation.0Afterpolice searched the truck on December 27, and found what they de~s·<i?ri'bed as "a drug used to ease the pain of middle-aged women, "Donaldson and Taylor were charged with possession of narcotics andbond was set at $15,000.Bond was later reduced to $1,500.-14-
1963January 17, Canton, Madison County:The castrated and mutilatedbody of Sylvester M~xwell, 24-year-old Negro, was found by hisbrother-in-law less than 500 yards from the home of a whitefamily.Mississippi NAACP Field Secretary Medger Evers termedthe slaying a "probable lynching."February 2, Greenwood, Leflore County:Willie Peacock, SNCCreg'stration worker, complained to the Justice Department tha'i.officials had refused to register him on two occasions, and hadrejected his poll tax payment for this year.February 20, Greenwood, Leflore County~Four Negro businesseson the same street as the SNCC voter registration office wereburned to the ground.Mrs. Nancy Brand, a worker in the SNCCoffice, reported an anonymous telephone call in which a man'svoice asked her if she ever came to the office.When she saidyes, the voice said, "You won't be going down there anymore,that's been taken care of."The burned businesses were Jackson'sGarage, George's Cafe, Porter's Pressing Shop, and the EsquireClub.The pressing shop is next door to the SNCC office, and SNCCworkers believed the businesses were burned by mistake.SamBlock, SNCC Field Secretary, was arrested two days later forsuggesting there was some connection between the burnings andthe registration efforts of SNCC.He was charged with circulatingstatements calculated to create a breach of the peace.-15-
February 28~. Greenwood, Leflore county:were attacked with gunfire onwood.u.s.Three registration worker s·Highway 82 just outside Green-The shots were fired from a 1962 white Buick.The car inwhich the workers were riding was p~nctured by eleven bullets.One worker;. James Travis of SNCC, was wounded in the neck andshoulder.March 4, Clarksdale, Coahoma County:'the show windows in theFourth Street Drug store were smashed, as they have been severaltimes in the past.The proprietor of the store, Aaron Henry,found the damage when he returned from speaking at a massmeeting in Leflore County in connectiQn with the voter registrationdrive there.March 6, Greenwood, Leflore County: Samuel Block and threeothers were fired on from a station wagon which pulled up beside their car as they were parked in front of the SNCC voterregistration office.Both front windows were shattered.Policelater found the wadding from a shotgun shell buried in thehead-liner of Block's car, and several pellets in the wallof the building in front of which the car had been parked.March 12, Greenwood, Leflore county:A twelve-year-old Negrogirl was atta~ed by an egg-throwing truckload of white teenaged boys.The girl suffered facial bruises.March 20 1 1963 1 Jackson, Hinds County:#Three shots were firedthrough the windshield of a car belonging to Mrs. Mattie Dennis
while it was parked in front of the home of Mrs. Dennis• cousin ,whom she was visiting.Mrs. Dennis is the wife of David Dennis, CORE Pield Secretary for Mississippi.Both have been active invoter registration.March 24, 1963, Greenwood, Leflore county:Fire destroyedpartially the interior of the voter registration office at 115 E.McLaurin St., making the office unusable and necessitating asearch for new headquarters.Witnesses said they saw two whitemen fleeing the scene shortly before the fire was discovered.March 26, 1963, Greenwood, _Leflore County:A shotgun blastripped into the home of Dewey Greene, Sr., father of the latestNegro applicant to the University of Mississippi.Another ofMr. Greene's sons and a daughter have been active in .the LefloreCounty registration project.Greenwood police said they wereinvestigating.March 27, 1963, Greenwood, Leflore county:James Forman,Executive Secretary of SNCC, Bob Moses, and about ten otherregistration workers were arrested and taken from a group enroute to the courthouse to register after the police disperseda group of more than 100 ~egroes with the use of police dogs.(30)-17-
The Voter Education Project released today a chronological listing of 64 acts of violence and intimidation against Negroes in Mississippi since January 1961.Almost all of the incidents are directly related to efforts by Negroes to register to vote. The last item on the list is the March 27 dispersal by Greenwood policemen and their dogs of Negro registration applicants, and the jailing of registration workers. “We are sure this is not a complete list," said Wiley A. Branton, Director of the Voter Education Project."It does demonstrate conclusively, however, the pattern of discrimination and violence which exists in Mississippi, and makes Constitutional rights virtually inoperative in that state." The listing, he pointed out, does not include the riot at the University of Mississippi last fall, nor subsequent harassment of James Meredith. “All the world knows that story, as it does the earlier stories of Emmett Till and Mack Parker. This listing, nearly all of which has been compiled from the daily press, shows that what happened at the University should have been expected by anyone familiar with the Mississippi record."
News Release - 2. Because of the near-fatal gun attack of February 28, 1963 against three voter registration workers, a concerted, saturation registration campaign was announced on March 1, 1963 in LeFlore County, Mississippi, of which Greenwood is the county seat. The LeFlore campaign represents the combined efforts of the Mississippi Council of Federated Organizations, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Congress of Racial Equality, and the local NAACP Youth council. The announced objective of the campaign is to get every qualified Negro in LeFlore County registered to vote, if he or she has any desire to do so. This unprecedented concentration of resources in LeFlore County has led, said Branton, to unprecedented results. “For the first time in a Mississippi county, there has been a breakthrough of the fear which has held Negroes back. Since March 1, over 500 have waited determinedly at the Greenwood court house, trying to register. Because of the long drawn-out process in Mississippi, how many will be passed by the registrars is not yet known. Weekly mass meetings are thronged, and LeFlore Negroes are saying emphatically and courageously that they will not wait any longer to be treated as American citizens. them.0And police suppression will not stop
News Release - 3.Branton also noted that the u. s. Department of Agriculture had made a welcome contribution to Negro morale by successfully pressuring the county to resume, on April 1, distribution of federal surplus food, which had been cutoff by the county last fall • .. This was interpreted by the local people," he said, "as an act of support and encouragement by the federal government." "However, he continued, 'the federal government has done little to protect the peace in LeFlore, or elsewhere in Mississippi. Sixty-eight years ago, in the case of In re Debs, the Supreme court said that the •entire strength of the nation may be used to enforce in any part of the land the full and free ·exercise of all national powers and the security of all rights entrusted by the Constitution to its care.• The peace of the United States is broken and shattered by the lawlessness in Mississippi. The federal government has an obligation, which it is not fulfilling, to restore it." The Voter Education Project is a program of the Southern Regional Council, with offices in Atlanta.-END'""'
CHRONOLOGY OF VIOLENCE AND INTIMIDATION IN MISSISSIPPI SINCE 1961
1961 January 1, Greenville, Washingt-20 .. court'ty: /?Wo y9ung _white ~men\ rode a motorbike through a residential area and, according to the local police chief, fired a volley of shots into a group of Negroes. George Mayfield, 18, was seriously wounded in both legs: Percy Lee Simmons, 19, was shot in the right leg. March 30, Jackson, Hinds County: Club-swinging police and two police dogs chased more than 100 Negroes from a courthouse where nine Negro students were convicted for staging a sit-in demonstration. several were struck by the clubs and at least one person was bitten by the dogs. May 7, Jackson, ijinds County: Several white youths, riding in an open convertible, lassoed nine-year-old Negro Gloria Laverne Floyd with a wire and dragged her along the street. The girl suffered a deep gash in her head that required three stitches, cheek bruises, a laceration of her right shoulder, and burn marks on her neck. Police made arrests. August 15, Amite County: Robert Moses, Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) registration worker, and three Negroes who had tried unsuccessfully to register in Liberty, were driving toward McComb when a county officer stopped them. He asked if Moses was the man " ••• who's been trying to register our niggers." All were taken to court and Moses was arrested for "impeding an officer in the discharge of his duties," fined $50 and spent two days in jail. Auqust 22, Amite County: Robert Moses went to Liberty with three Negroes, who made an unsuccessful attempt to register. A block from the courthouse, Moses was attacked and beaten by Billy Jack Caston, the sheriff's first cousin. Eight stitches were required to close a wound in Moses' head. Caston was acquitted of assault charges by an all-white jury before a justice of the peace.
August 26, McComb, Pike County: Hollis Watkins, 20, and Elmer Hayes, 20, SNCC workers, were arrested while staging a sit-inat the F. w. Woolworth store and charged with breach of the peace. They spent 36 days in jail. August 27 and 29 1 McComb, Pi.ke County: Five Negro students from a local high school were convicted of breach of the peace following a sit-in at a variety store and bus terminal. They were sentenced to a $400 fine each and eight months in jail. One ofthese students, a girl of 15, was turned over to juvenile authorities, released, subsequently rearrested, and sentenced to12 months in a state school for delinquents.August 29, McComb, Pike Co~qu: Two Negro leaders were arrested in McComb as an aftermath of the sit-in protest march on city hall, charged with contributing to the delinquency of minors. They were Curtis c. Bryant of McComb, an official of the NAACP,and Cordelle Reagan, of SNCC. Each arrest was made on an affidavit signed by Police Chief George Guy, who said he had information that the two " ••• were behind some of this racial trouble."August 30, McComb, Pike County: SNCC workers Brenda Travis, 16,Robert Talbert, 19, and Isaac Lewis, 20, staged a sit-in in the McComb terminal of the Greyhound bus lines. They were arrested on charges of breach of the peace and failure to obey a policeman's order to move on. '!'hey spent 30 days in jail. September 5, L:ll?erty, Am=J:i:....£!?.!-mty: Travis Britt, SNCC registration worker, was attacked and beaten by whites on the courthouse lawn. Britt was accompanied at the time by Robert Moses. Britt said one man hit him more than 20 times. The attackers drove away in a truck. September 7, Tylertown, Walthall County: John Hardy, SNCC registration worker, took two Negroes to the county courthouse to register. The registrar told them he " ••. wasn't registering voters" that day. When the three turned to leave, Registrar John Q. Wood took a pistol from his desk and struck Hardy over the head from behind. Hardy was arrested and charged with disturbing the peace. September 13, Jackson, Hinds County: Fifteen Episcopal ministers(among them three Negroes) were arrested for asking to be served-2 -
at the lunch counter of the Greyhound bus terminal. They were charged with inviting a breach of tm peace. They were found not guilty of the charge on May 21, 1962, by County Judge Russell Moore September 25, Liberty, Amite £g_un~: Herbert Lee, a Negro who had been active in voter registration, was shot and killed by white state representative E. H. Hurst in downtown Liberty. No prosecution was undertaken, the authorities explaining that the representative had shot in self-defense. October 4, McComb, Pike c9unty: The five students who were arrested as a result of the August 29 sit-in in McComb returned to school, but were refused admittance. At that, 116 students walked out and paraded downtown to the city hall in protest. Police arrested the entire crowd, but later released all but19, all of whom were 18 years old or older. They were charged with breach of the peace and contributing to the delinquency of minors and allowed to go free on bail totaling $3,700. At the trial on October 31, Judge Brumfield, finding the students guilty, and sentencing each to a $500 fine and six months in jail, said: “Some of you are local residents, some of you are outsiders. Those of you who are local residents are like sheep being led to the slaughter. If you continue to follow the advice of outside agitators, you will be like sheep and be slaughtered. “October 5, McComb, Pike County: Charles Sherrod was arrested on the street, thrown into a police car, and charged with resisting arrest. Cordelle Reagan was a~so arrested and charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Both were fieldworkers for SNCC. October 11, McComb, Pike County: Paul Potter of Philadelphia, a vice president of the National Student Association and To Hayden of Atlanta, both white, were dragged from their car and beaten as they drove alongside a group of Negroes making an anti-segregation march. When the two slowed their car for a traffic light, a heavy-set white man opened the door and dragged the driver out and hit him several times. He then walked around to the other side of the car, opened the door and knocked the second man to the street. The incident occurred in the businessI-3 -
section of the city. Octc,ber l1..&.. McCorg}?.,1., ..F_ils;e County: Police Officer B. F. Elmore shot and killed a Negro motorist. Police Chief George Guy said that Elmore said he had stopped Eli Brumfield at 4 a.m. for speeding. Brumfield allegedly jumped from his car with a pocketknife in his hand and attacked Elmore. A coroner's jury ruled Elmore fired in self-defense.October 22 1 Jackson, Hinds County: Dion Diamond, a SNCC worker, was arrested for "running a stop sign" after being followed all day. In court the next day, the arresting officer told thejudge, "He is a Freedom Rider. Throw the book at him." Diamond was refused legal counsel and fined $168.November 9, McComb, Pike County: Jerome smith, 22, Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) field man, and four companions, Dorothy Smith, 18, Alice Thompson, 22, Thomas Valentine, 23, and George Raymond, 18, were attacked by a mob of 30 to 40 whites when they sought service at the lunch counter of the Greyhound bus terminal in McComb. Smith, who suffered head injuries when he was slugged with brass knuckles during the attack, said FBI agents were present at the time of the attack, but did "nothing but take notes" while the mob kicked and beat his companions. The victims were rescued from the mob by a Negro truck driver and Negro cabdrivers. November 10. Jackson, Hinds County: Jessie Divens, twelve-year old, was arrested for refusing to move to the rear of a city bus. Judge Carl Guernsey released the girl to the custody of the Rev. G. R. Horton, chaplain at Campbell College where she attended classes. Judge Guernsey continued the case until November 17,"with the understanding that the Rev. Mr. Horton and the child come back with a workable plan which would cause the child'smind to be concerned with education rather than social reformation. "November 18, McComb, Pike County: Persons unknown fired a shotgun blast into the bedroom of Dion Diamond and John Hardy at 702 Wall Street. Investigating officer Frank Williams found shotgun pellets embedded in the window frame. December 1, McComb, Pike County: Four white men attacked three- 4 -
newsmen on the street, sending one crashing into a plate glass window of a store. The newsmen were Torn Uhrborck and Don Underwood, Life Magazine, and Simmons Fentress, Time Magazine.December2, McComb, Pike County: Police broke up an attempt by; white attackers to drag three Freedom Riders from an automobile at the Greyhound bus terminal. Four men kicked at the locked car and beat upon the windows in an attempt to reach the young Negroes and their driver, Thomas Gaither, field secretary of CORE. The police, who were standing by when the riders arrived aboard a bus from Jackson, pulled the men away from the car, but made no arrests. December 26, Jackson, Hinds County: Rafford Johnson, Negro, was severely beaten by two law officers after being involved in a minor collision with a car driven by a white woman. Johnson underwent surgery for skull injuries.-5 -
1962February 6, 1962, Clarksdale, Coahoma County: Miss Bessie Turner,19, a Negro, was walking with a young man down a Clarksdale street when Clarksdale police officers stopped them and accused Miss Turner of having been involved in a theft. Miss Turner said the officer stook her to the jail, forced her to unclothe and to lie on her back. She said one of the policemen then beat her between the legs with his belt. A few minutes later, Miss Turner said, the other officer beat her across her naked breasts. Miss Turner filed federal charges against the officers. March 15,1952. Sh~lby, Bolivar county: Aaron Henry, state president of the RAACP, was convicted in Justice of Peace Court on charges ofmakir~g ,!-)2:rvsrse advances on a white teen-age hitchhiker. Henrysta"'.:eC: ·::l1at the charges were a complete fabrication! 2.rd pr8sentedan alibi st~pported by sworn witnesses pealed .The con~Jiction has bee:1 ap-When he later stated in a press conferer.ce that the prose-cutor and the police chief, who figured in the trial, had conspiredto fiu'lmehim, Henry was sued by the two for defamation. A Mississip-pi white jury awarded the prosecutor $25,000 and the police chief,$15,000.April 12, 1962, Taylorsville, Smith County: Corporal Roman Duckworth, Jr.,u. s.Army, a Negro, was shot and killed by policeman Bill Kelly when, according to an NAACP news release, Duckworth" insisted on his right to sit where he chose on an interstate bus. "Policeman Kelly claimed that Duckworth was drunk and started-6-
fighting. No charges were brought against Kelly. Duckworth was in route from Camp Ritchie, Maryland, to see his wife who was ill in a Laurel, Mississippi, hospital. April, 19~2, Lucedale, George Countv: Mrs. Ernestine Denham Talbert,•who lives in George County but teaches in Green County, was notified by the Green County School Board that her teaching contract would not be renewed. Mrs. Talbert had tried in January to regis-ter to vote but had been refused.May17,~1962, Bankin County: The Negro editor of the Mississippi Pres§ said he and a companion were beaten by Rankin County officers and a highway patrolman. Lawrence Hudson, Jr., of Jackson, said the beating occurred after he was stopped enroute from Jackson to Forest to check on a rumor that a Negro man had been killed by a white man. He was jailed, refused permission to phone a lawyer, tried the next day on several charges and fined $151.cr.une 21, 1962 1 Clarksdale~ Coahoma County: A white lawyer from Jackson and four college students were jailed in Clarksdale for 20 hours without outside communication. One of the students was a Negro. William Higgs, the lawyer, and the students were jailed on a Sunday night by county officers and were released the following day, without charges being filed against them. Julys, 1962, Jackson, Hinds County: Jesse Harris, 20, and Luvaghn Brown, 17, SNCC workers, charged that they were beaten and threat med with death while serving a 30-day sentence in the county jail for contempt of court. The young Negroes had refused to move from-7-
•a court bench customarily occupied by whites while they were attending the trial of Mrs. Diane Nash Bevel.The young men said that,in the courthouse elevator, a deputy sheriff called Harris "a damned nigger" and beat him about the head with his fist.At the countyfarm, they were singled out as Freedom Riders and wore striped uniforms.Both were beaten by guards.Harris was beaten by a guardnamed "Keith" while other prisoners held him."Keith" beat himacross the back with a length of hose threatening, "Nigger, I'llkill you~"August 16, 1962, Greenwood, Leflore county: Sanuel Block, 23, SNCCfield secretary, said three white men accosted him in a parking lotand "started beating me with their fists."He said they threatenedhim and then beat him for about five minutes •."There is no use re-p:>rting it to local authoritie~" he said.August17,1962, Greenwoog, t,eflore County: SNCC workers SamuelI•Block, Luvaghn Brown, and Lawrence Guyot were forced to flee fromthe second story window of their voter registration office.Theysaid armed white men invaded the premises intent upon doing themharm.August 17, 1962, Ruleyille. Sunflower County: Mayor Charles Durroughasked Mr. Lenard Davis, a Negro employed by the city, what he knewabout the registration school being conducted at a Negro church.Mr. Davis replied that he didn't know anything at all about theschool, and did not attend any of the classes.The mayor then toldhim that he, the mayor, knew what kind of school they were having.-a-
•The ma~or said he knew it 6resumably civil rights for the Negr9/was coming, but he wasn't aoing to allow it to be forced on them.The mayor said that anyone attending the school would be given aone~way ticket out of town, and if that wouldn't do it, they woulduse whatever they had available. (See entry below for September3, 1962.)August,1962,Greenwood,L~floreCOWJty: Welton McSwine, Jr., 14-year-old Negro, was arrested by police after a white woman's househad been broken into.an officer said:When police got the youth to the station,"All right, nigger, you know why you are here,and we want to know who broke into that white woman's house."McSwine told :'them he knew nothing of the incident, saying that hespent all his time in the cotton field, and suggesting that hismother could co~roborate this.McSwine said officers then tookhim to a cell and beat him, first hitting him in the head with ablackjack: then one of the policemen beat him in the face with hisfist while another hit him in the stomach with his club; then theofficers made him lie naked on the floor on his side while they beathim with a whip. McSwine was released after intercession of hisfather's white employer.August 21, 19§2, Liberty, Amite County: s·am Wells and Tommy Wea- •thersby went to the courthouse to register.While they were waitingto get into the registrar's office, they stood on the front porchof the courthouse.your -Deputy Sheriff Daniel Jones told them, "Getoff the front porch, and don't come back on." Weathers-by and Wells got off the porch.A few moments later, rain began,-9• ·
and the two wanted to take shelter in the courthouse, but DeputySheriff Jones would not permit it.August 21, Lil)e,;ty., . Amite county::~Dewey Greene, Jr .. , MississippiPress reporter, was taking pictures of Negroes waiting toregister at the courthouse ..An unidentified young man working inthe office down the hall from the registrar's office snatchedGreene's camera away, and refused to return it.Greene was toldto leave town by three white men, one of whom was flourishing alength of lead pipe.He left.August 29 1 1962, Clarksdale, Coahoma county: Seven Negroes werearrested after attending a voter registration meeting.David Dennis,CORE field secretary, was charged with "failure to yield right-ofway" after a police officer had forced him to submit to a longharangue of threats and abuse.Samuel Block, John Hodges, J. L.Harris, Richard T. Gray, and Albert Garrer, SNCC field workers, andDewey Greene, Jr., reporter for the Mississippi~ Press, wereforced by Clarksdale police to alight from their car, and werecharged with loitering in violation of the city curfew.August 30 1 1962, Indianq_~a, Sunflower County: SNCC workers C.R.McLauren, Albert Garner, J.o. Hodges, Samuel Block, and RobertMoses were arrested by Indianola police on a charge of distributingliterature without a permit.The registration workers had been tak-ing leaflets announcing a registration mass meeting door-to-door inthe Negro community.Lafayette Surney, 17, another SNCC worker, wasarrested and then released to Rev. James Bevel, of the Southern-10-
Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).August 31, Indianola, Sunflowe ~t.:·. County:During the trial of SamuelBlock on ~harges of distributing literature without a permit, theMunicipal Judge informed Block that he could cross-examine the arresting officer.Block asked the officer, "Did you actually see mehand out a leaflet?"The judge turned to the officer and said, "Hecan ask you anything he wants to, but you don't have to anS11er."The judge told Lafayette Sumey if he was caught in Indianola "agitating" again, he would be sent to the penal farm.September 3, 1962, Ruleville, sunflower County: Because of registration activity, two Negro-owned dry cleanin9 establishments wereclosed (allegedly for violating city ordinances).September 3, 1962 1 Ruleville, Sunflower County: Lenard Davis, 49,sanitation department worker, was told by Mayor Charles M. Durrough,"We're going to let you go.school."Your wife's been attending that(He referred to a registration school conducted by SNCCworkers in Ruleville.)September 3, 1962, Ruleville, Sunflower County:Fred Hicks, 40, whodrove field workers to the plantations, was told he could no longeruse a bus without a commercial license.Hicks said the bus ownertold him that, because Hicks' mother had registered to vote: "Wegonna see how tight we can make it - gonna make it just as tight aswe can.Gonna be rougher and rougher than you think it is."September 3, 1962 1 Ruleville, Sunflower County: Moses and ArnzieMoore, a local Negro leader, were walking down the street.A whiteman in a pickup truck drew up alongside and asked if they were the-11-
"folks getting the people to register."answered, yes, they were.The man asked if they could come outto his plantation to reg is tel~ people.they could come.Moses and MooreThe two answered, yes,The man said then, "I'-ve got a shotgun waitingfor you, double barrel."September 3, Ruleville, Sunflower county:A letter from MayorDurrough notified the Williams Chapel Missionary Baptist Churchthat tax exemption and free water were being cut off becausethe property was being used for "purposes other than worshipservices."The church was a meeting place for voter registrationworkers.September 10, Ruleville, Sunflower County:Marylene Burkes,20,and Vivian Hillet, 19, were severely wounded when an unidentified assailant fired through the window of Miss Hillet'sgrandparents• home.The grandparents had been active in voterregistration work.October 3, Biloxi, Harrison county:ANegro frame residence anda gasoline station were ·targets for two "Molotov cocktails" whichcaused more than $4,000 damage.One of the bombs struck thehome of Dr. Gilbert Mason, a Negro physician, who is active inintegration efforts.The other crashed through the window ofa service station operated by Emmett Clark, a Negro.Octobers. Harmony, Leake County:4Night riders fired shotgunsinto eight Negro homes and a Negro store.An elderly Negrosaid he was struck in the knee by a squirrel shot while he andhis 9-year-old grandson were sleeping.seriously hurt.He said he was notHarmony Negroes had recently petitioned authori-ties for school desegregation.October 10, Columbus, Lowndes County: A"M~lotov c_o cktail" wastossed from a speeding car into the home of Dr. James L. Allenof Columbus, vice chairman of the Mis~issippi Advisory Committee-12-
to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.October 29, ClarkSd~-~ t Co~11oma Coun~:Charles McLaurin, SNCCregistration worker, was stopped by police as he was taking agroup home from the courthouse.to vote.~he group had tried to registerThe officer asked to see McLaurin's driver's license.McLaurin showed it.doing there.The officer asked McLaurin what he wasMcLaurin told him he worked in voter registration.Then, accompanied by obscene remarks, the officer said, "Nigger,do you know the way out of town?McLaurin replied, "Yes."The officer said, with more obscenity, ''Nigger!can't you say•yes, sir? 111 The officer's partner asked the officer what charger·hould be put on the tickets.The officer said, "Charge the- - - - $26 on both charges.""Nigger, you got $52?"replied, "No."McLaurinThe officer said, "Then you• re going to jail."At the jail, McLaurin learned that the officer was ClarksdalePolice Chief Ben Collins.McLaurin was in jail a few minuteswhen his companions posted bond for him in the amount of $103.They decided to forf~it bond rather than run the risk of a higher fine or incur the legal expense of an appeal.October 31, Jackson, Hinds county:minister,Thomas E. Johnson, a whiteand a member of the Mississippi Advisory Committeeto the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights1 saw a group of neighborsdumping garbage on his lawn.Johnson had just returned fromtaking his car to a safe place because of threats by neighborsto damage it.Johnson sought a peace bond againstthe man whom he had observed leading the garbage-dumping-13-
operations of his neighbors.The man presented eleven witnesseswho swore that he had been in their presence at all times on theevening in question.The Justice of the Peace accepted theirtestimony and refused the bond.Then the Hinds County Grand Juryindicted Johnson and his wife on perjury charges, because of theirtestimony at the peace bond hearing.November 6, 1962, Greenville, Washington County: Two WAF's and twoairmen (all white) from the Greenville Air Force Base were fined $55and given 30-day suspended sentences on charges of creating a disturbance by entering a restaurant and seeking service with two Negrovoter registration workers.December 26, 1962 1 Clarksdale, Coahoma County: Ivanhoe Donaldsonand Benjamin Taylor, students from Detroit, brought a truckload offood, clothing and medicines for distribution to the Delta's needyfamilies who had been cut off from federal surplus commodities.(The medicines had been donated by a physician in Louisville, andwere consigned to Aaron Henry, a licensed pharmacist.)They werearrested by Clarksdale police and held for "investigation.0Afterpolice searched the truck on December 27, and found what they de~s·<i?ri'bed as "a drug used to ease the pain of middle-aged women, "Donaldson and Taylor were charged with possession of narcotics andbond was set at $15,000.Bond was later reduced to $1,500.-14-
1963January 17, Canton, Madison County:The castrated and mutilatedbody of Sylvester M~xwell, 24-year-old Negro, was found by hisbrother-in-law less than 500 yards from the home of a whitefamily.Mississippi NAACP Field Secretary Medger Evers termedthe slaying a "probable lynching."February 2, Greenwood, Leflore County:Willie Peacock, SNCCreg'stration worker, complained to the Justice Department tha'i.officials had refused to register him on two occasions, and hadrejected his poll tax payment for this year.February 20, Greenwood, Leflore County~Four Negro businesseson the same street as the SNCC voter registration office wereburned to the ground.Mrs. Nancy Brand, a worker in the SNCCoffice, reported an anonymous telephone call in which a man'svoice asked her if she ever came to the office.When she saidyes, the voice said, "You won't be going down there anymore,that's been taken care of."The burned businesses were Jackson'sGarage, George's Cafe, Porter's Pressing Shop, and the EsquireClub.The pressing shop is next door to the SNCC office, and SNCCworkers believed the businesses were burned by mistake.SamBlock, SNCC Field Secretary, was arrested two days later forsuggesting there was some connection between the burnings andthe registration efforts of SNCC.He was charged with circulatingstatements calculated to create a breach of the peace.-15-
February 28~. Greenwood, Leflore county:were attacked with gunfire onwood.u.s.Three registration worker s·Highway 82 just outside Green-The shots were fired from a 1962 white Buick.The car inwhich the workers were riding was p~nctured by eleven bullets.One worker;. James Travis of SNCC, was wounded in the neck andshoulder.March 4, Clarksdale, Coahoma County:'the show windows in theFourth Street Drug store were smashed, as they have been severaltimes in the past.The proprietor of the store, Aaron Henry,found the damage when he returned from speaking at a massmeeting in Leflore County in connectiQn with the voter registrationdrive there.March 6, Greenwood, Leflore County: Samuel Block and threeothers were fired on from a station wagon which pulled up beside their car as they were parked in front of the SNCC voterregistration office.Both front windows were shattered.Policelater found the wadding from a shotgun shell buried in thehead-liner of Block's car, and several pellets in the wallof the building in front of which the car had been parked.March 12, Greenwood, Leflore county:A twelve-year-old Negrogirl was atta~ed by an egg-throwing truckload of white teenaged boys.The girl suffered facial bruises.March 20 1 1963 1 Jackson, Hinds County:#Three shots were firedthrough the windshield of a car belonging to Mrs. Mattie Dennis
while it was parked in front of the home of Mrs. Dennis• cousin ,whom she was visiting.Mrs. Dennis is the wife of David Dennis, CORE Pield Secretary for Mississippi.Both have been active invoter registration.March 24, 1963, Greenwood, Leflore county:Fire destroyedpartially the interior of the voter registration office at 115 E.McLaurin St., making the office unusable and necessitating asearch for new headquarters.Witnesses said they saw two whitemen fleeing the scene shortly before the fire was discovered.March 26, 1963, Greenwood, _Leflore County:A shotgun blastripped into the home of Dewey Greene, Sr., father of the latestNegro applicant to the University of Mississippi.Another ofMr. Greene's sons and a daughter have been active in .the LefloreCounty registration project.Greenwood police said they wereinvestigating.March 27, 1963, Greenwood, Leflore county:James Forman,Executive Secretary of SNCC, Bob Moses, and about ten otherregistration workers were arrested and taken from a group enroute to the courthouse to register after the police disperseda group of more than 100 ~egroes with the use of police dogs.(30)-17-