Spies of Mississippi: The True Story of the Spy Network that Tried to Destroy the Civil Rights Movement
Rick Bowers
Language: English
Pages: 128
ISBN: 1426305958
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
The Spies of Mississippi is a compelling story of how state spies tried to block voting rights for African Americans during the Civil Rights era. This book sheds new light on one of the most momentous periods in American history.
Author Rick Bowers has combed through primary-source materials and interviewed surviving activists named in once-secret files, as well as the writings and oral histories of Mississippi civil rights leaders. Readers get first-hand accounts of how neighbors spied on neighbors, teachers spied on students, ministers spied on church-goers, and spies even spied on spies.
The Spies of Mississippi will inspire readers with the stories of the brave citizens who overcame the forces of white supremacy to usher in a new era of hope and freedom—an age that has recently culminated in the election of Barack Obama.
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phrase for the political climate in Mississippi. Wisdom said that segregationist policy was crafted and defended in the “eerie atmosphere of never never land.” A swipe at the segregationist cries of “Never,” the remark also referred to James M. Barrie’s classic children’s novel Peter Pan, where children are led into a bizarre fantasy world—an alternate reality. The comparison to Mississippi was apropos. The deep racial divide, widespread poverty, and isolation kept Mississippi in a sort of social
effort to defeat the new Kennedy civil rights program.” In the weeks to come, Johnston, Sovereignty Commission attorney John Satterfield, and several prominent conservative political leaders formed the Coordinating Committee for Fundamental American Freedoms, a national lobbying organization dedicated to defeating the Kennedy bill. Operating from a plush suite of offices overlooking congressional staff buildings on Capitol Hill, the group pumped out speeches, press releases, and newspaper ads
Act were the law of the land. The march toward equality and justice had picked up its pace. But the question remained: Could Mississippi really change? In the course of researching this book, I traveled across the state contemplating that question and searching for answers. From the vast cotton fields and moss-draped bayous of the Delta to the hurricane-racked homes and glittering casinos on the Gulf Coast to the state offices and streets of Jackson, I witnessed the progress that has been made
powerful democratic movement in our history. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT The Commission files: The end of the Commission started a heated debate over the fate of the six locked file cabinets of secret papers that had been removed from the office and stored in an underground vault. Resisting calls from lawmakers to destroy the files altogether, the legislature voted to keep the documents sealed for another 50 years, until July 1, 2027. The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit demanding the
NAACP and to keep him apprised of its plans to form new chapters, to organize protest demonstrations, to boycott businesses, and to file lawsuits. The governor began hiring investigators and assigned them to develop a network of paid and unpaid informants to serve as the Commission’s “eyes and ears” in communities statewide. The agents found willing collaborators in white civic leaders, businessmen, sheriffs, deputies, judges, and ministers. Determined to stop integration, the informants began