Civil Rights Movement Archive
What's New & Announcements
June 1st, 2020
According to Google, 77,270 people visited the website during May for
an average of 2492 per day. But that figure is very misleading because
the street protests and urban violence sparked by the blatantly public
white-supremacy of Amy Cooper and the police-lynching of George Floyd caused a
huge spike in visits to our site. Prior to the protests, we were
getting around 500-700 visits per day which was lower than the 1085 per day in
May of last year — no doubt due to schools being closed
because of the pandemic. Then:
| | Day | Visitors | Notes |
|---|
| | Mon 5/25 | 940 | George Floyd murdered + Amy Cooper incident |
| | Tues 5/26 | 1529 | Initial mass protest in Minneapolis met with tear gas and police violence |
| | Wed 5/27 | 1,676 | Protests begin erupting in other cities. Some trash fires & looting |
| | Thurs 5/28 | 4,392 | Widespread protests across nation. Police violence escalates. Minneapolis police station burned. Arson & looting (mostly by non-protesters) |
| | Fri 5/29 | 13,128 | Protests & urban violence dominate the news. National Guard called out in some areas. |
| | Sat 5/30 | 14,029 | Mass protests across nation. Urban curfews. Police violence against nonviolent demonstrators. Continued arson & looting (mostly by non-protesters) |
| | Sun 5/31 | 14,720 | Mass protests in more than 100 cities & towns. Urban curfews. National Guard mobilized in 15 states. Police violence against nonviolent demonstrators. Continued arson & looting (mostly by non-protesters) |
The great bulk of this spike in visitors to CRMVet comes from people accessing
The Other America, Dr. King's
famous condemnation of racism, poverty and injustice. There's also been a
modest increase in visits to other pages on our site, but it's Dr. King's
speech that is drawing so much attention.
— Bruce Hartford, Webspinner.
Please Donate.
With a Little Help From Our Friends,
We'll keep on keeping on.
Ever since Bay Area Veterans of
the Civil Rights Movement established this CRMVet website in late 1999, it
has been funded by personal donations from Freedom Movement activists and
individual supporters. We carry on this work without any institutional
support, foundation grants, or philanthropy contributions of any kind. So if
you find our CRMVet site useful and worthy, please click here to make a
donation to keep us alive and
growing. Thank you for anything you are able to contribute.
Please consider converting your PayPal donation to an automatic monthly
contribution by checking the "Make this a monthly donation" box on the amount
screen when it pops up.
Sister Sites
SNCC Digital Gateway.
SNCC Legacy Project & Duke University. tells the story of how young
activists in SNCC united with local people in the Deep South to build a
grassroots movement for change that empowered the Black community and
transformed the nation.
Teaching for
Change and Zinn
Education Project. Provides teachers and parents with the tools to create
schools where students learn to read, write and change the world by promoting
and supporting the teaching of people's history in middle and high school
classrooms across the country.
The SNCC Legacy
Project (SLP). SLP was begun to preserve and extend SNCC's legacy.
Although SNCC the organization no longer exists, we believe that its legacy
continues and needs to be brought forward in ways that continue the struggle
for freedom, justice and liberty.
Veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement. Empowering the next
generation, passing it on to carry it on by preserving the history of the
Mississippi Movement.
Chicago SNCC History
Project. Tells the Stories of Chicago Area Friends of SNCC (CAFSNCC), its
relationship to SNCC, it's pivotal role in shaping the fight for freedom in
Chicago between 1960-1965, and preserves that history as a legacy for the
young people who are continuing the fight for freedom, justice and peace.
SCOPE 50.
Preserving Civil Rights and The Story of Voting. Website of SCLC/SCOPE project
activists.
Special Appeal to Freedom Movement Veterans
Sometimes it feels to us as if the mass media and our education system want to
shrink the Civil Rights Movement down to a single narrative, a sole
interpretation, and a limited number of famous actors. But our movement was
broad and diverse, encompassing a wide range of viewpoints, conclusions,
strategies, and tactics — and a significant amount of debate
and argument.
Most of those using our site are students. Our Frequently Asked Questions section where activists provide
their answers to the queries that students most often ask is one of the
key "go-to" resources for students completing their homework assignments. Last
year it was the second-most visited section (Poems was the first). We want students who come
here to encounter the full range of a peoples mass movement with all of
its variety and contention.
Unfortunately, however, the FAQ section hasn't been updated or expanded in
years. So if you're an activist listed on our Roll Call of Freedom Movement Veterans and are looking for
something productive to do while "sheltering in place," please consider adding
your answers to the commonly asked questions. To add your thoughts to a
Frequently Asked Question just email a
1-4 paragraph answer to us at webmaster@crmvet.org (be sure to
indicate which question you're addressing). Thanks.
Announcements
Movement art: If you are aware of any works of art related to the
Freedom Movement such as paintings, drawings, murals, statues, and so on,
please take a look at our Civil Rights Movement Art page to see if we already have
an image of it in our collection. If it isn't included in our collection
please email us an image we can post, or a weblink, or some other information
that we can use. Thanks.
Movement Materials: Please continue to send us documents, letters,
reports, stories, and other Southern Freedom Movement materials from the
period 1951-1968.
| ???? | Listen! Some Reasons Why Everyone Should Register and Vote, Unsigned (possibly from Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity). Undated. |
| ???? | Two Minute Talk on Poll Tax and Voting, unsigned (VEP? SCLC?) Undated |
| ???? | Three Minute Speech unsigned (VEP? SCLC?) Undated |
| ???? | Registration Report Form for the Voter Education Project, date unknown |
| ???? | Open Every Door flyer, Unsigned. Undated. |
| ???? | Mississippi Qualifications of Registered Voters, unsigned (probably COFO). Undated (possibly 1962) |
| 1962? | A Proposal for a Statewide Voter Registration Campaign in Mississippi, Aaron Henry & Carsie Hall, COFO. Undated, probably the later half of 1962 |
| 1962? | Proposal for the Mississippi Delta Voter Registration Project, unsigned. Undated, probably the later half of 1962 |
| 1962 | The Events Surrounding the Voter Registration Drive in Ruleville, Bob Moses, SCLC. August, 1962 |
| 62? 63? | Voter Education Project Reporting Requirments of Recipient Organizations, Thaddeus Olive, Jr., SRC. Undated (possibly 1962 or 63) |
| 62? 63? | Voter Registration Program in Mississippi, Bob Moses, COFO. Undated (probably later 1962 or early '63) |
| 1963 | Support Justice in Mississippi flyer re hearing for jailed Itta Bena protesters, unsigned. July 19, 1963. |
| 1963? | Bolivar County MS canvas form, unsigned, COFO. Undated (possibly 1963) |
| 1964 | Organizing list, possibly from Canton MS. Handwritten. Unsigned CORE or COFO, undated |
| 1964 | Student List for St. John Freedom School, Canton MS. Unsigned COFO or CORE, summer 1964 |
| 1964 | List of Students at Pleasant Green Freedom School, possibly Valley View or Canton, MS. Unsigned, Unsigned COFO or CORE. Undated, summer 1964 |
| 1964 | Volunteers update from Canton MS, Nancy Jervis?, COFO. 1964 |
| 1965 | Convention registration forms from SCOPE volunteers at SCLC annual convention, Birmingham AL. August 1965 |
| ???? | Register to Vote Now! flyer, Unsigned. Undated. |
| 1967 | Poll watchers/workers expense report, Ethel Lu Gadison, location not stated, November 8, 1967 |
| | |
| U.S. Civil Rights Commission Reports: |
| 1959 | Report of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 1959 |
| 1962 | Housing in Washington, D. C., September 1962 |
| 1963 | Police-Minority Group Relations in California, August 1963 |
| 1965 | Law enforcement equal protection in the South,, November 1965 |
| 1966 | Equal Employment Opportunity Under Federal Law, 1966 |
| 1967 | A time to listen ... a time to act; ghetto voices., November 1967 |
| 1963 | Civil Cights Challenges in the US, September 1963 |
Mississippi Free Press issues:
| October 19, 1963, We Will Be Free (Henry, King campaign), Civil Rights Commission vote, A New Party (editorial) |
| October 26, 1963, A Pulpit for Freedom, Negroes Wield Ballot Power, They Can't Even Spell (editorial on Mississippi education system) |
| November 2, 1963, Aaron Henry approaches election, Minister Decries Church Segregation, Political Neglect or Political Responsibility (editorial) |
| November 9, 1963, 90,000 Vote for Henry, Gov. Johnson Refused Consent of the Governed, Vicksburg the Sick City |
| November 16, 1963, Workers Reap Poverty, Cotton Laborers--Forgotten Poor, Freedom Vote Challenges State, Mississippi Learns from Controlled Textbooks (editorial) |
| November 23, 1963, Living Condition Inhuman, Sheriff, School Superintendent--Use, Abuse of Office |
| November 30, 1963, Nation Mourns Kennedy, Mississippi Education; Separate Unequal, Assasination and Climate of Violence (editorial) |
Los Angeles CA Protests, 1963-1964
| 1964 | CORE | More Action, Not Less Will Win!, Bruin CORE Bank of American flyer. Undated (probably May or June of '64) |
| 1964? | CORE | Constitutional Rights Information Form, California DoJ. Undated. |
| 1964 | DuBois | A Letter From the Los Angeles Organizing Committee, recruitment flyer. W.E.B. DuBois Club. Undated (probably late summer or early fall, 1964) |
| 1964 | DuBois | The W.E.B. DuBois Clubs of America, Berkeley Branch, recruitment brochure. Undated (probably early fall, 1964) |
| 1964 | CORE | Study History by Living It! Volunteer for Los Angeles CORE's Freedom Summer, undated flyer (probably April or May of 1964) |
| 1964 | CORE | Fundraising questionaire for L.A. CORE members, undated 1964 |
| 1964 | CORE | Fundraising Brochure, L.A. CORE, |
| 1964 | CORE | Active member questionaire, L.A. CORE. Undated (possibly late 1963 or early 1964) |
| 1964 | N-VAC | Note (handwritten) from Lincoln Heights jail, Woodrow (Woody) Coleman. Undated 1964 |
| 1964 | N-VAC | Handwritten courtroom sentencing notes, Bruce Hartford N-VAC. Undated (probably late summer or early fall of 1964) |
| 1964 | N-VAC | Don't Eat Here, Van de Kamp's boycott flyer. Bruce Hartford, N-VAC. Undated (probably April-July, 1964) |
| 1964 | N-VAC | N-VAC Protests Van de Kamp's Racist Hiring Practices, Bruce Hartford, N-VAC. Undated (probably April-July, 1964) |
| 1964 | N-VAC | Don't Buy at Van de Kamp's, Bruce Hartford, N-VAC. Undated (probably April-July, 1964) |
| 1964 | CORE | For Whom the (School) Bell Tolls, school segregation flyer. Pasadena CORE. Undated (possibly 1964) |
| 1964 | CORE | Campus CORE Activities: Nov '63 - Nov '64, U.C. Berkeley CORE. Undated (late November or early December 1964) |
| 1964 | N-VAC | N-VAC: Van de Kamps protest sentencing newsclip, December 1, 1964 |
| 1964 | L. Foner? COFO? | Freedom Registration in the City of Canton, (MS) |
| 1964 | Judy Hampton, COFO | Report re her secretarial experience for Mrs. Devine, Canton MS |
| 1964 | Margaret Cunningham, COFO | Report about phones, Canton MS |
| 1964 | Unsigned COFO/CORE | Tentative Plan for organization in Valley View, MS. |
| 1964 | Prickett, Nelson, Tompkins, COFO | Report on Freedom School, (MS) |
| 1964 | Mabel Metzer, MFDP | Report on Freedom Democratic Party work toward Educational meetings, (MS) |
| 1964 | Annie Moody, COFO | Report from Canton, (MS) |
| 1964 | Arlene Bock, COFO | Report on Gluckstadt Freedom School threats, (MS) |
| 1964 | Arlene Bock, COFO | Letter to President Lyndon Johnson, (MS) |
Affadavits of Repression, Retaliation & Violence
| 1964 | Affidavit of Steven Fraser, re harassed by police and whites, 7/1964 (illegible) |
| 1964 | Affidavit of Elvira G., re firing of agitator, 7/1964 (illegible) |
| 1964 | Statement of Witnesses, re Activities of COFO at Grand Jury hearing, 7/1964. Moss Point |
| 1964 | Affidavit of Lewis Sitzer, re witnessed obstacles in registering to vote, 7/03/64. Clarksdale |
| 1964 | Statement of Charles Jackson, re witnessing shooting of girl, 7/06/64. Moss Point |
| 1964 | Statement of Lamar Turnipseed, re wrongful arrest after being shot at, 7/06/64. Moss Point. |
| 1964 | Statement of Edward Wiggins, re wrongful arrest after being shot at, 7/06/64. Pascagoula |
| 1964 | Statement by Joe E. Brown, re Arrested for having guns in car for self-protection 7/06/64 |
New Tributes & Memories added to In Memory
No new answers added this month.
New Additions to Poetry
The Poetry section is one of the most-visited parts of the
site.
New Additions to the Photo Album Pages:
New (more or less) Books, Films, & Videos by Freedom Movement Veterans
BOOKS:
Tip of the Arrow: the Selma Student Nonviolent Movement, a Study in
Leadership, by Charles Bonner. Page Publishing, 2020. An
"up-from-below" and "inside-out" examination of, and personal
narratives by, the young students of Selma Alabama who from 1963 to 1965 were
the tip of the nonviolent arrow in the fight for freedom and equality. Charles
Bonner, the author, was one of the main student leaders and then a SNCC field
secretary. Today he is one of the boldest civil rights attorneys in
California.
"Troublemaker" Memories of the Freedom Movement, by Bruce Hartford. Westwind Writers, 2019. Personal boots-on-the-ground memoir
of four years service in the American Civil Rights Movement, 1963-1967.
Southern White Girl Seeks Social Change: A Twentieth Century
Memoir, by Nancy Stoller. Bright Stuff, 2019. A memoir from the dawn
of SNCC, women's liberation, and young people who "de-segregated" the US, each
body on the line, every eye on the prize.
Acts of Resistance: A Freedom Rider Looks Back
on the Civil Rights Movement, by Judith Frieze Wright. Apple Bay
Publishing, 2019. A memoir of one person's experience in Mississippi during
the early sixties.
Mississippi Reckoning, (novel) by
Mitchell Zimmerman. Amazon/Kindle Direct Publishing 2019. The story of a
despairing man's pursuit of justice for the victims of segregationist
brutality, set against a sweeping backdrop of white supremacy rampant and the
civil rights struggles of the 1940s and 1960s.
Crusader Without Violence: A Biography of
Martin Luther King, Jr, by L.D. Reddick and Derryn Moten. Reissued by
New South Books, 2018. First biography of Dr. King originally written in 1959
and now reissued.
Mississippi's Exiled Daughter, by Brenda Travis with John Obee. Story of Brenda Travis, whose 1961 arrest as a teenager helped
galvanize opposition to racial discrimination in Mississippi. New South Books,
June 2018.
The Mississippi Civil Rights Movement
and the Kennedy Administration, 1960-1964: A History in Documents, by
James P. Marshall. Louisiana State University Press, 2018. Freedom Movement
veteran traces through government documents the Kennedy Administration's
response to the Mississippi Movement.
Hope's Kids: A Voting Rights
Summer, by Alan Venable. One Monkey Books, 2017. Describes
Brandeis University's 1965 SCLC-SCOPE project in South Carolina.
Operation Breadbasket: An Untold Story of Civil Rights in Chicago, 1966-
1971, by Martin L. Deppe. University of Georgia Press, 2017. Untold
Story, of the unheralded leaders of thel SCLC program based in Chicago that
broke a market stranglehold by white businesses in Black communities and
empowered Black businesses in their own neighborhoods and beyond.
FILM & VIDEO:
1967 NBC News Interview with Martin Luther
King, that was never broadcast and not made available until 2018. (27
minutes.)
Traveling With Dr.
King, by Sunnylands & Gandhi-King Institute for Nonviolence.
2019. Video remembrance by people who knew and worked closely with Dr. King.
Iowans Return to Freedom
Summer, by Keeping History Alive foundation. 2018. Firsthand
accounts from six Freedom Summer volunteers from Iowa who reflect on their
motivations, fears, triumphs and the life altering events that took place 50
years ago.
Heather Booth: Changing the World,
a documentary film by Lily Rivlin. 2017. How the Civil Rights Movement
inspired SNCC activist and Freedom Summer volunteer Heather Booth to a
lifetime of fighting for social justice.
Stand for Freedom: The Life & Times of
Willie B. Wazir Peacock The story of Willie Peacock, one of the
original SNCC field secretaries organzing in the Mississippi Delta. YouTube.
As always comments, suggestions, corrections, and submissions from
Freedom Movement activists are welcome. Veterans of the Southern Freedom
Movement who are listed on the website's Roll Call are encouraged to
contribute to the website their stories, thoughts, documents, and memories
& tributes of those who have passed on by emailing them to
webmaster@crmvet.org.
Copyright ©
Webspinner:
webmaster@crmvet.org
(Labor donated)
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