Paul Saltzman

SNCC, 1965, Mississippi
Current Residence: Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Email: paul@sfl-films.com
Web Site: www.movingbeyondprejudice.com

I volunteered from my home in Toronto, Canada and drove to D.C. for a 10-day training in nonviolence. Lead instructor was Stokely Carmichael. While there we picked the Justice Department and lobbied congressmen and senators on behalf of the MFDP.

I drove to Jackson, MS. and was arrested the next morning as part of the ongoing demonstrations in June. After 10 days in jail I was posted to Greenwood and stayed in the home of the Greene family at 619 Howard Street. I did voter registration work with my SNCC partner, Jimmy Colbert, from Chicago. (I'd like to find him!).

At one point I was assaulted by Byron de la Beckwith, Jr., son of the man who murdered Medgar Evers. I took him to court for the attack. He was acquitted.

I worked in Greenwood and the surrounding area for much of that summer returning to Toronto after the trial when the FBI said it was too dangerous for me to stay, given my taking on the Beckwiths.

I raised money for SNCC in Toronto bringing up Stokley for a TV interview I did with him and an fund raiser on that visit. I also brought up Julian Bond to interview him as well; both on the main Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's flagship public affairs TV hour: The Hour Has 7 Days.

I returned for the first time in 2007 and between then and 2012, on various visits, I directed, produced and financed two feature film documentaries: Prom Night in Mississippi and The Last White Knight — Is Reconciliation Possible?.

 


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