From the desk of Guyot

Guyotrsquos Newsletter bull January 2011

BACK TO THE BEGINNING ndash We must spend the next twoyears leading up to the 2012 election season engaging everyone we knowwho has ever organized anything Freedom Rides Freedom Electionthe 1964 Summer Project and the 1965 challenge to unseat the Missis-sippi Congressional Delegation We begin with Mississippi and then inevery state we work to bring together those who organized to changethe world and organize to protect everything we have won We need toreestablish broad based civic engagement beginning with intensive voterregistration In taking the first step I ask that you join me at the up-coming Annual Conference of the Veterans of the Mississippi Civil RightsMovement March 23rd ndash 26th These folks are the best grassroots orga-nizers the country has ever produced Students bring your tape record-ers and get your schools churches synagogues or civic groups to giveyou money to buy books at the conference

Please read in the Washington Post Activist Groups take full advantage of new media outlets to spread their message byKrissah Thompson wwwwashingtonpostcomwp-dyncontentarticle20101227AR2010122703 54html

We cannot fall into the mean trap that the Republican Party is a real choice for those of us who fought to make this countrygreat We must use media smart tactics and the mantra that we all developed in Mississippi to spread community organiz-ing so broadly that those who dont join us will feel like pariahs

I will spend all of my time at the MS Veterans conference working to hookup as many local organizers together as possibleWe redefined the word impossible once before and now we must do it again The only force that can stop us is us

Jayne Cortez was a volunteer in the 64 Summer Project She reminded me at a Georgetown University conference that Irescued her in Yazoo City She then invited Michael Thelwell and me to a conference on Slave Routes

Remember Michael Thelwell who led the Congressional Challenge and developed a memorandum which was signed byMartin Luther King John Lewis George Wiley and me and used it to strengthen the Voting Rights Act by adding Section 5In Jaynes documentary Michael Thelwell and I conducted a panel on the MFDP and its impact on the Voting Rights ActJaynes documentary is one of the best on the MFDP

Count Them One by One by Gordon A Martin Jr is an award winning book that tells the story of the Department ofJustices attack on Theron Lynd the voting registrar of Forrest County Mississippi The author was a young Department ofJustice attorney who worked on this case and in the book he makes the connection between this lawsuit and the ultimatepassage of the Voting Rights Act

Hands on the Freedom Plow Personal Accounts by Women in SNCC is a great book Martha Noonan John Dittmer andthe other editors did a great job on this history of women in SNCC This is another great reason to come to Jackson to seeMartha and the other contributors

Also read a movement classic entitled The Speeches of Fannie Lou Hamer To Tell It Like It Is This volume was edited byMaegan Parker Brooks and Davis W Houck It is the first collection of speeches from one of the movements valiant firebrands

The grant to McComb began when the William Winter Institute agreed to distribute Putting the Movement Back into CivilRights Teaching to any town in Mississippi They sponsored two conferences one in Neshoba County during the Killenstrial and one in McComb which led to the passage of The Civil Rights Education Bill

Crown Me is a great book about checkers and some of the greatest thinkers in our community Read it and pass it on

Read Peggy Conners deposition in this newsletter we will bring additional depositions with us to the conference If you or yourrelatives provided a 1960s deposition for the Congressional Challenge please ask us to search the archives for these documents

From the desk of Guyot

Lawrence Guyot


Letters to the Editor

Dear Brother Larry

Who would have thought that a NY Long Island prosecutor would be so influenced by MsHamer In reading the following obit of Attorney Denis Dillion the name of Hamer caughtmy eye John Brittain__________________________________________________________________

NEW YORK TIMES bull August 16 2010

Denis E Dillon Prosecutor on Long Island Dies at 76By SARAH WHEATON

Denis E Dillon the longtime district attorney of Nassau County NY who quietly oversaw high-profile prosecutions while using his office as a bully pulpit against abortion died on Sunday morn-ing at his home in Rockville Centre He was 76 His daughter Barbara Dillon said he died around 4am after a long battle with lymphoma

During his eight terms as chief prosecutor crime rates dropped across Long Island and the nationwatched his office pursue the mass murderer Colin Ferguson and the conspiring lovers Amy Fisherand Joey Buttafuoco

But Mr Dillon was known as a private man whose commitments to his beliefs - driven by a strongRoman Catholic faith - superseded political ambitions My father had a passion for justice andpublic service and he believed in a professional prosecutors office Ms Dillon 43 said in aninterview Sunday evening He strove for fairness and I guess one of the things is that he was a voicefor those that didnt have one

First elected as a Democrat in 1974 in an era when Republicans dominated the countys politics MrDillon did not face serious opposition until 2005 when he was narrowly defeated by Kathleen MRice He switched his affiliation to Republican in 1989 when the local party adopted an affirmation ofabortion rights in its platform He had run for governor on the Right to Life Party line in 1986

In 2002 Mr Dillon held a news conference to criticize an inquiry by Eliot Spitzer then the stateattorney general into a pregnancy counseling center Such outspoken opposition to abortion made

her father a lightning rod Ms Dillon said Arthur M Diamondlater to become a New York State Supreme Court justice drove MrDillon around during his first campaign and worked as one of hisassistant district attorneys He said Mr Dillon had revolutionizedthe countys justice system by allowing felons to plead guilty beforethey were indicted while eliminating most post-indictment pleabargains He was a big big believer when he came here in swiftand certain punishment Judge Diamond recalled He describedMr Dillon as a loner who did not cultivate friendships reallywith lawyers or other government officials politicians Of his anti-abortion advocacy Justice Diamond said I understood why hedid what he did But he added Was it good for the office I doubtit Was it good for him as a prosecutor I doubt it

Attorney Denis Dillon

continued


Mr Dillon was born in 1933 in the Bronx He spent time in Woodlawn NY where his fatherowned a bar as well as in Rockaway Beach and in Arlington Va He worked as a police officer inNew York City while attending Fordham Law School at night and was eventually hired into RobertF Kennedys Justice Department

Through his efforts to ensure the enforcement of civil rights laws during his time with the JusticeDepartment Mr Dillon met Fannie Lou Hamer a civil rights activist and a woman he wouldremember every day of his life he told his daughter When Mr Dillon asked Ms Hamer whethershe hated the people who beat her for her activism he recalled her replying Son if your house ison fire what do you bring to put the fire out Just as one would fight fire with water Ms Dillonsaid her father quoted Ms Hamer saying If somebody hates me I have to bring the oppositeelement to put it out so I love them Its a lesson he taught us as children Ms Dillon said Youlove them and you teach them and you live by example

In addition to Barbara Dillon Mr Dillon is survived by his wife of 49 years Anne his olderdaughter Alice Marie Dillon 48 of Putney Vt and his sister Nora Murphy of Venice Fla Amongfamily and friends Mr Dillon was known for his love of Irish music and culture Loved ones oftenrolled their eyes at his constant recitals of rhymes and limericks Ms Dillon said He was a prosecu-tor for much of his career but he believed in peoples ability to redeem themselves Ms Dillonsaid There wasnt a duality to him You didnt have a public persona or his faith she said I thinkothers were more vocal about him being a practicing and orthodox Catholic than he was He didntpreach from the rooftops

Ms Rice his former opponent said she learned of his death with profound sadness There existsno doubt that he was a man of integrity of principle and of tireless commitment to our commu-nity she said in a statement

His service was never about him but about advocacy that he believed would help others Thatselflessness spanned the length of his lifelong public service and will remain an inspirational pillar ofour office long after his passing

John C Brittainjbrittattycomcastnet832687-3007

Letters (continued)


McComb Consortium Teach-ing American History Grantby Brian Naylor | July 22 2010

A consortium of seven school districts led by the Mc-Comb Miss school district and including BrookhavenClaiborne Columbia Lamar Marion and Natchez-Adams districts was awarded a Teaching American His-tory grant in August 2010 Teaching for Change workedclosely with McComb on the application thanks to thesupport they have received from the WK Kellogg Foun-dation to deepen instruction about Civil Rights Move-ment and labor history in McComb (Corinth CountySchool District also received a TAH grant in 2010 andJackson Public Schools received a grant a few years ago)

The Teaching American History brings in a partnershipwith George Mason University the University of South-ern Mississippi and the University of Mississippi at Ox-ford to implement a $1 million 3 year grant from theUS Department of Education with the possibility of a 2-year extension The project entitled Making ConnectionsMississippi History as American History is designed toraise the achievement of history students in grades 4 5 89 11 and 12 Making Connections is designed to increase1) teachers knowledge of traditional American Historythrough the lens of Mississippi History 2) teachers use ofprimary sources in traditional American history instruc-tion and 3) student knowledge of and interest in tradi-tional American history Making Connections is designedto enable teachers of American History to transform theirteaching by building their knowledge of American his-tory as a separate academic subject at the same time thatthey develop their reflective practice curriculum designcapacities and critical thinking skills

The content of Making Connections focuses on signifi-cant turning points in US history as they reflected in-

fluenced or contradicted principles of freedom and de-mocracy through examination of the founding documentsand themes such as westward expansion the Civil Warand Reconstruction the Jim Crow era the labor move-ment and the Civil Rights Movement -- and the con-nections with these events and Mississippi history

The first step is to offer professional development thatguides teachers in the uses of these principles and toolsThrough Making Connections teachers and students willunderstand how the principles of freedom and democracyarticulated in the founding documents of the United Statescome alive through the study of social movements Theteam is headed by lead historian Dr James Campbell ofStanford University an award-winning scholar in AfricanAmerican history and American Studies who collaboratedto create a website on the Mississippi Freedom MovementFreedom Now Additionally he oversaw the Brown Uni-versity Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice a three-year effort to research the role of the university in the trans-Atlantic slave trade Dr Jenice L View of George MasonUniversitys Initiatives in Educational Transformation Pro-gram is the academic project director serving to guide thepedagogical growth of participants Mike Jeanson a formerhigh school US history teacher in McComb Schools for18 years is the project director

Other members of the team include Dr Charles Payne(University of Chicago) Dr Susan Glisson (WilliamWinter Institute University of Mississippi - Oxford) DrCurtis Austin (University of Southern Mississippi) DrKelly Schrum and Jeremy Boggs (George Mason Uni-versity) Dr David Blight (Gilder Lehrman Center forthe Study of Slavery Resistance amp Abolition Yale Uni-versity) Bill Bigelow (Rethinking Schools) LindaChristensen (Oregon Writing Project) Dr LouisKryriakoudes (Center for Oral History University ofSouthern Mississippi) and Thomas Thurston (GilderLehrman Center Yale)

httpwwwyoutubecomwatchv=Qe5tcr0yHN4ampfeature=related

social protest in song ndash

Lead Bellyrsquos

The Titanic

6th Annual Conference

of the

VETERANS OF THE MISSISSIPPI

CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

Location Jackson State University Jackson MS

Conference Registration Includes

bull Panel Discussions

bull JSU Banquet

bull Veterans Freedom Gathering

bull Workshops

bull Veterans Group Picture

bull Oral History Interviews

bull Film Screenings

bull ldquo2nd Generation Activists Dayrdquo

bull COFO Building Tour

bull Meet the Authors

bull The Poetrsquos Speak

bull Town Hall meeting with JSU students

bull Planning for the Future

bull Intergenerational Cultural Expression Night

bull Freedom Singers

bull Tribute to Fallen Veterans

Registration Fee

$100 Adults $25 College Students $10 High School Students

REGISTRATION DEADLINE MARCH 15 2011REGISTRATION DEADLINE MARCH 15 2011REGISTRATION DEADLINE MARCH 15 2011REGISTRATION DEADLINE MARCH 15 2011

Please visit our website for updated information or contact us via e-mailphone

E-mail mississippicivilrightsveteransgmailcom

Website mscivilrightsveteransorg (601) 979-1515 (601) 979-1520 (601) 896-3757 (601) 918-7809

SAVE THE DATES


Hate-crimes enforcementon rise reflecting adminis-tration priorities

By Jerry MarkonWashington Post Staff WriterThursday November 4 2010 600 AM

Federal authorities are stepping up enforcement againsthate crimes filing charges in a racially motivated cross-burning and announcing the sentencing this week of aMassachusetts man for burning a predominantlyAfrican American church the morning after PresidentObamas election

Benjamin Haskell 24 was sentenced Monday to nineyears in prison for his role in torching the MacedoniaChurch of God in Christ in Springfield Mass TheNov 5 2008 arson nearly destroyed the building andHaskell admitted in court documents that the crimewas motivated by anger over Obamas election

In Arkansas three men were indicted on charges ofburning a cross in the yard of a black resident of a ruralarea the Justice Department announced Tuesday

Although the cases are not connected they reflectheightened federal enforcement against hate crimes andother civil rights violations a top priority of theObama administration officials said Wednesday

Its extremely important said Cynthia M Deitle unitchief for the FBIs civil rights program We are here tohelp people who have been the victim of an atrociouscrime whether its police brutality or a church arson Ifwe dont do it theres no one else who will

The FBI was given an additional $8 million by Con-gress last year for civil rights enforcement and Deitlesaid much of that money went to investigating hatecrimes Weve increased our presence and resourcesin that area she said

The Justice Department is holding training sessions foragents and prosecutors across the country to enforce theMatthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr Hate CrimesPrevention Act The 2009 law for the first time extendsfederal protection to victims of hate violence on the basisof sex sexual orientation gender identity or disability

It is named for Shepard a gay University of Wyomingstudent who was murdered in 1998 and Byrd a blackman who was dragged to death behind a pickup truckin Texas in 1998

FBI data show that the number of hate crimes hasremained relatively stable for the past decade In 2008the most recent year for which statistics are available7783 hate crime incidents were reported nationwide

Michael Lieberman Washington counsel for the Anti-Defamation League which monitors hate crimes saidthe group has seen increased bias incidents against

Defendant Michael Jacques

Defendant Benjamin Haskell


Hispanics In one recent case a federal jury last monthconvicted two Shenandoah Pa men of a hate crime inthe fatal beating of a Hispanic man in a park

In the Massachusetts case Haskell and two other menwere charged in January 2009 in the burning of achurch building that was under construction and 75percent complete Haskell pleaded guilty in Juneadmitting that he and co-conspirators poured gasolineinside and outside the building and ignited the fuel

Five firefighters were injured in the blaze which leftintact only the buildings metal superstructure and asmall portion of the front corner A second man haspleaded guilty and a third is awaiting trial A lawyer forHaskell did not return phone calls

The freedom to practice the religion that we choosewithout discrimination or hateful acts is among ournations most cherished rights said Thomas E Perezassistant attorney general for the Justice DepartmentsCivil Rights Division The department will prosecuteanyone who violates that right to the fullest extent ofthe law_________________________________________________________________

Benjamin Haskell MichaelJacques of Springfieldcharged in torching ofMacedonia Church of God inChrist arraigned on chargesinvolving earlier fire

Wednesday October 21 2009 318 PM

Buffy Spencer The Republican By Buffy Spencer TheRepublican

SPRINGFIELD - Two Springfield men who facefederal charges for the torching of the MacedoniaChurch of God in Christ in November pleadedinnocent in Hampden Superior Court on Tuesday tocharges involving an unrelated 2003 fire Judge CJeffrey Kinder accepted the recommendation ofprosecution and defense lawyers that Benjamin FHaskell 22 and Michael F Jacques 24 be released on

their own recognizance They must abide by the sameconditions on which they were freed while awaitingprosecution in the US District Court case includingwearing electronic monitors

Kinder also ordered Haskell to report to SuperiorCourt Probation twice a month and undergo randomdrug testing Along with the charges for the fireHaskell also faces state court indictments on a varietyof drug offenses The two pleaded innocent to indict-ments charging them with burning a building andmalicious destruction of a vacant single story ranch inthe amount of over $250 The charges involve a fire ata home at 5 Woodlawn Road

Haskell also pleaded innocent to charges of distribu-tion of marijuana oxycodone and methodone threecounts of violation of a drug-free school zone and twocounts of illegal possession of ammunition The drugand ammunition charges appear to involve incidentwhich occurred while Haskell was under investigationfor the church fire The federal charges were not leveleduntil late January Nicholas Stopa 26 was to bearraigned Tuesday as a co-defendant on the drugcharges but he did not appear and a warrant wasordered issued for his arrest

In the Nov 5 Macedonia Church fire investigators saidHaskell Jacques and Thomas A Gleason Jr also ofSpringfield admitted to an undercover state trooperthat they crept through a window at the partiallyconstructed church - whose congregation is predomi-nantly black - and doused the building with gasolinesetting off a massive blaze

Witnesses told the FBI the defendants said they set thefire in response to Barack H Obamas election as thenations first black president

They were arrested for that fire in January after anundercover sting which involved the defendantsallegedly agreeing to burn down a commercial buildingin Holyoke for a fee All denied the federal charges ofcivil rights violations in connection with the fire Thecharge carries a 10-year mandatory prison sentence

A pre-trial conference in the state court cases is set forFeb 17


Is the GOP shedding a birthright

By EJ Dionne Jr bull Thursday August 5 2010

Rather than shout Ill just ask the question in a civil wayDear Republicans do you really want to endanger your partysgreatest political legacy by turning the 14th Amendment toour Constitution into an excuse for election-year ugliness

Honestly I thought that our politics could not get worseand suddenly there appears this attack on birthright citi-zenship and the introduction into popular use of the hid-eous term anchor babies children whom illegal immi-grants have for the alleged purpose of anchoring them-selves to American rights and the welfare state

Particularly depressing is that the idea of repealing the 14thAmendments guarantee of citizenship to all persons bornor naturalized in the United States was given momentumby one of the nations most reasonable conservatives

People come here to have babies said Sen Lindsey Gra-ham (R-SC) They come here to drop a child Its calleddrop and leave To have a child in America they cross theborder they go to the emergency room have a child andthat childs automatically an American citizen Thatshouldnt be the case That attracts people here for all thewrong reasons Drop a child How can a strong believerin the right to life use such a phrase

I cant do better on this than the Cleveland Plain Dealersestimable columnist Connie Schultz I have lived for morethan half a century and I have yet to meet a mother any-where in the world who would describe the excruciatingmiracle of birth as dropping a baby

Graham has long favored comprehensive immigration re-form so its hard to escape the thought that his talk ofchild-dropping is designed to appease a right-wing out toget him because hes too liberal

Just as dispiriting Sen John McCain another once-bravechampion of immigration reform has tried to duck theissue McCain facing an Arizona Republican primary chal-lenge on Aug 24 has said he supports the concept of hold-ing hearings on the meaning of the 14th Amendmentsbirthright citizenship clause

This is better than endorsing outright repeal but what adifference from the McCain whose conscience once com-pelled him to say of illegal immigrants These are Gods

children as well and they need some protections under thelaw and they need some of our love and compassion

Nothing should make Republicans prouder than theirpartys role in passing what are known as the Civil War orReconstruction amendments the 13th ending slavery the14th guaranteeing equal protection under the law and es-tablishing national standards for citizenship and the 15thprotecting the right to vote In those days Democrats werethe racial demagogues

Opponents of the 14th Amendment used racist argumentsagainst immigrants to try to kill it even though there werevirtually no immigration restrictions back then PresidentAndrew Johnson played the card aggressively as Universityof Baltimore law professor Garrett Epps reported in his 2006book on the 14th Amendment Democracy Reborn

This provision comprehends the Chinese of the PacificStates Indians subject to taxation the people called Gipsiesas well as the entire race designated as blacks people ofcolor negroes mulattoes and persons of African bloodJohnson declared Is it sound policy to make our entirecolored population and all other excepted classes citizens ofthe United States

Republicans were taken aback that Gypsies were suddenlytransformed into a great national peril as part of the cam-paign against the amendment In his definitive book Re-construction historian Eric Foner cites a bemused Republi-can senator who observed in 1866 I have lived in the UnitedStates now for many a year and really I have heard moreabout Gypsies within the past two or three months than Ihave heard before in my life The methods of politics dontchange much even if the targets of demagoguery do

Epps cites an 1859 oration by Carl Schurz the Germanimmigrant and Republican leader who helped deliver hiscommunitys vote to Abraham Lincoln in 1864 Schurz laterbecame a leading backer of the 14th Amendment

All the social and national elements of the civilized worldare represented in the new land Schurz declared In ournation their peculiar characteristics are to be blended to-gether by the all-assimilating power of freedom This is theorigin of the American nationality which did not springfrom one family one tribe one country but incorporatesthe vigorous elements of all civilized nations on earth

That is the American tradition and the Republican tradi-tion Senator Graham please dont throw it away


Program Honoring the Dedicated Service ofWomen in the Pleasant PlainsParkview

Communities Washington DC

The Emergence Community Arts Collective (ECAC) a cultural arts and community centerlocated in NW Washington DC will celebrate historical and present day women who haveprovided dedicated service to the Pleasant Plains and Parkview (Lower Georgia Avenue) com-munities with all proceeds benefitting ECACs current programs In Her Honor The FirstAnnual Celebration Of the Service Of Women In Pleasant PlainsParkview will feature Con-gresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton as a keynote speaker and performer Ayanna Gregory onJanuary 27 2011 at 630 pm at the Howard University Blackburn Center Tickets are $25until December 31st $35 after December 31st and $40 at the door They can be purchased atwwwecacollectiveorg or by calling (202) 462-2285

Great mothers educators and organizers dont often make the history books but deserverecognition nonetheless In Her Honor shares stories of women committed to preserving thefoundation of our community - its people This event will publicly acknowledge behind-the-scenes work of just a few of the women who helped build the social and cultural foundation ofour neighborhood working tirelessly to maintain standards of culture education social ser-vice and civic engagement

The Pleasant Plains and Park View communities situated along the Lower Georgia AvenueCorridor with Howard University as a historical anchor are facing major redevelopment withnine major projects planned in the next five years Preserving and proclaiming the stories ofour past and present are necessary steps in this process This event is inspired by the hiddenhistory discovered at the ECAC center Our building at 733 Euclid St NW was owned by theNational Association for the Relief of Destitute Colored Women and Children until it wasdonated to the Emergence Project on January 27 2003 The Association was formed in 1863and cared for women and children until 1998 when the building was abandoned The ECAChas documented the work of the many prominent African American women who played a rolein sustaining the vision of this organization including Elizabeth Keckley Helen Appo CookJosephine Beall Bruce Charlotte Forten Grimke and others

Since opening the ECAC (wwwcampaignecacollectiveorg) has provided affordable commu-nity space arts and education classes support groups and social activities Our proactive com-munity involvement has led to the development of the upcoming Georgia AvenuePleasantPlains Heritage Trail which documents the history of Lower Georgia Avenue and the GeorgiaAvenue Community Development Task Force organized to ensure the residents have a voicein redevelopment

Announcement

Contact Sylvia RobinsonThe Emergence Community Arts Collective733 Euclid St NW Washington DC 20001(202) 462-2285 bull sylviaecacollectiveorgwwwecacollectiveorg


Movement History

Mississippi Contested Elections ndashThe Historic 1965 Testimony ofPeggy Jean Connor

PEGGY JEAN CONNER having been first dulysworn deposed and testified as followsDirect examination by Mrs AxelrodQ Mrs Conner state your name and address for therecord A Peggy Jean Conner 921 Mobile StreetQ Are you a registered voter A Yes I amQ Could you tell us when you became a registeredvoter A I became a registered voter on Jan 13 1964Q Did you register as a Democrat A Here inMississippi you just registerQ Calling you attention to June 16 1964 was thereon that date a Democratic precinct convention here inthe Library precinct A What date Q June 161964 A Yes

Q Did you attend that precinct convention A Iattended the Library precinct conventionQ Did you go by yourself or with others A Therewere seven of us

Q Mrs Conner you are Negro are you not AThats rightQ You say there were seven of you Were the other sixpeople Negro A All NegroesQ All registered voters A Yes

Q What time was that meeting set to begin A Ten amQ What time did you arrive A We were thereapproximately 2 minutes before 10Q So you and six other Negroes all of whom areregistered voters arrived 2 minutes before 10 AThats rightQ What happened when you arrived there A Whenwe got there there were two whites there one gentle-man who identified himself as Mr Wallace and a ladyI dont know At 10 Oclock he came around and tookall of our names He said he would have to see if wewere registered voters We told him we all had ourregistration cards as proof we were registered votersbut he said he would have to check with Mr Lynd andget him to OK it Well he took all of our names andhe went and called Mr Lynd ndash I imagine ndash he went tothe telephone About 15 minutes later he said theywere still checking he hadnt gotten no word from MrLynd as of yet About this time one more person onemore white come and that made three whites andseven Negroes Then we saw Mr Wallace going backand using the telephone and we assumed he wascalling others to come because later some did comeFour men came in their uniforms and other business-menQ All whites A Yes He came and told us about1030 that there was only one in our group couldparticipate in the precinct meeting because one paidpoll tax We told him the paper said you only had to bea registered voter He said he didnt know nothingabout what the paper said He just talked with a lawyerthere in town and you had to pay poll tax to attend aprecinct meeting We didnt have a clipping from thepaper with us to show that the paper said you only hadto be a registered voter

Q Did he say anything about how many years you hadto pay poll tax A Two years A little later some morecame in I asked him if he was going to check the namesof the whites that come in to see if they were registeredvoters He said no he didnt have to So about 1048the precinct meeting started 48 minutes late At thattime it was approximately 17 whites and 7 NegroesThey started the meeting This lady I dont know hername shes crippled shes on crutches shes working on

Peggy Jean Connor of Hattiesburg MS 1964 (continued after box)


This May 13 1965 Daily News (of Jackson MS) article by WC Shoemaker reports on the historicsuit filed that day in US District Court (in Jackson MS) by the Mississippi Freedom DemocraticParty (MFDP) Peggy J Conner and a host of other Mississippians listed in this article Attorneysfiling the suit included LH Rosenthal of Jackson William M Kunsler of New York and Ben Smithof New Orleans and many others Defendants named were the then MS Governor Paul B JohnsonMS Attorney General Joe Patterson and other key state officials

The suit called for the naming of a court appointed special master to plan and oversee redistrictingfor the MS Legislature and US Congressional representation from MS This action by the specialmaster was to be followed by a mandated special election with a new slate of candidates

The source of this item was the online archives of the Mississippi Sovereignty CommissionAnnotations in the copy were made by Sovereignty Commission staff persons

Movement History (continued)

The 1965 suit against Mississippi by MFDP et al


the precinct because every time I went to vote she wasthere But she nominated Mr Currie as chairman of themeeting Mr Currie wasnt present at the time shenominated him I asked could you nominate a person inabsence to act as chairman of a precinct meeting and hewasnt there She say Oh yes Hes always our chair-man Thats the way we do it Hes always our chair-man I say Mr Wallace I say are you going to electa person in absence to preside at the meeting and he isnot here He say No we cant do that Then one ofthe gentlemen nominated Mr Wallace to act as chair-man of the precinct meeting And we voted by ayesand noes by voice-vote for this And then the chair-man opened the house to nominations for secretaryOne person nominated this lady the first lady who wasthere as secretary of this precinct meeting And she sayno she couldnt perform as a secretary because she-herewriting-shes handicapped and she cant write Anotherlady she say you can just appoint someone to write foryou and so Mr Wallace say no they couldnt do thatand then they nominated Mrs Soffers as secretary Thenwe opened the house for business We then I offered Iasked the chairman if I could present a pledge before theconventionQ You mean a resolution A Yes pledging oursupport to the national convention to support thecandidates nominated by the National DemocraticParty in the national campaign-to support the candi-dates and the platform Oh things just went in anuproar Everybody started talking and one lady toldme We dont have anything to do with the nationalconvention Were Mississippians Were MississippiDemocrats I say But you go to the national conven-tion She say Were Democrats but were MississippiDemocrats We attend the national convention but wenever say what we are going to do For years we wentunpledged and we just dont know We dont knowwhat the Republicans are going to do I say If wereDemocrats why worry on who the Republicans aregoing to put up She say Well you never knowabout this Johnson He has a bad heart and he mightjust die at any time Finally we brought it to a voteQ Was this an open meeting A Yes and when webrought it to a vote we voted by the show of hands Itwas 17 against and 1 for the resolutionQ Mrs Conner you say there were seven Negroes AThats rightQ Did all seven of them vote A Couldnt no one butme participate The other Negroes they could sit they

say but they couldnt have no voiceQ Did they then elect delegates to the county conven-tion A They elected three Supposed to elect two

Q They didnt say whether these were split votes ANo One man say I think we should elect three thenthey elected threeQ They didnt say one was an alternate A They justelected three And after they elected the delegates thechairman ask for a motion that the meeting wouldcome to a close and that was it We leftQ Mrs Conner you said you heard of this meetingthrough an announcement in the paper A Thatscorrect thats rightQ Did the newspaper announcement make anystatement as to the requirement for participation inthis meeting A No the paper said the registeredvoters in the precinct It didnt say anything aboutpaying poll taxQ Had you paid poll tax A Yes

Q Mrs Conner at the last election did you act as apoll watcher A I didQ Could you tell us of any experience you had thereA On June the 2d June 2 the primary election I waswatching the poll for Miss Victoria GrayQ Would you tell us about that please A Before thiselection the state legislature passed a law saying thatyou have to have a certificate if you paid your poll taxYou would have to go and get a certificate from thecircuit clerk and pay a dollar for this certificate inorder to vote in the election This was a state lawUnder national law you werent supposed to have toQ Was this for the election of US Senator A It wasthe primary election for the US Senator yes A fewdays before the election the time was up to get thesecertificates and we didnt know that you had to datethe certificates and have an affidavit to vote Everyonewas in an uproar trying to get affidavits if they didnthave poll tax receipts Seven oclock that morning Iwas at the poll and I voted I went in and showedthem-it was the first time I ever voted-I showed themmy poll tax receipt and my registration card I thinkyou had to have everything I went in and this ladymet me at the door She said What do you want Itold her I came to vote After I voted I folded myballot and I couldnt put it in the box Then I cameout with the paper that says Im authorized to watchpoll that day I give it to the lady She said What is



that She said Id have to show it to Mr Currie andhe read it and he said Have a seat About 8 Oclockpeople really started coming in to the poll and quite afew people didnt know that they had to have a receiptfrom the clerks office or an affidavit before they cameto vote They went them to the circuit clerks officeand he didnt have any so he would send them backdown and told them to make it out the same just saywhatever their names

Mr HeidelbergWe object to hearsay testimony The witness couldntknow what was going on in the clerks office MrsAxelrod Just continue to tell us what they did with thepeople who didnt have the affidavits The WitnessWell a lady went and bought me a tablet and whenpeople came in we made them out Then they tookthe affidavits and the ballots and put them in a brownenvelope ndash a large brown envelope

By Mrs AxelrodQ Were these Negro voters A It was some whites whovoted by affidavit too They put the names and theaffidavits and the ballots together and placed them andthese affidavits were sealed in the brown envelopesQ Not the ballot box A Not in the ballot box Afterdinner Mr Lynd had some affidavits by that time andpeople would have to go to his office to get them andthese affidavits were sealed in the brown envelopesQ Were you there when they counted the ballots A Iwas there They did not count the ballots in the brownenvelopes They counted all the ballots in the ballotbox before they left the precinctQ You were there for the final count

Mr Roberts We object because under the laws ofMississippi such a problem as this would be handledby the election commission Those ballots in the brownenvelopes those sealed with the affidavits would nothave ben counted at the poll We believe that thiswould have to be a conclusion a false conclusion bythe witness that these were not counted at all

By Mrs AxelrodQ Were you ever notified Mrs Conner of the timeand place where the brown envelopes were unsealedand counted A If they have been unsealed I dontknow about it And I would like to say that although Isaid both whites and Negroes voted by affidavit 90percent of the total who voted by affidavit wereNegroes There were very few whites and I was thereall the time Mr Heidelberg May I interrupt I would

like to confer (A discussion was held off the record)Mr Heidelberg I think it would be helpful to Con-gress and to counsel themselves to clarify this point ofthe brown envelopes at this stage Obviously thewitness didnt understand the true significance of theseUnder Mississippi procedure and Im sure its similarin other states whenever a voter appears at the pollsand claims a right to vote and that name is not on theregistration books or his right to vote is not clearlydemonstrated or is otherwise challenged then thatballot must marked by the prospective voter and placedin a separate envelope and sealed and marked chal-lenged ballot clearly separated and marked as such

Under the law the tabulators or counters at the pollsare not permitted to open these ballots These ballotsmust be returned unopened in a ballot box to anappropriate official It is submitted to the executivecommittee the following day They take reports fromthe various precincts examine the ballots and this isthe time when the challenge envelopes the challengedballots are opened and their validity determined Andthen depending upon whether it would change theresults of the election there is a normal routineprocedure established by Mississippi law for theprimary or the general election

Mrs AxelrodThat may be the normal routine under Mississippi lawbut I want Congress to understand that there issomething more than becoming a registered voterrequired in this election

These ballots were challenged According to MrsConners testimony 90 percent of the challenged ballotswere Negro voters And Mrs Conner was a poll watcherand therefore was entitled to be present at the countingof the ballots No one poll watcher representing MrsGray who was an official candidate had an opportunityto be present during the counting of the challengedballots to determine what was done with them

Mr HeidelbergI dont believe thats true As a representative shecould if she desired

Mr LambertonPerhaps that could be presented by your side in directevidence by the respondents by affirmative evidenceeither by reference to the statutes or by direct testi-mony from a member of the executive committeeshowing the proper procedure



Mr HeidelbergIt is a little presumptuous that one witness whoobviously doesnt know the procedure being followedto attempt to cast a reflection on the entire election

Mrs AxelrodThis is the area we are taking testimony in I dontknow what the testimony will show in other areas Wehave had great difficulty in securing witnesses forvarious reasons and in this witness we have a credibleintelligent witness entitled to be believed She testifiedthat there is a difficulty in having some of the regis-tered Negroes ballots counted

I have finished with this witness You may cross-examine if you wish

Cross-examination by Mr Heidelberg

Q What is your age please A Thirty-two years oldQ Your occupation A BeauticianQ Beautician Now on that date of I believe you saidit was June 16 1964 when you attended the precinctconvention at the library precinct here in HattiesburgI believe that Mr Wallace was presiding at that meet-ing A He so identified himself as beingQ I see He called the meeting to order as temporarychairman did he not A That is rightQ You say that Mr Currie was not present whennominated A Mr Currie wasnt present when theynominated him to act as chairman

Q And Mr Wallace did not permit the nomination toby made A He would not permit it to be made after Iobjected to itQ He did rule in your favor on it A He didQ So then he himself was then elected as chairman ofthe meeting and proceeded to conduct the meetingA Thats rightQ Then you voted participated in the precinctconvention did you not-A I was the only one-theonly Negro Q You did vote didnt you A Sure

Q You did participate A SureQ Did you make any nominations for chairman of themeeting A No I didntQ Did you nominate a secretary A Who was I goingto nominate I didnt know anyone presentQ Did you make any nominations for delegates to thecounty convention A No I didnt

Q But you did vote A I did not vote I voted for thechairman and voted for the secretary I did not vote forthe delegates I didnt know them

Q Now returning then to the election This is theJune primary election we are speaking about is thatcorrect You said it was June 7 A June 2 I thinkQ The second A Im not sureQ At any rate the primary election was held in thesummer 1964 by the Mississippi Democratic PartyA Thats rightQ Now in this primary I believe you said you votedA Thats rightQ And you appeared at the library precinct withcredentials to act as poll watcher on behalf of VictoriaJackson Gray a candidate for the US Senate A I didact as poll watcher

Q You stayed there the whole day didnt you A AlldayQ Now at this election you mentioned that it was anelection for Congress You didnt mention otheroffices There were other offices A I only watchedpoll for Mrs JacksonQ Im asking if there werent other offices judges andother State offices involved in that election A I dontrememberQ Other judicial and State offices of the State ofMississippi A It was State I dont remember I knowit was US CongressQ Isnt it a fact that you had two elections heldsimultaneously one for nominations of Congressmenand Senators and the other for various State officialsA In the June primary if Im not mistaken we hadone ballot But at the November election there weretwo ballots Federal and State Ballots

Q Are you saying that was not true A Im saying Imreally not sureQ In the June election there are two ballots A In theNovember election there are two ballots one forFederal one for StateQ How do State officers get nominated to get on thatballot A In the primary-but all of them was on oneballotQ But there were two elections A Two elections butone ballotQ In November did you vote for both Federal officersand State officers A I did not



Q You did not A That was my choiceQ I see You just didnt vote for State officers justFederal Certainly you could have voted for Stateofficers A Icould haveQ No one kept you from doing that A It was mychoice Mr Heidelberg No further questions

Re-direct examination by Mrs AxelrodQ At the precinct convention that you told us aboutyou stated that you did not make any nominations forthe delegates Were you made to feel welcome A I feltlike cryingQ Like crying A Thats right I was hurt

Q What was the attitude of the whites toward you AIt wasnt friendly But I would like to say if Impermitted I really believe that voting by the show ofhands really went against me There probably mighthave been someone who would have voted for thepledge if we hadnt voted by hands But no white couldstand up and hold his hand up and be counted

Q Do you really feel any practical purpose would havebeen served by nominating an officer at the precinctmeeting or a delegate to the convention A It wouldnot have Mrs Axelrod No further questions

Mr Heidelberg No further questions


In 1965 Peggy Jean Connor served as Executive Secretary of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party(MFDP) She was the named plaintiff in what started as Conner v Woods which became Conner vJohnson Conner v Williams Conner v Coleman and Conner v Finch It went to the Supreme Courtfive times and opened the Mississippi Legislature to the election of black legislators You can read one ofthe Supreme Court cases at httpsupremejustiacomus440612casehtml and read some of the trialtranscript at httpusoyezorgcases1970-19791976_76_777argument


Remarks by Robert L Zangrandoat the Library of Congress Sym-posium ndash February 26 2010honoring the Centennial (1909-2009) of the NAACP ndash part 2

Atlanta 1906 Springfield Illinois 1908 which broughtabout the beginnings of the NAACP when Northern re-formers black and white had just had it up to here Therevulsion of what happened in Springfield (in the homeof Abraham Lincoln let us remember) was more thansufficient to bring together a group of reformers answer-ing the so-called Call the rally for action-do somethingabout this finally And so over the course the next fif-teen seventeen months the NAACP was organized andgot off the ground in the late spring of 1910 (We stillhave that centennial to celebrate this May) Race riots inSpringfield race riots in East St Louis race riots in Chi-cago in 1910 race riots in Tulsa 1921 The whole pe-riod is laced with them

And lynching From1882 when we have the first attemptto make a record of lynching until 1968 from 1882 to1968 there were over 4700 lynchings in this country4700 Thirty-four hundred of whom were black victims-men and women Thirty-four hundred of our fellow citi-zens taken out accused of crimes of which they may ormay not have been guilty (and in most cases were not)unless of course you count violating white-set rules abouthow people should behave-arbitrary and unsubstantiatedThirty-four hundred of our citizens declared guilty ex-ecuted on the spot most often with the most terrible oftortures This is what the NAACP had to confront

By a way of a brief illustration let me read you a stanzafrom a poem called The Lynching Bee William ElleryLeonard 1920 At the end there will be this phrase honkhonk honk Thats in the poem the automobiles of thelynchers coming to the lynching bee and making noisewith their excitement and their glee of putting a blackvictim to deathThe Negros corpse will take strange shapesAs the flames gnaw it-flesh and boneBut neither men shall see nor apesFor it shall burn from now aloneAlone and up and up and down and down While honkers honk it back to town

What kind of country would allow this to go on Thatswhat the NAACP asked itself and determined to do some-thing about

At first it was done through publicity through exposebecause the NAACP black and white reformers were areflection of their era the so-called Progressive Era ofearly twentieth-century America Keen with the assump-tion that if only the public knew what was going on indecency and democracy it would take action to correctthe problem To some extent they were right But ofcourse that was insufficient since they still had to con-front the question of power and authority The NAACPundertook the campaign against lynching until it finallyrealized that publicity was insufficient And they finallyturned to a national campaign for a national law againstlynching and mob violence Why Because the statesobviously werent doing a thing about it The eleven statesof the old Confederacy in particular were the seats thesites the occasions for lynching And any time that any-body criticized them of course it was seen as a rebuke ofthe Southern traditions So the NAACP began to puttogether an anti-lynching committee as early as 1916 andsought help through friendly and supportive membersof the United States Congress to get a federal law passed

The man who particularly came forward was a man namedLeonidas Dyer a Republican from St Louis Illinois whointroduced the NAACPs bill and it was the NAACPsbill-they drafted it They sat down with Dyer and com-posed it Now what exactly would such a bill represent Itsought not punishment for lynchers per se because op-ponents withing Congress and generally throughout soci-ety rebuked the NAACP saying No you cant have afederal law This is a state matter Lynching is murder andmurder ought to be left to the states to rectify And ofcourse the obvious answer of the NAACP was that butyoure not rectifying it youre not addressing it yourenot ending it youre not even making an effort to endSo it didnt go after (the federal bill that was in draft form)lynchers it went after the counties where lynchings oc-curred The thought was if we can penalize the officialsthe sheriff the country authorities for a lynching maybetheyll think twice and stop the next one If we can penal-ize the property owner in the county by forcing a financialpenalty on the county budget maybe thosegood peoplewho own the property and pay the taxes wont want to seethe county budge damaged by penalties through a federallaw So it was an indirect approach



Now a number of NAACP ADVISERS PARTICU-LARLY Moorfield Storey who had been President of theAmerican Bar Association and was President of theNAACP thought that this wouldnt work because statesrights would dominate with the assumption that this stillhas to be left to the states But the problem persisted itgot no better So even Storey (Moorfield Storey) acqui-esced and said yes we must go for a federal law Welltie it to the argument that the states are delinquent andtherefore the fourteenth Amendment kicks in and wecan have our federal protection The NAACPs Execu-tive Secretary new to the job at the time because (andthis is ironic of course) he had succeeded the previousExecutive Secretary John Shillady who was beaten al-most senseless on the streets of Austin when he went downto confer as an NAACP leader with the Governor of thestate of Texas Beaten almost senseless So violencetouched the national headquarters of the NAACP Thiswas 1919 He eventually recovered physically but left theoffice rather despondent that perhaps nothing will everwork for racial justice His place was taken in 1920 byJames Weldon Johnson Johnsons younger assistant whowould succeed him in 1931 was Walter White to whomI referred earlierJohnson and White were important on a number ofgrounds August Meier and Elliott Rudwick have pointed

to this in several of their articles in years past the develop-ment of a black Secretariat a black leadership in theNAACP in the 1920s and 1930s James Weldon Johnsonhad known violence had himself almost been lynchedwhen a group of white men in Jacksonville Florida mis-taking his companion (a black woman because her com-plexion was exceedingly light taking her for white) thoughtthat this man (and I wont use the terms that they used)this man should be punished So Johnson was almostlynched once Besides he knew the dreadful reality of lynch-ing He investigated several lynchings for the NAACP AndWalter White as I said before he was well schooled inviolence in its consequences and the dreadful realities of itfrom the 1906 race riot in his hometown of Atlanta SoJohnson and White as a team lobbied successfully and gothe federal anti-lynching bill passed in the house of Repre-sentatives in 1922 ndash a monumental accomplishmentWhatever one thinks of the recent controversies in ourCongress today over the health reform bills you know howhard it is how difficult the negotiations are to get some-thing through So Johnson and White together had ac-complished a considerable bit And not just the bill itself

to be continued in the next issue


Walter White of NAACP in early 1930s

James Weldon Johnson with WEB duBois in Massachusetts in the early 1930s


Books and MediaGet soon to release DVD Black August starring Gary Dourdan The story of George Jackson and theSoledad Brothers and the San Quentin Prision riot Release date February 12 2011 For video short visithttpwarnervideocomblackaugust

Must read Isabel Wilkersonrsquoscompelling new book on thegreat migration of Afro-Americans from the Southhttpwwwdemocracynoworg2010929the_warmth_of_other_suns_the


Books and Media (continued)

Peggy Flemingrsquos CROWN ME is about a unique group of men who belongto a checkers club at 9th and S Streets Northwest in Washington DCCROWN ME includes 24 portraits and reveals the influence of the gameon the lives of club members You will enjoy the rare and special insightafforded by this book A ten minute video on the checkers club can beviewed at wwwvimeocomcrownmeContact author Peggy Fleming at 202537-1580 or peggyf13xcom




Tour Schedule Count Them One by One

Thurs Dec 28 - Good Morning America New York8-9 am est

Thurs Jan 6 715 pm - Cabot Estate UniversityJamaica Plain

Wed Jan 12 945 - 1045 am - tape City Line atWCVB to be shown Jan16

Thurs Jan 13 745 pm - NewBridge on the CharlesHebrew Senior Life Community Dedham MA ndashno book sales ndash 80 to 100 expected

Thurs Jan 20 6 pm - St Crispin Society AlgonquinClub 217 Commonwealth Ave Boston

Wed Jan 26 noon - Senior Partners for JusticeMCLE Boston

Sunday Jan 30 730 pm Sacred Heart Peace amp JusticeForum Newton Centre MA

Tues - Fri Feb 1 - 4 - Montreal and Ottawa arrangedby US State Department

Tues Feb 8 7 pm - Porter Square Books Cambridge MA

Wed Feb 9 - 615 pm - Cambridge ArlingtonBelmont Bar Assn Oakley Country Club

Tues Feb 15 630 - 8 pm - The Activists Studio withTimothy Patrick McCarthy Kennedy School Harvard

Thurs March 24 730 pm - Conference Banquet ofthe Mississippi Civil Rights Veterans Jackson

Tues April 5 6 pm - Union Club Boston

Thurs May 12 730 pm - Newton MA Free Library(New England Mobile Book Fair supplying books)


Reverend Martin Luther King wrongfully jailed


Read this important affirmation of mankindrsquos capacity to overcome adversity and to prosper against all odds

Slave Routes Resistance Abolition and Creative Progress by Jayne CortezSee trailer video httpwwwthirdworldnewsreelorgcatalogpreviewwingvwinaspxpid=117

From the 1400s to the 1800s millions of Africans were forcefully removed from Africa and shipped across theAtlantic to the so-called New World In 1808 the passage of the Transatlantic Slave Trade Act made transportingor importing slaves in the United States or its territories illegal

Slave Routes Resistance Abolition and Creative Progress was an international symposium held at New York Univer-sity from October 9-11 2008 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the Transatlantic SlaveTrade by the United States Distinguished scholars writers musicians visual artists and organizers from the UnitedStates Africa Europe the Caribbean and Latin America convened to discuss slavery the slave trade and its conse-quences in plenary panels readings performances conversations and filmvideo screenings Participants includedMaya Angelou Rex Nettleford Amiri Baraka Ali Mazrui Nicole Lee Randy Weston and many others The docu-mentary is an affirmation of the human spirits ability to triumph over the worst horrors and brutalities and to createnew and dynamic ways of being in the world

About the author

Jayne Cortez was born in Arizona grew up in California and cur-rently lives in New York City and Dakar Senegal She is the authorof ten books of poems and performer of her poetry with music onnine recordings Her voice is celebrated for its political surrealisticdynamic innovations in lyricism and visceral sound Cortez haspresented her work and ideas at universities museums and festi-vals in Africa Asia Europe South America the Caribbean and theUnited States Her poems have been translated into many languagesand widely published in anthologies journals and magazines Sheis the recipient of several awards including Arts International theNational Endowment for the Arts the International African Festi-val Award The Langston Hughes Award and the American BookAward Her most recent books are The Beautiful Book Bola Press2007 Jazz Fan Looks Back published by Hanging Loose Pressand Somewhere In Advance of Nowhere published by SerpentsTail Ltd Her latest CD recordings with the Firespitter Band areTaking the Blues Back Home produced by Harmolodic and byVerve Records Borders of Disorderly Time and Find Your OwnVoice released by Bola Press Cortez is director of the film Yari

Yari Black Women Writers and the Future organizer of Slave Routes the Long Memory and Yari Yari PamberiBlack Women Writer Dissecting Globalization both conferences were held at New York University She is presidentof the Organization of Women Writers of Africa Inc and is on screen in the films Women In Jazz and Poetry InMotion


The Speeches of Fannie Lou Hamer To Tell It Like It Is

Edited by Maegan Parker

Brooks and Davis W Houck

288 pages (approx) 6 x 9 inches appendix index

978-1-60473-822-3 Cloth $3800S

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The first collection of speeches from one of

the movements valiant firebrands

Most people who have heard of Fannie Lou Hamer

(1917-1977) are aware of the impassioned

testimony that this Mississippi sharecropper and civil

rights activist delivered at the 1964 Democratic

National Convention Far fewer people are familiar

with the speeches Hamer delivered at the 1968 and

1972 conventions to say nothing of addresses she

gave closer to home or with Malcolm X in Harlem

or even at the founding of the National Womens

Political Caucus Until now dozens of Hamers

speeches have been buried in archival collections

and in the basements of movement veterans After

years of combing library archives government

documents and private collections across the

country Maegan Parker Brooks and Davis W Houck

have selected twenty-one of Hamers most important speeches and testimonies

As the first volume to exclusively showcase Hamers

talents as an orator this book includes speeches

from the better part of her fifteen-year activist

career delivered in response to occasions as distinct

as a Vietnam War Moratorium Rally in Berkeley

California and a summons to testify in a Mississippi courtroom

Brooks and Houck have coupled these heretofore

unpublished speeches and testimonies with brief

critical descriptions that place Hamers words in

context The editors also include the last full-length

oral history interview Hamer granted a recent oral

history interview Brooks conducted with Hamers

daughter as well as a bibliography of additional

primary and secondary sources The Speeches of

Fannie Lou Hamer demonstrates that there is still

much to learn about and from this valiant black

freedom movement activist

Maegan Parker Brooks Maple Valley Washington is

a freelance writer public speaking consultant and

instructor of communication studies at the

University of Puget Sound Davis W Houck

Tallahassee Florida is professor of communication at Florida State University



Obituaries

Professor Emeritus Ronald Walters an internationallyrecognized political scientist died on September 10 aftera long illness He was 72

Walters had an illustrious multifaceted career as a teacherprolific writer researcher and political activist He playedmajor roles in the presidential campaigns of the Rev JesseJackson and earned many prestigious academic publish-ing and service awards

Walters wrote a weekly syndicated column of politicalcommentary that appeared in newspapers around thenation He remained a powerful intellectual and politi-cal force until his death

Ron Walters was an eminent and inspiring professorteacher author mentor and human being said ActingUniversity President Nariman Farvardin He had a greatimpact and made a real difference in the world and to allthose who knew him His death is a tremendous lossOur sincerest condolences go out to his wife Patriciaand all his family

The passing of Ronald W Walters ndash a legendary scholar notedpolitical analyst and civil rights activist

Howard Zinn historian and shipyard worker civil rightsactivist and World War II bombardier and author of APeoples History of the United States ndash a best seller thatsold nearly two million copies inspiring a generation of highschool and college students to rethink American history

He also shined an insistent light on the revolutionarystruggles of impoverished farmers feminists laborers andresisters of slavery and war Mr Zinn recalled in a recentinterview with The New York Times I got the sense thatpeople were hungry for a different more honest take

He died in late January in Santa Monica CA He was 87and lived in Auburndale MA The family reported thecause was a heart attack which he had while swimming

Howard Zinn progressive his-torian and civil rights activistdies at 87


Letters to the Editor

Dear Brother Larry

Who would have thought that a NY Long Island prosecutor would be so influenced by MsHamer In reading the following obit of Attorney Denis Dillion the name of Hamer caughtmy eye John Brittain__________________________________________________________________

NEW YORK TIMES bull August 16 2010

Denis E Dillon Prosecutor on Long Island Dies at 76By SARAH WHEATON

Denis E Dillon the longtime district attorney of Nassau County NY who quietly oversaw high-profile prosecutions while using his office as a bully pulpit against abortion died on Sunday morn-ing at his home in Rockville Centre He was 76 His daughter Barbara Dillon said he died around 4am after a long battle with lymphoma

During his eight terms as chief prosecutor crime rates dropped across Long Island and the nationwatched his office pursue the mass murderer Colin Ferguson and the conspiring lovers Amy Fisherand Joey Buttafuoco

But Mr Dillon was known as a private man whose commitments to his beliefs - driven by a strongRoman Catholic faith - superseded political ambitions My father had a passion for justice andpublic service and he believed in a professional prosecutors office Ms Dillon 43 said in aninterview Sunday evening He strove for fairness and I guess one of the things is that he was a voicefor those that didnt have one

First elected as a Democrat in 1974 in an era when Republicans dominated the countys politics MrDillon did not face serious opposition until 2005 when he was narrowly defeated by Kathleen MRice He switched his affiliation to Republican in 1989 when the local party adopted an affirmation ofabortion rights in its platform He had run for governor on the Right to Life Party line in 1986

In 2002 Mr Dillon held a news conference to criticize an inquiry by Eliot Spitzer then the stateattorney general into a pregnancy counseling center Such outspoken opposition to abortion made

her father a lightning rod Ms Dillon said Arthur M Diamondlater to become a New York State Supreme Court justice drove MrDillon around during his first campaign and worked as one of hisassistant district attorneys He said Mr Dillon had revolutionizedthe countys justice system by allowing felons to plead guilty beforethey were indicted while eliminating most post-indictment pleabargains He was a big big believer when he came here in swiftand certain punishment Judge Diamond recalled He describedMr Dillon as a loner who did not cultivate friendships reallywith lawyers or other government officials politicians Of his anti-abortion advocacy Justice Diamond said I understood why hedid what he did But he added Was it good for the office I doubtit Was it good for him as a prosecutor I doubt it

Attorney Denis Dillon

continued








Letters (continued)











Lead Bellyrsquos

The Titanic


of the






bull JSU Banquet


bull Workshops













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Announcement



Movement History





































































































About the author








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Lead Bellyrsquos

The Titanic


of the






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Registration Fee






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Announcement



Movement History





































































































About the author








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Announcement



Movement History





































































































About the author








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About the author








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Obituaries














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978-1-60473-823-0 Ebook $3800

Cloth $3800

Ebook 978-1-60473-823-0

$3800











































Obituaries











Obituaries










Documents

From the desk of Guyot