Mississippi Sovereignty Commission .. State Government Funded Racist Department

Civil Rights & Social Justice News: Real Civil Rights History Beats Out "The Help" and Hollywood's Take on Mississippi

2011-09-21T11:00:00.002-05:00

Civil Rights & Social Justice News: Real Civil Rights History Beats Out "The Help" and Hollywood's Take on Mississippi

Now for the fun... John Salter was heavily spied on by the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission. Check out his name with these variations (for starters, I am sure there are more records tucked away) --
SALTER, JNO. R.
SALTER JR, JNO. R.
SALTER, JOHN
SALTER JR, JOHN
SALTER JR, JOHN R.
SALTER, JOHN R.
SALTERS, JOHN
SALTERS, JOHN R.

Here are a few links to get you started...

Head of Sovereignty Commission sends records to a judge --

http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/sovcom/result.php?image=/data/sov_commission/images/png/cd01/005502.png&otherstuff=1|73|0|8|1|1|1|5351|#

News clippings -- city wants to query Salter

http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/sovcom/result.php?image=/data/sov_commission/images/png/cd01/005532.png&otherstuff=1|73|0|16|1|1|1|5380|#

White Citizens Councils meets and talks about John Salter

http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/sovcom/result.php?image=/data/sov_commission/images/png/cd01/000154.png&otherstuff=1|3|0|11|1|1|1|152|#

Enjoy...

Academic Smearing at its "Unlevel Best" -- Loads of Sovereignty Commission Records

2011-09-19T09:51:00.003-05:00

The man who once taught sociology at Tougaloo College under the name of John Salter, a fine academic and brilliant writer who was frequently smeared by the Sovereignty Commission, takes time to reflect.

Hunter Gray to Bear, 6:17 AM (2 hours ago)

I much like Fall in the West. Here in the higher altitudes of the Mountain States,
the air is living-crispy during the days and the nights call for our wolf robe or at least my colorful Pendleton blankets. Occasional rain and some snow slowly bring deer, elk, and moose down into the somewhat lower winter ranges -- not far at all above us right here -- accompanied by lions,bobcats, coyotes, even an occasional wolf. Bears do their final fattening up for their long den-sleep -- which will carry them far feelings-wise from oncoming cold weather with its cutting winds and inevitable snow. But the sky can be as blue as turquoise, the mornings always promising good luck, and the slowly dimming early evenings with their fading sunlight and faint haze and creeping chill have a strangely appealing and mystical feel. The nights can be downright witchy.

For me, it's the Time of my Coming of Age Bear.

http://hunterbear.org/coming%20of%20age%20[western%20memoir.%20htm.htm

HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR] Mi'kmaq /St. Francis
Abenaki/St. Regis Mohawk
Protected by Na´shdo´i´ba´i´
and Ohkwari'

Our Lair of Hunterbear website is now almost 12 years old. It contains a great deal of primary, first-hand material on Native Americans, Civil Rights Movement, union labor, and organizing techniques -- and much more. Check it out and its vast number of component pieces. The front page itself -- the initial cover page -- has about 36 representative links.

www.hunterbear.org
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John Salter and the Sovereignty Commission

Here are several Sovereignty Commission links, to get you warmed up... (Note: Records under Salter and Salters. Remember, these files are ancient and tricky. Always expand out searches, remembering they may come in multiple sets under variations on the name.)

http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/sovcom/result.php?image=/data/sov_commission/images/png/cd01/000155.png&otherstuff=1|3|0|11|2|1|1|153|#

http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/sovcom/result.php?image=/data/sov_commission/images/png/pages/135250.png&otherstuff=1|73|0|7|1|1|1|5347|#

http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/sovcom/result.php?image=/data/sov_commission/images/png/cd01/005541.png&otherstuff=1|73|0|21|1|1|1|5389|#

http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/sovcom/result.php?image=/data/sov_commission/images/png/cd05/039726.png&otherstuff=3|74|2|16|2|1|1|39125|#

http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/sovcom/result.php?image=/data/sov_commission/images/png/cd01/005496.png&otherstuff=1|73|0|5|1|1|1|5345|#

Tons more files to go through. All fascinating... The main link is at http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/sovcom/

Don't ever discount the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission

2011-09-18T02:03:00.004-05:00

I remember when I first started looking at Sovereignty Commission records. I read a quote, calling the investigators "keystone cops", back when the records were first made public. Reporters had done a quick look through records of prominent people and most likely, because many records had already been pulled and kept away from public view, or stolen, it looked like there was not much available. Thus -- reporters dismisssed the entire batch.

Not a smart thing to do. There is so much in the data base and it's fun just to pull anonymous records and start sniffing around. This evening, I was looking to see if there were any records available for a lawyer by the name of Lanier Foote. No luck so far -- but remember, not everything is indexed, so I will keep looking in the cracks.

But I did pull up this record -- not sure who exactly it is referencing, but take a look at the "research" done by the investigator. This person was obviously experienced, and it is chilling to watch how he was operating...

http://bit.ly/pup8Ma

or http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/sovcom/result.php?image=/data/sov_commission/images/png/cd02/010877.png&otherstuff=4|7|0|10|1|1|1|10646|#

No -- not all of these investigators were keystone cops...

Remembering Emmett Till; looking through some Sovereignty Commission 'tidbits', getting a feel for the times

2011-08-22T16:35:00.000-05:00

As the 56th anniversary of young Emmett Till's murder approaches, I'm including here some links to Sovereignty Commission files related to his death. Very few such records actually are in the state's archives, since most of the records were probably boxed up and taken home by sovereignty commission directors and others.

But -- it is still interesting to see what is there. It helps give a feel for the times, if nothing else.

Here are some links. Remember that you can look up records yourself by going to
http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/sovcom/namesearch.php

Just search on Till, since there are various ways these records are indexed (i.e., Louis Till, Emmit Till, Emmett Till, etc.)

Negro Leader Critical of Southern Juries, FBI

Signs of Attack Seen by NAACP on State Segregation

Part of a conversation on lynching in Mississippi, mentions Till; tries to place blame of acquittal on a "negro undertaker." Fascinating. I spoke with that person before he died, and that is not the story he told me...

Political cartoon of Mississippi black murder victims, includes Till.

"Crack Mississippi, and you can crack the South. Crack the South, and you can crack the U.S." History professor and Citizens Councils member fears the civil rights movement is the forerunner of Communism.

Emmett Till Blog; Murder in the Mississippi Delta; Civil Rights Cold Cases: Emmett Till eBook Still FREE for only one more week; Keith Beauchamp -- Murder He Wrote

2011-07-26T18:18:00.000-05:00

Emmett Till Blog; Murder in the Mississippi Delta; Civil Rights Cold Cases: Emmett Till eBook Still FREE for only one more week; Keith Beauchamp -- Murder He Wrote. (You are a teacher, historian, anthropologist, social worker, bartender and STILL don't know this important piece of modern civil rights history? Here's your chance...

Emmett Till Blog; Murder in the Mississippi Delta; Civil Rights Cold Cases

2011-06-23T13:35:00.000-05:00

eBook author of Who Killed Emmett Till? drops price to 99 cents. "More people need to know this story" -- also wants to honor upcoming 56th anniversary of this murder "that helped launch the modern civil rights movement."

Emmett Till Blog; Murder in the Mississippi Delta; Civil Rights Cold Cases

2011-06-22T11:14:00.000-05:00

Emmett Till Blog; "Emmett and Me"

Special offer on new Diversity eBook, Coupon for $1 off

2011-06-10T14:40:00.000-05:00

Readers of this blog will receive a special discount on my new eBook, Cashing In On Diversity when they purchase it through Smashwords --

Promotional price: $2.99
Coupon Code: HC29F
Expires: July 10, 2011

To purchase your copy now, go to http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/63393 and use the Coupon Code, above, for your special discount.

Susan

Freedom Riders Under the Sovereignty Commission Radar

2011-06-09T15:08:00.001-05:00

As Mississippi honored the 1961 Freedom Riders on the 50th anniversary of the movement that changed America forever, one among them returning was Thomas Armstrong, the first to join the Rides in his native Mississippi.

Armstrong led more than 30 students from Tougaloo College, Jackson State University and local high schools in going to the bus terminal in Jackson and boldly entering the white waiting room, refusing to leave. They were all arrested and jailed, as police were locking up freedom riders coming into the state.

Who were the Freedom Riders and what did they do? You can find a number of fascinating (and chilling) files kept by Mississippi's secret spy force, the Sovereignty Commission. Here are a few links to get you started ...

"Keep an eye out on him"

"Soviets Planned Freedom Rides"

"Names and Addresses"

"Beating 'Cleared'"

Of course, there are hundreds of records about this sordid part of Civil Rights history in these files. Many, truly fascinating. BTW, I have written extensively about the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission in my book, Where Rebels Roost; Mississippi Civil Rights Revisited."

Susan

Haley Barbour Forgets His Citizens Councils History; Sovereignty Commission Files Help Restore Memories

2010-12-22T01:10:00.001-06:00

Guess old Haley Barbour has totally forgotten about the relationship of the Citizens Councils to the ... Sovereignty Commission... to the... state police...to the... state legislature..to public officials, etc. Take a look at these files I found on the Sovereignty Commission site. All clearly show that everyone was working closely with Citizens Councils to keep Blacks "in line."

Just think what we would know about this history if ALL of the files were made available! My guess is that plenty of these files are still sitting in the basements of some Yazoo City, Mississippi homes (alternate state capital) waiting to be discovered.

File 1

File 2

File 3

File 4

File 5

File 6

File 7

File 8

File 9

File 10

Files 11

File 12

2010-10-20T19:26:00.000-05:00

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http://twitter.com/@sklopfer

General Information on Using Mississippi Sovereignty Commission Files

2010-09-28T11:37:00.000-05:00

General Information on the Mississippi Sovereignty Files can be found here

http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/sovcom/generalinfoscweb.php

To conduct a search, go to this link

http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/sovcom/

Any black farmer terrorism stories in the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission files? Wouldn't surprise me!

2010-09-01T18:47:00.000-05:00

It would not surprise me at all if I found some related files in the Sovereignty Commission records. Thought I would take a look this evening and will share anything I find. Would like to hear from anyone who finds something that relates to terrorizing black farmers in Mississippi (in earlier years than this particular settlement covers.)....sk

On Wed, Sep 1, 2010 at 4:14 PM, Dr John Boyd wrote:

For more than 10 years, tens of thousands of Black farmers have been denied justice and a share of a $1.25 billion government settlement as compensation for decades of discrimination in federal farm loan programs. Many have lost their farms waiting. Some have died waiting. And on Aug. 5, before going on its summer recess, the Senate prolonged the wait by failing to once again appropriate the funds to right this egregious wrong.

Consistent with an unfortunate pattern that has stalled Congressional action on everything from healthcare reform to unemployment benefits, the Senate is stuck in a stalemate over the Black farmers’ settlement due to partisan bickering over how it will be financed. But, as noted in a recent Reuters news story, “The measure brought to the floor included offsets required under congressional ‘pay-as-you-go’ rules mandating new spending be offset with cuts elsewhere so as not to add to the deficit.”

This is a clear case of political obstructionism and a violation of civil rights. Attorney General Eric Holder and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the settlement in February. President Obama included money for it in his current budget. The House of Representatives approved the funds in July. But the Senate has repeatedly refused to add its final stamp of approval. According to John Boyd, Jr., President of the National Black Farmers Association, “It shows that some of the same treatment that happened to the Black farmers at the Department of Agriculture is transpiring with the Senate’s inaction to help Black farmers.”

The original class-action lawsuit, Pigford v. Glickman, filed in 1997 and settled in 1999, awarded $50,000 to Black farmers who were denied Department of Agriculture farm loans due to racial discrimination from 1983-1997. The government has already paid out more than $1 billion to 16,000 farmers. The new funding is for payments to as many as 70,000 farmers who were denied previous payouts because they missed the deadline for filing.

The Black farmers’ settlement bill has the support of the White House, the Agriculture Department, Senators and House members of both parties, the Congressional Black Caucus and the major civil rights organizations, including the National Urban League. The National Black Farmers Association has taken the fight to Capitol Hill on numerous occasions and has appealed to the White House for help.

When the February settlement was announced, CBC Chairwoman Barbara Lee and many others thought that justice had finally arrived. In a statement then she said, “I am encouraged that today’s settlement is an opportunity for Black farmers who were denied the benefit of USDA loans and programs to begin to be made whole.”

But justice continues to be denied. This is a travesty. The federal government has spent trillions on bailouts to banks, corporations and investment firms, but struggling black farmers have been left out in the cold. As John Boyd said, “It seems like the trains leaving the station in the Senate manage not to have the black farmers on them.” — (NNPA)

Marc Morial is president and CEO of the National Urban League.
-----------

It would not surprise me at all if I found some related files in the Sovereignty Commission records. Thought I would take a look this evening and will share anything I find. Would like to hear from anyone who finds something....sk

Federal building to be named after three civil rights heroes: Paul Goodman, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner

2010-05-03T09:09:00.002-05:00

Unidentified Mississippi woman eulogizes Paul Goodman, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner. (Photograph by Susan Klopfer. Taken during a ceremony on the courthouse steps of Neshoba County, Mississippi)

After countless Mississippi buildings, reservoirs and post offices named after the likes of Sen. James O. Eastland, Gov. Ross Barnett and politician Walter Sillers, there's finally an effort to name a structure after three true civil rights heroes.

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill to designate the Federal Bureau of Investigations building, currently under construction in Jackson, Miss., the James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner Federal Building.

A Tribute to James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner

"Perhaps the most notable episode of violence came in Freedom Summer of 1964, when civil rights activists James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner left their base in Meridian, Miss., to investigate one of a number of church burnings in the eastern part of the state. The Ku Klux Klan had burned Mount Zion Church because the minister had allowed it to be used as a meeting place for civil rights activists. After the three young men had gone into Neshoba County to investigate, they were subsequently stopped and arrested by Neshoba County Deputy Sheriff Cecil Price. After several hours, Price finally released them only to arrest them again shortly after 10 p.m. He then turned the civil rights workers over to his fellow Klansmen. The group took the activists to a remote area, beat them, and then shot them to death. Dittmer suggests that because Schwerner and Goodman were White the federal government responded by establishing an FBI office in Jackson and calling out the state's National Guard and U. S. Navy to help search for the three men. Of course this was the response the Freedom Summer organizers had hoped for when they asked for White volunteers.

"After several weeks of searching and recovering more than a dozen other bodies, the authorities finally found the civil rights workers buried under an earthen dam. Seven Klansmen, including Price, were arrested and tried for the brutal killings. A jury of sympathizers found them all not guilty. Some time later, the federal government charged the murderers with violating the civil rights of Goodman, Schwerner, and Chaney. This time the Klansmen were convicted and served sentences ranging from two to ten years."

Source: Curtis J. Austin, State Historical Society. "The Civil Rights Movement in Miss." Curtis J. Austin, Ph.D., is professor of history at the University of Southern Mississippi.
* * *
You can use the new Search Box I've added to this blog to find posts on these three men who gave their lives to civil rights at the start of Freedom Summer of 1964.

The Sovereignty Commission, of course, followed every move of the investigation ... Here are several links to get you started:

http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/sovcom/result.php?image=/data/sov_commission/images/png/cd01/005432.png&otherstuff=1|72|2|72|1|1|1|5285|

http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/sovcom/result.php?image=/data/sov_commission/images/png/cd01/005438.png&otherstuff=1|72|2|74|2|1|1|5291|

http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/sovcom/result.php?image=/data/sov_commission/images/png/cd02/011236.png&otherstuff=2|46|0|98|1|1|1|11003|

http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/sovcom/result.php?image=/data/sov_commission/images/png/cd01/000436.png&otherstuff=1|8|0|18|1|1|1|426|

http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/sovcom/result.php?image=/data/sov_commission/images/png/cd08/056155.png&otherstuff=2|166|2|75|1|1|1|55380|

http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/sovcom/result.php?image=/data/sov_commission/images/png/cd07/049266.png&otherstuff=2|158|1|8|7|1|1|48557|

There are hundreds of Sovereignty Commission files to go through. Be sure to check the multiple names, spellings (i.e. Mickey Schwerner, M. Schwerner, Michael Schwerner). Check for mispelled versions, too. Note the file on Rita Schwerner. Here's the link to MDAH files

http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/sovcom/

Scott Sisters; Not the First Time Mississippi Has Mistreated Ill, Black Prisoners

2010-03-16T23:58:00.011-05:00

Clyde Kennard, (Photo from Northeastern University archives

Mississippi had a similar, infamous case when it kept a prisoner with cancer working in the fields. He suffered greatly and was finally released just before he died.

Clyde Kennard of Hattiesburg was arrested September 15, 1959 for illegal possession of liquor and speeding. This happened shortly after Kennard was rejected the second time for admission to Mississippi Southern College, now the University of Southern Mississippi.
-----
The Scott Sisters, Jamie and Gladys, were sentenced to double life terms each in prison after being convicted of armed robbery where transcripts conflictingly state that $11 could have been netted. A 14 year old witness for the state testified to being threatened to be made into a woman at Parchman Penitentiary if he did not implicate the sisters. They have served 16 years of this sentence to date.
-----

While Mississippi Sovereignty Commission records show authorities once considered placing dynamite in his car (and a Hattiesburg lawyer offering to run him out of the country), the state finally succeeded in its quest to punish the poultry farmer and U. S. Army veteran when thirteen months later, on November 21, 1960 Kennard was convicted on charges of stealing chicken feed. He was sentenced to Parchman Penitentiary for the maximum penalty of seven years.

NAACP leader Medgar Evers heard of the verdict and told a reporter Kennard’s conviction was “a mockery of justice” for which Evers was arrested, charged with contempt and sentenced to thirty days in jail. The Supreme Court later overturned the conviction. But Kennard was literally beaten and worked to death at Parchman and after becoming seriously ill, he was diagnosed with cancer by the University of Mississippi Hospital.

Returned to Parchman, Kennard was dragged out to work in the fields each day despite his growing weakness. Prison authorities canceled his appointment for a medical checkup and he was not allowed to see his lawyer, Jess Brown. The Jackson attorney asked to receive Kennard’s medical reports but never got them. Tougaloo students mobilized to try and free Kennard, a friend of one of their instructors.

The story was picked up nationally as Dick Gregory and Dr. Martin Luther King demanded Kennard’s release. Finally, in 1963, Governor Barnett ordered Kennard’s release, concerned over potential bad publicity for the state if Kennard died at Parchman. Kennard underwent surgery in Chicago and soon died at Billings Hospital, shortly after he was paroled.

Was it an administrative oversight? Or was it deliberate negligence because of his connection with school integration? These questions, asked by Kennard’s attorney, were never answered. “No one can say for sure. You have to draw your own conclusions,” Jess Brown said.

Clyde Kennard died at the age of thirty-six on July 4, 1963.

Footnote: In one 1959 memorandum found in Mississippi Sovereignty Commission files, commission investigator Zack VanLandingham tells of a conversation he had with a Hattiesburg lawyer, Dudley Connor, about Kennard in the late 1950s.

"If the Sovereignty Commission wanted that Negro out of the community and out of the state they would take care of the situation," VanLandingham quoted Connor as saying. "And when asked what he meant by that, Connor stated that Kennard's carcould be hit by a train or he could have some accident on the highway and nobody would ever know the difference."

In another memo, written by VanLandingham to Gov. J.P. Coleman in 1959, the investigator relates a conversation he had with John Reiter, a campus police officer. "Reiter had several weeks ago told me that when Kennard was attempting to enter Mississippi Southern College in December 1958 that he had been approached by individuals with possible plans to prevent Kennard's going through with his attempt," he wrote.

"One of the plans was to put dynamite to the starter of Kennard's Mercury. Another plan was to have some liquor planted in Kennard's car and then he would be arrested."

So for the Scott Sisters, it appears to be just one more chapter of Mississippi Goddam.
* * *
Some Sovereignty Commission Links Relating To Kennard ...

NAACP Fund Raising Letter For Kennard

Medgar Evers and Kennard

Newspaper clipping on Kennard's Guilty Verdict

Kennard's attempt to enroll in state college

Letter to editor written by Kennard

Kennard's file is large, so there are many more articles to view.

* * *

Scott Sisters Update

2010-03-15T21:57:00.004-05:00

Message from group aiding the Scott Sisters:

The MWM is spearheading a Press Conference on 3/26 outside of the Capitol in Jackson, MS at 12 noon. Details are available by contacting them at 267-636-3802 or e-mail: nationalmwm@aol.com or BWDL7@aol.com. Many people in the area are excited and ready for this to happen, so please do make plans to attend if you're able to be in the area on that day!

More information at the Scott Sisters site.

Please visit the site and help pass on information about the upcoming event.
* * *
From the official site:

Jamie Scott's temporary catheter (for the purpose of dialysis) has been moved to her chest and is plugged up with green fluid and pus. Her hands and feet are swollen and she is in tremendous pain. She is very, very weak. This is at least her fourth catheter infection and this one is extremely bad. Jamie is doing very poorly. The prison is aware of her current condition yet, she remains in the prison infirmary. Jamie needs to be carried to the hospital and she needs to remain there until this infection is cleared.

* * *

Could Oprah Fare Better on Cold Cases Than FBI? Is the Idea Really So Far-Fetched?

2010-03-15T13:31:00.015-05:00

Nina Zachery-Black, 73, is sitting home alone today in Minneapolis-St. Paul, admittedly frustrated over the lack of help she's received from the FBI in trying to find out what happened to her grandmother.

Forty-four years ago, Adlena Hamlett and Hamlett’s friend, Birdia Keglar, were both killed after their car was hit head-on by a drunk driver in Sidon, Mississippi. The women were on their way home from a civil rights-related meeting in Jackson.

Family members of both women reported seeing "something very wrong" at the funeral home when it appeared the women's body parts had been severed.

“The first woman I spoke with at the Minneapolis FBI office was sympathetic but she didn’t know much at all about what the times were like when my grandmother was living in Charleston, Miss. She had no idea of how frightened people were then -- and even now -- to talk about this incident and everything else they faced when they tried to vote or went up against Jim Crow,” she said.

But Zachery-Black started to believe the FBI might actually take some interest in her grandmother and Keglar when they called her again last week and said they were going to transfer and reinvestigate this case in Jackson, after all, as a cold case.

The second call from the FBI came after Zachery-Black contacted her freshman senator, Al Franken, and complained how the first agent told her the cold case happened too long ago to investigate and would have had to occur on federal land.

Stunned at this explanation, Zachary-Black says she recorded the agent’s later phone message that repeated the message and even chided her because the family didn’t call the police and complain at the time of the deaths.

Other family members actually wrote a letter to the U.S. Dept. of Justice over their concerns back in 1966 but received no answer, she confirms.

Hamlett and Keglar, the former a school teacher and the later a funeral home business manager, were known around Charleston, Mississippi for their brave acts as they first tried to integrate the public schools in the early 1950s. Achieving little success, they moved on to voting rights.

“They had to be very brave women. When anyone showed concern about their safety, my grandmother would say she had reared her own children and her grandchildren were of an age they could move on without her. She knew that she might very well be killed for what she was doing.”

Hamlett’s daughter, Louise McKinley, would often call her mother and beg her to leave Mississippi, fearing her imminent death. But her mother remained firm. “She would tell us, this is my home and my life and I’m not going to leave. I am going to do what I can to make things better.”

Keglar was working to form the first NAACP chapter for Tallahatchie County at the time of her death and was chosen to work with John Doar and the Justice Department on Doar’s first Mississippi voter registration test case -- and they won.

It was Doar and U.S. Marshals who escorted James Meredith to class at the University of Mississippi. Doar later contributed to drafting the Civil Rights Act of 1965.

According to Mississippi’s Sovereignty Commission files, the local prosecutor and sheriff were particularly angry with Keglar over her testimony. The Commission was a state agency funded to keep Mississippi segregated and was know to have close ties to the Ku Klux Klan. Later, it would be found that some deputy sheriff’s in Tallahatchie County also belonged to the Klan.

When the two women decided to work on voter rights, “...that’s when my grandmother was hanged in effigy.”

Despite the dangerous environment, Zachery-Black was allowed to spend summers in Charleston with her grandmother, with whom she had a close relationship. She recalls that her grandmother “...always marched up to the courthouse to vote in every national election. She was called ‘nigger Adlena’ and people would say ‘Here comes nigger Adlena to vote.’ They would tear up her ballot and put it in the garbage can.”

On one trip to the courthouse when she accompanied her grandmother,” They were poking fun at her and calling her names. I asked her why were they so mean and she said it was okay because one day her vote would be counted. She reminded me it was her constitutional right to vote.”

After the death of his mother, Birdia Keglar’s son James Keglar returned home from the military on early leave to investigate. Keglar told others he spoke with FBI agents in Clarksdale and said they gave him a special telephone number to call. Three months later, he was arrested and put into the Clarksdale jail. Keglar was apparently released around midnight and returned to Charleston where he was found dead the next morning when his house burned to the ground.

Where are the FBI records? One Keglar family member says she has repeatedly asked for this information, but to no avail.

As far as Zachery-Black is concerned, it’s going to take something much bigger than the FBI to learn what happened to her grandmother. “I want to know what happened and why before I die. I am nearing her age and I want an answer.”

The retired Minneapolis teacher, who recently taught classes of Somali children who were newly immigrated into the U.S., says she believes this country owes answers to her and all other families of victims, but concedes they may never come if it is up to the FBI to conduct investigations.

“I asked one agent if she knew about Sen. James O. Eastland, a powerful Delta senator who was tied to the Klan and had connections everywhere, including the Sovereignty Commission. She stopped for a moment, and said she thought she’d read something about him.”

Agents she has come in contact with are “too young” and “don’t seem to understand any civil rights history or how bad it was back in those days,” she asserts.

Zachery-Black also admits she sometimes toys with calling Oprah Winfrey. “At least I know she would care.”
* * *

* * *

Again, check your spellings when you look for the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission files. You will find Keglar and Kegler; Birdia, Birde, Bridie, Elizabeth and perhaps even more. I've never found single records on Adlena Hamlett.

Got to http://mdah.state.ms.us/ and choose Archives and Records Services. Select Digital Archives and then Sovereignty Commmission Online.

Here are a few files to get you started:

Dec. 5, 1961, a report to the Sovereignty Commission on Keglar's complaint to the U.S. Civil Rights Department.

Newspaper clipping on voter registration suit

Suit with U.S. Justice

List of Mississippi Democrat Freedom Party members by county

"Etheridge" "Ethridge" "Ethredge"; Mississippi Sovereignty Commission Files Not So Easy to Research

2010-03-15T10:44:00.006-05:00

When the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission kept files on various people, the names often were misspelled. Thus, you will need to do multiple name guesses and searches. A good example are the files kept on a Clarion-Ledge columnist.

You will need to look under the names Etheridge, Ethredge, and Ethridge. Here are a few to play with -- these were found under Tom Ethridge.

http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/sovcom/result.php?image=/data/sov_commission/images/png/cd03/016100.png&otherstuff=3|9|2|38|1|1|1|15739|

Letter from Sovereignty Commission Director re the Ole Miss Law School that mentions the reporter

http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/sovcom/result.php?image=/data/sov_commission/images/png/cd01/004375.png&otherstuff=2|21|2|41|1|1|1|4259|

Letter to the editor re an angry Methodist Youth Minister over a column written by “Ethridge”

http://mdah.state.ms.us/arrec/digital_archives/sovcom/result.php?image=/data/sov_commission/images/png/cd04/028494.png&otherstuff=3|25|0|55|1|1|1|27984|

Letter about “Ethridge” column from The Methodist Interboard Council

These are fascinating files that give a good feeling for this segregationist reporter who was apparently throught quite well of by the state's spy agency -- the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission.
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Medgar Evers Was Targeted By Mississippi Sovereignty Commission; 2010 80th Anniversary of Evers's Birth

2010-03-08T16:41:00.001-06:00

Medgar Evers, Mississippi's first NAACP leader. 2010 eightieth anniversary of his birth.

Blogger Rev. Gerald Britt pays hommage to Medgar Evers, Mississippi's first NAACP leader who was murdered in the driveway of his home:

This year is the 80th anniversary of the birth of Medgar Evers, one of our country's most significant Civil Rights freedom fighters.

Recognition of Evers often gets lost between that given Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcom X, yet for 10 years, ending with his assassination in 1963, Medgar Evers was a prominent figure in the struggle for equal rights, serving as field secretary for the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peoples) in Jackson, Mississippi.

Rev. Britt is the Vice President of Public Policy & Community Program Development of Central Dallas Ministries. He is also the author of a monthly column for The Dallas Morning News.

At his site, Britt shows two important film clips..."The excerpt from the documentary 'Eyes on the Prize', gives the context of the movement - the institutionalization of the culture of injustice, the intimidation of those who sought to register to vote (briefly shown is an example of the 'literacy test' given to actually disqualify voters. The same type of test recommended by Tom Tancredo at the recent TEA Party Convention). It also shows how the legal system gave cover to those who committed such heinous crimes, such as the assassination of Evers."

The second clip is of Myrlie Evers-Williams at the Martin Luther King dinner.

Of course the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission digital database was filled with files on Evers. Here are just a few to get your started:

Info on Evers's auto

Integration Agitator/Medgar Evers

Report on NAAACP efforts in Laurel
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Margaret Block Remembers Charleston, Mississippi and Birdia Keglar

2010-03-07T21:55:00.001-06:00

Margaret Block and I spent the afternoon with Robert Keglar, the late Birdia Keglar's son. While the state of Mississippi officially recognizes that civil rights activist Birdia Kelgar was murdered in 1966 and has dedicated a portion of Highway 35 south between Charleston city limits and the Panola county line as "The Birdia Keglar Memorial Highway," the FBI has consistently refused to classify Keglar's murder as a cold case.

Block's life was once saved by Keglar's quick thinking while Block was working as a SNCC worker in Charleston. Keglar, a funeral home manager, learned the Ku Klux Klan had targeted Block and was able to get her out of town quickly in the back of a hearse.

Margaret has several files online via the state's collection. So do her brother Sam, as well as Robert and Birdia Keglar. Be sure to look for multiple spellings (i.e., Birdie Keglar).

Civil Rights Cold Cases Dumped by the FBI; Join Me On a Quick Trip to the Delta

2010-03-04T16:41:00.001-06:00

Getting ready (packing) for my trip to Mississippi to work on several cold cases that seem to be shunned by the FBI and others. Actually, the FBI has thrown in the towel and apparently won't be using the $8 million they were awarded to investigate these killings of black people like Birdia Keglar, Adlena Hamlett, James Keglar, and others (all have Sovereignty Commission records). Or maybe they already ran out of money!

Click the audio clip, above, and I'll fill you in on the trip. Along the way I'll be blogging with audio and video and will appreciate you comments, questions and suggestions. Thanks.

Sovereignty Commission files show a 'slice of life'; North-South relationship formed via U.S.mail

2010-03-02T02:08:00.001-06:00

Mississippi's Sovereignty Commission received mail from around the world -- the few files that remain typicaly show positive comments. Here are six files that show the request of a New York senior to learn more about the Southern way of life (he said he supported it). The young man follows up with a request for information and a pen pal (white). And the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission comes up with a buddy. You can follow the budding relationship here ...

1. Postcard to Sovereignty Commission

2. Writer requests help in learning more about the Southern way of life.

3. Sovereignty Commission responds.

4. Young writer asks for a white pen pal.

5.Sovereignty Commission sets up pen pal for N.Y. high school student.

6. Photo of pen pal.
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Civil Rights Photography Portfolio; Match Names With Mississippi Sovereignty Commission Files

2010-02-25T07:57:00.001-06:00

The latest issue of the New Yorker features a portfolio of photographs by the British photographer Platon. The portfolio, accompanied by text written by David Remnick, includes photographs of the Little Rock Nine, members of the Greensboro Four, members of SNCC, and relatives of Medgar Evers.

It pairs these images with historic photographs of iconic civil rights leaders like Ella Baker and Fred Shuttlesworth. In the context of a movement whose success owes a debt to the power of the visual image, it is a remarkable and moving series of photographs.

You will be amazed at how many of these folks have Sovereignty Commission files ... Take a look ... Here are a few links to get started:

Ella Baker

SNCC

SNCC & 1964 Summer

Medgar Evers "Consolidation" File

Racial Incidents in South Carolina Drew Attention of Mississippi Sovereignty Commission; Includes Reports on Jackie Robinson

2010-02-01T15:50:00.009-06:00

Sit-In: How Four Friends Stood Up by Sitting Down - The most popular videos are here

Fifty years ago, four black university students entered the Woolworths in Greensboro, sat down at the "whites only" lunch counter, and refused to budge. The sit-ins continued for six months

Meanwhile in Mississippi, the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission was collecting news clips of "South Carolina Incidents" and other reports on the status of the civil rights movement in Greensboro and elsewhere ...

"15 Negro Pupils Apply in South Carolina and Elsewhere"

"Protest Treatment of Jackie Robinson"

"Negro March Planned"

"South Carolina Leaders to Support Protests"

"Randolph Is Supporter Of Rights March"

"South Carolina Getting Rights Advisory Group"

"300 March on Airport to Protest S.C. Violence"

"Lunchroom Sit-Ins Spread"

"Tough Attitude Shown Negros"
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These clippings and more were found in the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission digital files in the South Carolina folder.

A separate file for Jackie Robinson also appears in Sovereignty Commission files --

Report of a booklet discovered on "Jackie Robinson Day"

"Jackie Robinson Day Program"

"Investigation on Racial Agitators -- Robinson's name included on p. 5"

Still more to discover...
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Louis Allen Cold Case; Family Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired of FBI; No Results

2010-01-26T15:42:00.003-06:00

In 1943, at age 23, Louis Allen enlisted in the Army. He drove ammunition trucks in New Guinea during World War II. While there, Louis also started boxing. His burly 5-foot-8-inch, 220-pound frame made him a formidable fighter. In July 1944, he received an honorable discharge. According to his discharge papers, his character was rated “excellent.” The Army gave Louis $300 in “mustering out pay.”

Back in Liberty, Louis returned to the tenuous privilege of being a black person favored by the whites of his community. He established a successful logging business with loyal customers of both races. His fortunes changed, however, on Sept. 25, 1961.

Read the story of Louis Allen here ...
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When searching the Sovereignty Commission files, check under both spellings of Louis and Lewis...

Here are some links to get you started:

"Mysterious Killing of the Only Witness to the Murder of Negro By a White Man"

Louis (Lewis) Allen Had Asked For Federal Protection But Was Refused

Conference Regarding Death of Herbert Lee
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The FBI needs to open all of its files and then it needs to send a representative down to Mississippi and start collecting Sovereignty Commission Files. What do you think??