Freedom Summer (52 page)
CHAPTER FOUR:
“The Decisive Battlefield for America”
“The Decisive Battlefield for America”
77
“handle the niggers and the outsiders”:
William Bradford Huie,
Three Lives for Mississippi
(New York: WCC Books, 1964, 1965), p. 132.
“handle the niggers and the outsiders”:
William Bradford Huie,
Three Lives for Mississippi
(New York: WCC Books, 1964, 1965), p. 132.
77
“one of the wettest dry counties”:
Florence Mars,
Witness in Philadelphia
(Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1977), p. 18.
“one of the wettest dry counties”:
Florence Mars,
Witness in Philadelphia
(Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1977), p. 18.
78
“ folks yah met on the street”:
Huie,
Three Lives
, p. 130.
“ folks yah met on the street”:
Huie,
Three Lives
, p. 130.
78
“We don’t bother no white folks”:
Ibid., p. 140.
“We don’t bother no white folks”:
Ibid., p. 140.
78
“reddish to vote”:
Raines,
My Soul Is Rested
, p. 260.
“reddish to vote”:
Raines,
My Soul Is Rested
, p. 260.
78
“You don’t know me”:
William M. Kunstler,
My Life as a Radical Lawyer,
with Sheila Isenberg (New York: Birch Lane Press, 1994), p. 140.
“You don’t know me”:
William M. Kunstler,
My Life as a Radical Lawyer,
with Sheila Isenberg (New York: Birch Lane Press, 1994), p. 140.
79
“ for investigation”:
Cagin and Dray,
We Are Not Afraid
, p. 18.
“ for investigation”:
Cagin and Dray,
We Are Not Afraid
, p. 18.
79
“lay low”:
Williams, journal.
“lay low”:
Williams, journal.
79
“Mississippi is closed, locked”:
Belfrage,
Freedom Summer
, p. 10.
“Mississippi is closed, locked”:
Belfrage,
Freedom Summer
, p. 10.
79
“There is an analogy”:
Ibid., p. 11.
“There is an analogy”:
Ibid., p. 11.
79
“Yesterday morning, three of our people”:
Ibid.
“Yesterday morning, three of our people”:
Ibid.
80
“You are not responsible”:
Taylor Branch,
Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years, 1963-65
(New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998), p. 363.
“You are not responsible”:
Taylor Branch,
Pillar of Fire: America in the King Years, 1963-65
(New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998), p. 363.
80
“that Communist Jew Nigger lover”:
Cagin and Dray,
We Are Not Afraid
, p. 274.
“that Communist Jew Nigger lover”:
Cagin and Dray,
We Are Not Afraid
, p. 274.
80
“ full of life and ideas”:
Huie,
Three Lives
, pp. 46, 54.
“ full of life and ideas”:
Huie,
Three Lives
, pp. 46, 54.
80
“More than any white person”:
Ibid., p. 114.
“More than any white person”:
Ibid., p. 114.
81
“I am now so thoroughly identified”:
Cagin and Dray,
We Are Not Afraid
, p. 259.
“I am now so thoroughly identified”:
Cagin and Dray,
We Are Not Afraid
, p. 259.
81
“I would feel guilty”: New York Times
, June 25, 1964, p. 18.
“I would feel guilty”: New York Times
, June 25, 1964, p. 18.
81
“Mississippi’s best hope”:
Cagin and Dray,
We Are Not Afraid
, p. 261.
“Mississippi’s best hope”:
Cagin and Dray,
We Are Not Afraid
, p. 261.
81
“We’re actually pretty lucky here”:
Woodley, “Recollection of Michael Schwerner,” p. 23.
“We’re actually pretty lucky here”:
Woodley, “Recollection of Michael Schwerner,” p. 23.
81
“I just want you to know”:
“Interview with Civil Rights Activist Rita Bender,” in
Microsoft Encarta Premium 2007
(Redmond, Wash.: Microsoft, 2006).
“I just want you to know”:
“Interview with Civil Rights Activist Rita Bender,” in
Microsoft Encarta Premium 2007
(Redmond, Wash.: Microsoft, 2006).
82
“You must be that Communist-Jew”:
Cagin and Dray,
We Are Not Afraid
, p. 274.
“You must be that Communist-Jew”:
Cagin and Dray,
We Are Not Afraid
, p. 274.
82
“That Jewboy is dead!”:
Ball,
Murder in Mississippi
, p. 32.
“That Jewboy is dead!”:
Ball,
Murder in Mississippi
, p. 32.
82
“a marked man”:
Huie,
Three Lives
, p. 81.
“a marked man”:
Huie,
Three Lives
, p. 81.
82
“I belong right here in Mississippi”:
Ibid., p. 117.
“I belong right here in Mississippi”:
Ibid., p. 117.
82
“Mickey could count on Jim”:
Ibid., p. 95.
“Mickey could count on Jim”:
Ibid., p. 95.
82
“Mama,” he said, “I believe I done found”:
“Mississippi—‘Everybody’s Scared,’ ”
Newsweek
, July 6, 1964, p. 15.
“Mama,” he said, “I believe I done found”:
“Mississippi—‘Everybody’s Scared,’ ”
Newsweek
, July 6, 1964, p. 15.
83
“a born activist”:
Carolyn Goodman, “Andrew Goodman—1943-1964,” in Erenrich,
Freedom Is a Constant Struggle
, p. 321.
“a born activist”:
Carolyn Goodman, “Andrew Goodman—1943-1964,” in Erenrich,
Freedom Is a Constant Struggle
, p. 321.
83
“Because this is the most important thing”: New York Times
, June 25, 1964.
“Because this is the most important thing”: New York Times
, June 25, 1964.
83
“I want to go off to war” and “a great idea”:
Carolyn Goodman, “My Son Didn’t Die in Vain!” with Bernard Asbell,
Good Housekeeping
, May 1965, p. 158.
“I want to go off to war” and “a great idea”:
Carolyn Goodman, “My Son Didn’t Die in Vain!” with Bernard Asbell,
Good Housekeeping
, May 1965, p. 158.
83
“We couldn’t turn our backs”: New York Times
, June 25, 1964.
“We couldn’t turn our backs”: New York Times
, June 25, 1964.
83
“I’m scared”:
Carolyn Goodman Papers, SHSW.
“I’m scared”:
Carolyn Goodman Papers, SHSW.
84
“Don’t worry,” he told them:
Mills,
Like a Holy Crusade
, p. 103.
“Don’t worry,” he told them:
Mills,
Like a Holy Crusade
, p. 103.
84
Dear Mom and Dad:
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Mississippi Burning Case, File 44-25706 (hereafter, MIBURN), part 3, p. 53.
Dear Mom and Dad:
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Mississippi Burning Case, File 44-25706 (hereafter, MIBURN), part 3, p. 53.
84
“issuing dictatorial orders”:
Association of Tenth Amendment Conservatives brochure, MDAH SCR ID# 2-61-1-95-2-1-1.
“issuing dictatorial orders”:
Association of Tenth Amendment Conservatives brochure, MDAH SCR ID# 2-61-1-95-2-1-1.
85
“What’re you doing here?”:
COFO,
Mississippi Black Paper
, pp. 67-68.
“What’re you doing here?”:
COFO,
Mississippi Black Paper
, pp. 67-68.
85
“sons of bitches”:
Branch,
Pillar of Fire
, p. 143.
“sons of bitches”:
Branch,
Pillar of Fire
, p. 143.
85
“niggers on a voter drive”:
Zinn,
SNCC
, p. 204.
“niggers on a voter drive”:
Zinn,
SNCC
, p. 204.
85
“arrest any Mississippi law enforcement officer”:
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/meiklejohn/meik-8_2/meik-8_2-4.html
.
“arrest any Mississippi law enforcement officer”:
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/meiklejohn/meik-8_2/meik-8_2-4.html
.
85
“cooling off period”:
Payne,
I’ve Got the Light
, p. 108.
“cooling off period”:
Payne,
I’ve Got the Light
, p. 108.
86
“a true Marxist-Leninist”:
Nick Kotz,
Judgment Days: Lyndon Baines Johnson, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Laws That Changed America
(Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2005), p. 103.
“a true Marxist-Leninist”:
Nick Kotz,
Judgment Days: Lyndon Baines Johnson, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Laws That Changed America
(Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2005), p. 103.
86
“We do not wet nurse”:
Ball,
Murder in Mississippi
, p. 57.
“We do not wet nurse”:
Ball,
Murder in Mississippi
, p. 57.
86
“Which side is the federal government on?”:
Zinn,
SNCC
, p. 215.
“Which side is the federal government on?”:
Zinn,
SNCC
, p. 215.
86
“There is a street in Itta Bena”:
Martinez,
Letters from Mississippi
, p. 192.
“There is a street in Itta Bena”:
Martinez,
Letters from Mississippi
, p. 192.
86
“Good evening. Three young civil rights workers”:
Walter Cronkite, “History Lessons: Mississippi 1964—Civil Rights and Unrest,” June 16, 2005,
http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=4706688&m=4706689
.
“Good evening. Three young civil rights workers”:
Walter Cronkite, “History Lessons: Mississippi 1964—Civil Rights and Unrest,” June 16, 2005,
http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=4706688&m=4706689
.
87
“the other Philadelphia”: New York Times
, June 29, 1964.
“the other Philadelphia”: New York Times
, June 29, 1964.
88
“ fair-minded, Christian people”:
Ibid.
“ fair-minded, Christian people”:
Ibid.
89
“They’re sending them in by buses”:
Michael R. Beschloss, ed.,
Taking Charge: The Johnson White House Tapes, 1963-1964
(New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997), p. 313.
“They’re sending them in by buses”:
Michael R. Beschloss, ed.,
Taking Charge: The Johnson White House Tapes, 1963-1964
(New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997), p. 313.
89
“I asked Hoover two weeks ago”:
Ibid., pp. 425-26.
“I asked Hoover two weeks ago”:
Ibid., pp. 425-26.
89
“I’m afraid that if I start”:
Ibid., p. 431.
“I’m afraid that if I start”:
Ibid., p. 431.
89
“I think they got picked up”:
Ibid., pp. 431-32.
“I think they got picked up”:
Ibid., pp. 431-32.
90
“I don’t believe there’s three missing”:
Ibid., p. 434.
“I don’t believe there’s three missing”:
Ibid., p. 434.
90
“Are they all right?”:
Goodman, “My Son Didn’t Die,” p. 164.
“Are they all right?”:
Goodman, “My Son Didn’t Die,” p. 164.
90
“changed from a public figure”:
Ibid.
“changed from a public figure”:
Ibid.
91
“Burned Car Clue”: Washington Post,
June 24, 1964.
“Burned Car Clue”: Washington Post,
June 24, 1964.
91
“Dulles Will Direct Rights Trio Hunt”: Los Angeles Times
, June 24, 1964.
“Dulles Will Direct Rights Trio Hunt”: Los Angeles Times
, June 24, 1964.
91
“Wreckage Raises New Fears”: New York Times
, June 24, 1964.
“Wreckage Raises New Fears”: New York Times
, June 24, 1964.
91
“They had no business down here”:
Mars,
Witness in Philadelphia
, pp. 87-88.
“They had no business down here”:
Mars,
Witness in Philadelphia
, pp. 87-88.
91
“Farmer, don’t go over there”:
James Farmer,
Lay Bare the Heart: An Autobiography of the Civil Rights Movement
(New York: New American Library, 1985), p. 273.
“Farmer, don’t go over there”:
James Farmer,
Lay Bare the Heart: An Autobiography of the Civil Rights Movement
(New York: New American Library, 1985), p. 273.
92
“Where do you think you’re goin’?”:
Cagin and Dray,
We Are Not Afraid
, p. 343.
“Where do you think you’re goin’?”:
Cagin and Dray,
We Are Not Afraid
, p. 343.
92
“hid somewhere trying to get”: New York Times
, June 23, 1964.
“hid somewhere trying to get”: New York Times
, June 23, 1964.
92
“destroy evidence”:
Lewis,
Walking with the Wind
, p. 257.
“destroy evidence”:
Lewis,
Walking with the Wind
, p. 257.
92
“
If
there has been a crime”:
Ibid.
“
If
there has been a crime”:
Ibid.
92
“We don’t want anything to happen”:
Farmer,
Lay Bare the Heart
, p. 276.
“We don’t want anything to happen”:
Farmer,
Lay Bare the Heart
, p. 276.
93
“It’s a shame that national concern”:
Lewis,
Walking with the Wind
, p. 258.
“It’s a shame that national concern”:
Lewis,
Walking with the Wind
, p. 258.
93
“I imagine they’re in that lake”:
Beschloss,
Taking Charge
, p. 440.
“I imagine they’re in that lake”:
Beschloss,
Taking Charge
, p. 440.
93
“We are basically a law abiding nation”: New York Times
, June 24, 1964.
“We are basically a law abiding nation”: New York Times
, June 24, 1964.
93
“We need the FBI before the fact”:
Belfrage,
Freedom Summer
, p. 15.
“We need the FBI before the fact”:
Belfrage,
Freedom Summer
, p. 15.
94
“knowed for mean”:
Carmichael,
Ready for Revolution
, p. 377.
“knowed for mean”:
Carmichael,
Ready for Revolution
, p. 377.
94
“praying for sunrise”:
Ibid.
“praying for sunrise”:
Ibid.
94
“those same peckerwoods”:
Ibid., p. 378.
“those same peckerwoods”:
Ibid., p. 378.
94
“Ain’t no telling”:
Cleveland Sellers and Robert Terrell,
The River of No Return: The Autobiography of a Black Militant and the Life and Death of SNCC
(New York: William Morrow, 1973), p. 88.
“Ain’t no telling”:
Cleveland Sellers and Robert Terrell,
The River of No Return: The Autobiography of a Black Militant and the Life and Death of SNCC
(New York: William Morrow, 1973), p. 88.
94
“So and so said”:
Charles Cobb Jr., personal interview, July 16, 2008.
“So and so said”:
Charles Cobb Jr., personal interview, July 16, 2008.
95
“would have an irretrievable effect”:
“Mississippi—Summer of 1964: Troubled State, Troubled Time,”
Newsweek
, July 13, 1964, p. 20.
“would have an irretrievable effect”:
“Mississippi—Summer of 1964: Troubled State, Troubled Time,”
Newsweek
, July 13, 1964, p. 20.
95
“a local matter for local law enforcement”: New York Times
, June 25, 1964, p. 20.
“a local matter for local law enforcement”: New York Times
, June 25, 1964, p. 20.
95
“a thousand of these youngsters”:
Kotz,
Judgment Days
, p. 171.
“a thousand of these youngsters”:
Kotz,
Judgment Days
, p. 171.
95
“the chiefs of police”:
Ibid.
“the chiefs of police”:
Ibid.
95
“this breathtakingly admirable group”: Washington Post
, June 25, 1964.
“this breathtakingly admirable group”: Washington Post
, June 25, 1964.
95
“a second Reconstruction”: New York Times,
June 26, 1964.
“a second Reconstruction”: New York Times,
June 26, 1964.
95
“firm, positive statement” and “will be on the hands”: Tupelo Journal,
June 25, 1964; and
Washington Post,
June 25, 1964.
“firm, positive statement” and “will be on the hands”: Tupelo Journal,
June 25, 1964; and
Washington Post,
June 25, 1964.
95
“I’m not going to send troops”:
Randall B. Woods,
LBJ: Architect of American Ambition
(New York: Free Press, 2006), p. 479.
“I’m not going to send troops”:
Randall B. Woods,
LBJ: Architect of American Ambition
(New York: Free Press, 2006), p. 479.
96
“We throw two or three”:
“The Limpid Shambles of Violence,”
Life
, July 3, 1964, p. 35.
“We throw two or three”:
“The Limpid Shambles of Violence,”
Life
, July 3, 1964, p. 35.
96
“Why don’t you just float”:
Huie,
Three Lives
, p. 39.
“Why don’t you just float”:
Huie,
Three Lives
, p. 39.
96
“You know damn well our law”:
Mars,
Witness in Philadelphia
, p. 98.
“You know damn well our law”:
Mars,
Witness in Philadelphia
, p. 98.
96
“The idea of these people”:
Ibid.
“The idea of these people”:
Ibid.
96
“if it was boiled down to gravy”:
Huie,
Three Lives
, p. 195.
“if it was boiled down to gravy”:
Huie,
Three Lives
, p. 195.
96
“Bloody Neshoba”:
Ball,
Murder in Mississippi
, p. 64.
“Bloody Neshoba”:
Ball,
Murder in Mississippi
, p. 64.
96
“I believe them jokers”:
Mulford and Field,
Freedom on My Mind
.
“I believe them jokers”:
Mulford and Field,
Freedom on My Mind
.
96
“to all parents everywhere”: New York Times
, June 26, 1964.
“to all parents everywhere”: New York Times
, June 26, 1964.
97
“a Negro, a friend”:
Cagin and Dray,
We Are Not Afraid
, p. 366.
“a Negro, a friend”:
Cagin and Dray,
We Are Not Afraid
, p. 366.
97
“I’m just hoping”: New York Times
, June 25, 1964.
“I’m just hoping”: New York Times
, June 25, 1964.
97
“For God’s sake”:
Cagin and Dray,
We Are Not Afraid
, p. 366.
“For God’s sake”:
Cagin and Dray,
We Are Not Afraid
, p. 366.
97
“We’re now looking for bodies”: New York Times
, June 25, 1964.
“We’re now looking for bodies”: New York Times
, June 25, 1964.
97
“I am going to find my husband”:
Marco Williams, dir.,
Ten Days That Unexpectedly Changed America—Freedom Summer
(New York: History Channel, 2006).
“I am going to find my husband”:
Marco Williams, dir.,
Ten Days That Unexpectedly Changed America—Freedom Summer
(New York: History Channel, 2006).
97
“that scores of federal marshals”:
Cagin and Dray,
We Are Not Afraid
, p. 354.
“that scores of federal marshals”:
Cagin and Dray,
We Are Not Afraid
, p. 354.
97
“I’m sure Wallace is much more important”:
Huie,
Three Lives
, p. 203.
“I’m sure Wallace is much more important”:
Huie,
Three Lives
, p. 203.
97
“Governor Wallace and I”:
Robert Zellner, “Notes on Meeting Gov. Johnson,” June 25, 1964, COFO documents, Hillegas Collection.
“Governor Wallace and I”:
Robert Zellner, “Notes on Meeting Gov. Johnson,” June 25, 1964, COFO documents, Hillegas Collection.
97
“that you and Governor Wallace here”:
Robert Zellner,
The Wrong Side of Murder Creek: A White Southerner in the Freedom Movement
, with Constance Curry (Montgomery, Ala.: NewSouth Books, 2008), p. 250.
“that you and Governor Wallace here”:
Robert Zellner,
The Wrong Side of Murder Creek: A White Southerner in the Freedom Movement
, with Constance Curry (Montgomery, Ala.: NewSouth Books, 2008), p. 250.
98
“I don’t want your sympathy!”: Los Angeles Times,
June 26, 1964.
“I don’t want your sympathy!”: Los Angeles Times,
June 26, 1964.
98
“What in the goddamn hell”:
Cagin and Dray,
We Are Not Afraid
, p. 360.
“What in the goddamn hell”:
Cagin and Dray,
We Are Not Afraid
, p. 360.
98
“Well, at least he still has a wife”:
Ibid.
“Well, at least he still has a wife”:
Ibid.
98
“as near to approximating a police state”:
Silver,
Mississippi
, p. 151.
“as near to approximating a police state”:
Silver,
Mississippi
, p. 151.
99
“A wave of untrained”:
SNCC Papers, reel 38.
“A wave of untrained”:
SNCC Papers, reel 38.
99
“This is for the three in Philadelphia”: Chicago Tribune
, June 27, 1964.
“This is for the three in Philadelphia”: Chicago Tribune
, June 27, 1964.
99
“swarm[ing] upon our land”: Jackson Clarion-Ledger
, July 7, 1964.
“swarm[ing] upon our land”: Jackson Clarion-Ledger
, July 7, 1964.
99
“Where, oh where”:
Turner Catledge, “My Life and ‘The Times,’ ” in
Mississippi Writers—Reflections of Childhood and Youth
, vol. 2,
Non-fiction
, ed. Dorothy Abbott (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1986), p. 85.
“Where, oh where”:
Turner Catledge, “My Life and ‘The Times,’ ” in
Mississippi Writers—Reflections of Childhood and Youth
, vol. 2,
Non-fiction
, ed. Dorothy Abbott (Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 1986), p. 85.
99
“Be frank with you, Sitton”:
Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff,
The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation
(New York: Random House, 2007), p. 360.
“Be frank with you, Sitton”:
Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff,
The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation
(New York: Random House, 2007), p. 360.
99
“Beware, good Negro citizens”:
Mississippi Summer Project, running summary of incidents, transcript, USM (hereafter, COFO incidents).
“Beware, good Negro citizens”:
Mississippi Summer Project, running summary of incidents, transcript, USM (hereafter, COFO incidents).
99
“Want us to do to you”: New York Times
, June 27, 1964.
“Want us to do to you”: New York Times
, June 27, 1964.
100
“You dig it?”:
Hodes Papers, SHSW.
“You dig it?”:
Hodes Papers, SHSW.
100
“like a funeral parlor”:
Martinez,
Letters from Mississippi
, p. 33.
“like a funeral parlor”:
Martinez,
Letters from Mississippi
, p. 33.
100
“near psychosis,” or just “character disorders”:
Robert Coles,
Farewell to the South
(Boston: Little, Brown, 1972), pp. 246-47.
“near psychosis,” or just “character disorders”:
Robert Coles,
Farewell to the South
(Boston: Little, Brown, 1972), pp. 246-47.
100
“Suddenly hundreds of young Americans”:
Ibid., p. 269.
“Suddenly hundreds of young Americans”:
Ibid., p. 269.
100
“You know what we’re all doing”:
McAdam,
Freedom Summer
, p. 71.
“You know what we’re all doing”:
McAdam,
Freedom Summer
, p. 71.
100
Dear Mom and Dad:
Martinez,
Letters from Mississippi
, p. 26.
Dear Mom and Dad:
Martinez,
Letters from Mississippi
, p. 26.
101
Dear Folks:
Ibid., p. 27.
Dear Folks:
Ibid., p. 27.
101
“The kids are dead”:
Belfrage,
Freedom Summer
, pp. 25-27.
“The kids are dead”:
Belfrage,
Freedom Summer
, pp. 25-27.
101
“In our country we have some real evil”:
Ibid.
“In our country we have some real evil”:
Ibid.
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