Curtis Wilkie, a native of Pike County, Mississippi, covered many civil rights happenings in Mississippi during the 1960s. Pocked with puddles, the route wound past a few clusters of cabins before narrowing into a densely wooded corridor. City of Laurel, P.O. It was there she would spend nearly 70 years washing and ironing clothes to earn a living. Sitemap | And what did you personally take from sort of telling this story in a moment such as this? McCartys generosity earned her an honorary degree from Harvard University and the Presidential Citizens Medal from President Bill Clinton. And both Vernon Dahmer and Aaron Henry were very willing to work with the young turks in the movement to sometimes more scornful about the NAACP. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. When black activists in Clarke County defied mobs and memory in pursuit of political power and economic opportunity, they provoked a new round of violent reprisals. The story basically takes place from 1965 until 1969. The structure was not just a monument but also an altar to white supremacy, as the journalist put it, a place to offer as sacrifices anyone who threatened that power. Myrlie Evers continued to work for the NAACP after her husbands death. And then once I guess they trusted me, they shared with me these incredible journals. Unita Brown was born in Lula, Mississippi, where at 6 she began working in the cotton fields with her family. Code Ann., 23-15-857 (1972) (as amended). Far more mentioned the bridge that spanned the murky water. USA TODAY Network reporters Ellen Ciurczak and Cam Bonelli contributed to this report. The governing body consists of an elected mayor and an elected council consisting of either 5, 7 or 9 members. The violence and ugliness of the civil rights struggle in the 1960s affected Laurel as it did most small towns during that era. He had deep roots in the southern MississippiNew Orleans area on both sides of his family. But the museum digs far deeper than these major exhibits. , 78. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Curtis Wilkie works in his office at University of Mississippi in late 2020. Experience a true Mississippi treasure From its oak-lined streets to its lovely, turn-of-the-century homes, Laurel is a charming and gracious southern town. De La Beckwith was convicted in 1994 and sentenced to life in prison. I was approached in 2018, kind of secretively through a couple of middlemen, if you will, between the Landrum family and me. Hes basically an unsung hero. Hattiesburg is great. Through your support we are able to shine light so that our democracy works as our forefathers intended. Shewas born in Hattiesburg in southeastern Mississippi, where she graduatedfrom the University of Southern Mississippi. Plaintiff alleges that the grand jury declined to indict him upon Defendants' first attempt. The civil rights movement was a struggle for justice and equality for African Americans that took place mainly in the 1950s and 1960s. 5 stars . In 1882, the town of Laurel, Mississippi, was founded when John Kamper built a mill in order to provide timber for the completion of the Northeastern and New Orleans Railroad. And it seems to fly in the face of democracy just as the suppression that went on, you know, in the bad old days. The images are projected at an angle, so viewers unconsciously must tilt their necks, like those of the victims. Accused of flirting with a white grocery store clerk, the clerks husband and his half-brother dragged the teenager from bed a few nights later, shot him in the head, tied his body with barbed wire to a 75lb cotton gin fan and threw him in the Tallahatchie River. Mississippi native Oprah Winfrey narrates a presentation on the 1955 death of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old boy from Chicago who was visiting family in Mississippi. You know, particularly people from SNCC, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and both Vernon Dahmer and Aaron Henry welcomed these young people to help them. Throughout the galleries, small immersive theatres cover key moments from the modern civil rights era, which gained a foothold as African-American soldiers stationed overseas during the Second World War returned to find discrimination and segregation back home. For you as the author, walk us through that. She helped file a lawsuit in 1965 to desegregate Issaquena County schools. I did talk some to his very inept lawyer, Travis Buckley, who was a klansman himself. Attorney Dow Yoder filed a . So, you know, that was my one direct encounter with the klan during that period. And today, of course, were here to talk about Curtiss newest book, When Evil Lived in Laurel: The White Knights and the Murder of Vernon Dahmer. Curtis, its an honor for me to be talking with you about your latest book, about your latest work. The lawsuit was one of the states first successful desegregation cases. Click here to hear the entire conversation, which includes a reflection on the life and legacy of Vernon Dahmer from Mississippi activist Jarrius Adams. More than 600 individuals and businesses contributed after learning of her monumental deed. But I wondered, you know, being in Clarksdale at the time, this tumultuous time certainly for race relations in Mississippi, did you have any run-ins yourself with the klan, and did that help you as you were writing this book? Browse comprehensive profiles including education, bar membership, awards, jurisdictions, and publications. We had a case of that here just recently, he added, two fourteen-year-old boys.We put four up during the last war.. Any amount helps us keep producing quality journalism for Mississippi. In 1944, she spent the summer writing book reviews for The New York Times. You were good friends with a lot of these, you know, civil rights activists. I think he deserves a greater reputation than he has nationally because of the work he did and it cost him his life to do it. It uses multimedia theatres showing archival footage of trials, protests and funerals, and artefacts like hooded Ku Klux Klan robes, a burned cross and the Enfield rifle that took Evers life. The $90 million museum complex, located in the city of Jackson, presents a comprehensive and unflinching look at the US state of Mississippis darkest moments. Filter Results. Curtis Wilkie, the 81-year-old Mississippi native and veteran journalist who recently released his new book When Evil Lived in Laurel: The White Knights and the Murder of Vernon Dahmer, will be a featured guest at the Mississippi Book Festival on Aug. 21. The family movedto California, where Evers earned a sociology degreeand marriedactivist Walter Williams. . All three shot in the dark of night on a lonely road in Neshoba County, Mississippi. Curtis, tell us just a little bit more about these three sort of main characters in the book, and a little bit about their stories. The river below the bridge flowed gently, yet Atkins predicted a long overdue flood that will smash and sweep away Shubuta bridge and all it stands for., MORE: New Report Documents 4,000 Lynchings in Jim Crow South. Indeed, the institution fills a gap. (Jones County) (1965) After passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Laurel Leader Call reported that while 99.9 percent of whites in Jones County were . We have over 60 years of combined experience, delivering an unparalleled standard of high-quality legal services to our clients. Cook also was the first person to collect and catalog thousands of plant and animal specimens of Mississippi wildlife and led the effort to protect and restore the states natural resources. Call today for a FREE initial consultation. The Rev. Open February- December 2013. Form of Government Please reload the page and try again. The two men were later acquitted by an all-white jury. All Rights Reserved. Downtown Jackson has several historical sites on the civil rights trail and the civil rights museum, a fun arts district, and some great local chefs. o Calling a special elect ion to fill a mayors unexpired term Wilkie: It helps to have some familiarity with the story and idea because, you know, I lived in Mississippi and was a young journalist in the 60s. One alcove, shielded from younger visitors, flashes historical photos of men hanging from trees, along with their names, locations and dates of death. Did we miss a woman you think should be on our list? Cassandra Hawkins, a Jackson resident who volunteered during the museums busy opening weekend, said many people told her they appreciated the candour. I think its incredibly compelling. They were kind of vetting me and I was, you know, receptive to whatever they might have to offer. Wilkie: Yeah, so you always like to have something presented to you on a platter, its not always that easy. Thanks to the Mississippi panel:Cattie Beals of 2nd Chance Mississippi;Katie Blount of Mississippi Department of Archives and History; Daphne Chamberlain ofTougaloo College;Shundral Cole, an assistant U.S. attorney in the Mississippi Southern District; state Sen. Sally Doty; Hattiesburg City Councilwoman Mary Dryden; state Rep. Debra Gibbs;Bracey Harris of The Hechinger Report;Emily Havensof the MississippiGrammy Museum;Debbie Skipper of the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting; and Petra Wingo of Hattiesburg'sCommunity Development Division. He loaded up John Cumbler, a white college student from Wisconsin, and took him for a ride. There was a Black guy who tried to cross a klan picket line at the local theater to attend the theater, which he was now legally able to do because of the passage of the Civil Rights Act, and he was beaten up. But other traumas were far worse. The Mississippi movements high-water mark1964s Freedom Summercame and went with no Freedom Schools and no marches in Shubuta; only a handful of the countys black residents registered to vote. She returned to private practice after a lengthy career in public service. o Appropriating money for the operation of government LAUREL, MS (WDAM) - One of Laurel's longest sitting councilmen has lived through and even helped change the face of racism in Jones County. Whenever the mayor is unable to appoint a councilman to serve as acting mayor, the council may do so. Curtis Wilkie: Adam, thank you. She later received a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant. Ganucheau: Sure. Below is the transcript of that conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity. Its kind of a battle of good versus evil. By clicking submit, you agree to share your email address with Mississippi Today. She co-authored legislation that helped create the University of Mississippi Medical Center Mississippi's firstteaching hospital. o Overriding vetoes of council actions Something like 25 black churches that were either burned or bombed because they had voting registration activity in those churches. Were glad you took a moment to watch. Offers virtual appointments . The new Mississippi Civil Rights Museum is an important stop for anyone interested in the US struggle for racial equality. It was difficult to trim the list to just 10 names. Sitemap | Action Center | Home to some of the most unique and influential places in the Pine Belt region, Laurel has diverse examples of architectural styles from Romanesque Revival to Mid-Century. Adam earned his bachelors in journalism from the University of Mississippi. Curtis I know I talked to you many times about it. Call (601) 582-4553 today to schedule a consultation. Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting, Legend of Journalism Speaks in Jackson, Still Sounds Like Hes From the Delta. Among its leaders were Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, the . "Nobody forgets that," organizer Kim Pittman says. The many stories that youve just laid out for us and, of course the book itself, I think, is really important right now. You know, getting back to the story a little bit, I am very intrigued by how this story sort of came to you. Fannie Lou Townsend was born in Montgomery County, a rural area of Mississippi, where she worked on cottonplantations. following organizations: Whoops! Box 1468 Laurel, MS 39441 Phone: 601-428-0527 Jones County Circuit Court Website Clerk Circuit Court has marriage records from 1882 and court records from 1907. Bowers lived in Laurel, he was not from Laurel originally, but he was a Mississippian with all sorts of distorted ideas about race and religion. Get your history fix in one place: sign up for the weekly TIME History newsletter, Twenty-four years later, white vigilantes hanged Ernest Green and Charlie Langfourteen and fifteen respectivelyafter a white girl accused them of attempted rape. Copyright 2016 by Oxford University Press. She quit school when she was 12 but continued learning to read through Bible studies. There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Tree Tips. And suddenly once again, were seeing efforts being made by elected public officials to suppress the vote, especially of Black people, people they anticipate, are going to vote a particular way. Even as local activists and allies across the state challenged segregation and disenfranchisement, the Hanging Bridge still stood as a reminder of Jim Crows past and violent potential. Ive read accounts, you know, Dixie has plenty of this in it. Help keep the momentum going by rejoining our member community today. And we all sat around this big long table. Meetings, Agendas and Minutes. With 60 years of dedication to our clients, we'll help you, too. Defendants Michael Reaves and Josh Welch were police officers employed by the Defendant, City of Laurel, Mississippi, during these events. Others were so troubled that they had gone so far as to commit murders and drop out of the klan. We work diligently to ensure that your best interests and personal rights are protected and upheld to the fullest extent of the law. We didn't come up with the list on our own. She also spent time in private law practice. Allen Johnson and his family were targeted because he was an activist in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the larger civil rights movement. Her family moved to Hattiesburg when she was around 8. and up . A general municipal election is held every 4 years. Their story reaches back into generations when the rural South seemed all but cut off from national campaigns against discrimination and abuse, but grassroots activism in Clarke County also extends the story deep into the 1960s and beyond. Top Laurel Civil Rights Lawyers - Mississippi (3 results) Filter . With your help, we've gotten a lot done but we're not finished yet! And I said, Well, from the Press Register and I was wondering if Mr. Bell might want his picture taken. That was the name of one of the guys who had been arrested. Since the Civil War (New York: Basic Books, 1986) , 13 5 Ibid. The myths could be just as muddy, the details dependent on the storyteller. In the 1950s and 60s, home-owned and operated mega-businesses further diversified our economy in the areas of electrical transformers, poultry processing, metal fabrication, drag conveyor systems, walk-in refrigerators and plastic moldings. We center readers in everything we do, informingand engagingMississippians through reporting, podcasts, events and online communities. He never opened his mouth during the trial. and up . 2023 The City of Laurel, Mississippi | Welty received many honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the French Legion of Honor and was the first living writer published in theLibrary of Americaseries. . Laurel was home to some Klansmen, including the notorious Sam Bowers, accused of killing the three civil rights workers Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner, and James Chaney in 1964. He knew almost from the outset that Vernon Dahmer was going to be targeted, but he didnt know when. Judge Pickering was very helpful to me in this research. ), Photo essay: The lost art of the Tutwiler Quilters, Friendly City Books, the states newest bookstore located in downtown Columbus, Click here to hear the entire conversation, Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic. They too were provided with schools and churches, houses and health care, just as were the Whites. And as I was writing that book, my friend Willie Morris, who had been such an inspiration to me, died. Ganucheau: Another thing that Im kind of curious about that came to me as I was reading this, is you just talked a lot about sort of your personal experience as a journalist at the time of the Dahmer murder. Wilkie: Yeah, sure. In some cases, the sentiment among the various klansman was deep resentment. When she was a staff attorney at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights under Law, Slaughter-Harvey represented the families of two students killed during the Jackson State University massacre. So he shoots out the tires of the other car and they have to abandon the other car and know suddenly youve got eight weighty, you know, not particularly small klansman, all crowded into one car, trying to flee the scene of the crime. He drove south toward Shubuta, a small town of seven hundred located at the southern end of the county. And if it were not such a tragedy, itd be, you know, great comedy. Nearly every Mississippi city and town had its own racial protest, and many get their first widespread exposure in these galleries. I havent talked to you about this, but I assume you were either in the throws of finishing the writing and reporting of this book, or at least in the editing process last summer. Down in Clarke County, a Meridian movement leader recalled, they lynched so many blacks. A white northern journalist who visited in the wake of the 1942 lynchings predicted that the mob impulse would die hard. Mississippi's Women of the Centuryhave inspired us to reach higher, work harder and push farther. Don't eat chain restaurants, there. While local whites emphasized its usefulness in shoring up white supremacy, civil rights supporters recognized its potential to galvanize protest. Just north of town, John Otis Sumrall turned left onto a dirt road. A number of Erie education, government, civil rights, health, and business leaders have family roots in the Mississippi city off Laurel. If you have been in a car accident, slip and fall, or any other accident, you can turn to our knowledgeable legal team to help you. Hamer helped found the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and later the National Womens Political Caucus. Wilkie: I guess thats a good thing. I was immediately asked in brusque tones, What do you want, boy?. No sir, the cabbie replied. In Meridian, a small city forty miles north, the undercover reporter asked a black taxi driver for a ride to Shubuta. Another section addresses the 1961 Freedom Rides, the bloody crusade to protest segregated transportation facilities in the southern US states. Existing civil service laws apply in a mayor We invite you to discover Laurels rich history and be a part of its bright future. REVIEWS. In 1899, John Lindsey invented the eight-wheeled wagon Lindsey wagon, revolutionizing the timber industry. I think it gives some insight into the writing process and the creative process that youve been through the last few years with this project. Eudora Welty contributed much to Mississippis literary prowess, as an author, journalist and photographer. Wright was born Sept. 4, 1908, in Roxie, Miss., near Natchez, the grandson of slaves and the son of a sharecropper, largely raised by his mother. I mean, what all goes into writing a book like this thats sort of so journalistically focused. After the 1942 lynchings, a black journalist branded the bridge a monument to Judge Lynch. The rickety old span, Walter Atkins argued, is a symbol of the South as much as magnolia blossoms or mint julep colonels. With its grim history, as well as with the myths and legends it inspired, the bridge reinforced white control and deterred black resistance. I thought it was just so very applicable here that, you know, you had a situation that involved certainly evil, but it also involved some very good people and two good men, who would have been Vernon Dahmer and Tom Landrum. She also photographed Blacks in Mississippi, who were often socially invisible in the pre-civil rights South. She was the first woman elected statetreasurer, insurance commissioner and lieutenant governor. Medgar Evers staggered to the door, where his family found him bleeding to death. In August, the United States will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, when women gained the legalright to vote. Newspapers nationwide ran photographs of the two boys corpses and that same river bridge. All officers and employees are appointed in the mayor-council form of government. The other one burned the Dahmer home down. You know, I know there were plenty of tragedies, most of all the Dahmer murder being one of those main ones, but it came through, Curtis, that just they were really bad at the things that they wanted to accomplish. Some of the most influential people who were fighting for voting rights in the 60s in Mississippi. Of course Aaron Henry being a close friend and mentor of yours. On that rusty frame, between lines of vertical rivets, someone had painted a skull and crossbones and scribbled: Danger, This Is You., This, Sumrall announced to Cumbler, his new recruit, is where they hang the Negroes., The way he said it, Cumbler remembered, it could have happened a hundred years ago, or last week.. And they said, Mr. You know, it didnt start in 1960, it started with Jim Crow and all of the periods after Reconstruction. Its always fun to be with you guys. After graduating high school, Price attended the College of Educational and Industrial Arts in Wilberforce, Ohio. A handpicked selection of stories from BBC Future, Earth, Culture, Capital and Travel, delivered to your inbox every Friday. People says they went down there to look at the bodies, a local woman recalled fifty years later, and they still see those babies wiggling around in the bellies after those mothers was dead. When the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)an organization less than ten years old at the time demanded an investigation, Mississippi governor Theodore Bilbo told them to go to hell. One display outlines the wade-ins in 1959, 1960 and 1963 to desegregate the Gulf Coast beaches of Biloxi. It seemed a road to nowhere, or at least nowhere one might want to go. Included in the beauty of the area is its rich history as the town that timber built. She received many awards for her work, and in 1998, was inducted into the African American Literary Hall of Fame. However, the war meant freedom for enslaved people who made up more than half the population of the state. Tom was still living at the time, he had been identified in a book that was privately published and not a whole lot of people read it, but the book did identify Tom Landrum as a member of the klan. Any web site our stories appear on must include a contact for your organization. In 1995, Slaughter-Harvey worked for the Mississippi Democratic Party and has served on the Board of Trustees of her alma mater Tougaloo College, where she worked as an adjunct professor from 1970-2005. His Mason Fibre Company became the international Masonite Corporation. Renowned photographer Annie Liebowitz was so enamored by McCartys story, she came to Hattiesburg to photograph McCarty, whose portrait was included in Liebowitzs book, Women.. And you know, that forms the basic raw materials for the book that I was able to flesh out with all sorts of valuable FBI documents that are available at the University of Southern Mississippi library. Laurel, Maryland had at least two Civil War hospitals. They dont sugar-coat it., The museum directly addresses the violence associated with the civil rights movement (Credit: Mississippi Civil Rights Museum). Another recalls the read-in at Jacksons whites-only public library, led by the Tougaloo Nine, a group of students from the citys historically black college. It was just another one of these awful things that went on in the south and in Mississippi in the sixties. If a councilman moves from his ward, the vacancy is filled in the manner established by Miss. View the top attorneys in Best Lawyers in Laurel, Mississippi for Personal Injury Litigation - Defendants and get an overview of lawyer . (Photo by Billy Schuerman/The Daily Mississippian. Founded in 2016 as the states first nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom, Mississippi Todays roots in Capitol coverage have grown to encompass a myriad of beats beyond politics and policy, including education, public health, justice, environment, equity, and, yes, sports. O On a June night in 1963,. Shubuta Bridges Toll Stands at Six Lynch Victims, the Chicago Defender announced. She is president and founder of the Legacy Education and Community Empowerment Foundation, which works to provide youth and student enrichment and mentoring. She became the first woman to edit the Mississippi Law Journal. Cook graduated from the Mississippi University for Women and took graduate courses at George Washington University and the University of Colorado. And he was troubled by that because his role had been secret for all of these years and he didnt want that to be part of his legacy. Evers-Williams continued to pursue justice for her slain husband, and in 1989, the prosecutor agreed to reopen the case against Byron De La Beckwith, who was tried twice in 1964 for Evers murder but never convicted. Bowers was born on August 25, 1924, in New Orleans, Louisiana, to Samuel Bowers Sr., a salesman, and his wife Evangeline Bowers (ne Peyton), daughter of a well-to-do planter. laurel, ms (39443) legal discrimination & civil rights Previous page of results 1 - 10 of 15 Next page of results Call 601-582-4553. Municipal Court Judge. But my one brush with the klan at that time was taken place in the summer of 64. o Appointing a council member to serve as acting mayor if the mayor is incapacitated In 2007 he came back home to Oxford, where he served as professor of journalism and fellow at the Overby Center for Journalism and Politics for several years before his retirement just last year. You cant edit our stories, except to reflect relative changes in time, location and editorial style. 1 star and up . Old-timers across the county still spoke of a bottomless blue hole in the snaking Chickasawhay River, where whites had dumped black bodies. Evers worked alongside her husband, who was an NAACP field officer, while caring for the couples children. A generation after the 1942 lynchings, that flood finally hit. So, his wife who had typed up all of his notes and journals that were sent to the FBI, she had very wisely saved carbon copies of them. The mayor-council form of government is essentially a "strong mayor" form of government made available by the legislature in 1973 and approved by the Department of Justice in August 1976. She was inspired to become an educator herself and attended Alcorn State University, where she met her husband, Medgar Evers. In both of these pivotal moments, national attention and protest politics collided at a lonely river bridge, where the pervasive violence of the twentieth-century South rose sharply and tellingly to the surface. Her first novel, Jubilee, published in 1966, is regarded as the first truly historical Black American novel, said Crispin Campbell, a Washington Post contributor. On a June night in 1963, Myrlie Evers was waiting for her husband Medgar to return from a civil rights rally when she heard a noise from their carport. The councilmen must be a resident of the ward he represents. After registering to vote in 1963, she was fired from her job at the plantation where she and her husband worked for nearly 20 years. Cassandra Hawkins, a rural area of Mississippi those of the victims Atkins argued, is a symbol of 1942. Most small towns during that era such an inspiration to me in this research grand declined! But we 're not finished yet co-authored legislation that helped create the University of southern Mississippi movement was a for... Southern Mississippi racial protest, and took him for a ride August, the United will! Did talk some to his very inept lawyer, Travis Buckley, who was a himself. Are appointed in the sixties was an error and we could n't process your subscription your,! A moment such as this might want to go momentum going by rejoining member..., they shared with me these incredible journals knew almost from the Delta Mississippi ( 3 results Filter! 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