Title: Congress of Racial Equality. Mississippi, 4th Congressional District: Records
Inclusive Dates: 1961-1966

Creator:

• Congress of Racial Equality. Mississippi, 4th Congressional District

Call Number: Micro 793

Quantity: 5 reels of microfilm (35mm)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Microfilmed records of a CORE congressional district office, mainly concerning activities in voter registration, freedom schools, community centers, federal aid projects, and school desegregation in Madison County. Included are correspondence, reports, memoranda, affidavits, minutes, bulletins, publications, and lists. Also present are records of the offices of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO), and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), all of which shared the CORE office in Canton.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-micr0793

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The first Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) office in the Fourth Congressional district (including Madison County) was established in Canton, Mississippi, in June 1963. Under the auspices of the Voter Education Project, CORE staff members, headed by David Dennis and George Raymond, began voter education and registration work. They were enthusiastically supported by C. O. Chinn, a prominent Canton Negro businessman, who eventually lost his business as a result of white harassment. In 1964 CORE's program in the Fourth district was expanded to include Freedom Schools, community centers, and political action, and a second CORE base was established in Meridian.

CORE activities in Canton included three “Freedom Day” demonstrations at the courthouse to dramatize the inability of blacks to register and vote; within a week of the first “Freedom Day” on February 28, 1964, the Justice Department filed suit against the county registrar. Immediately following this, a short-lived school boycott was begun, in protest of poor school conditions. In conjunction with other volunteers from the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO), CORE coordinated its efforts with those of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) during its challenges of 1964 and 1965. With the failure of the Congressional Challenge in September 1965, and the general winding-down of organized civil rights efforts in the South, CORE operations in the Fourth Congressional district became less intense. Many staff members left the state, and the few who remained concentrated their efforts on building community organizations, rather than policy-making. Madison County activities included publicizing the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service elections in December 1964, and encouraging black candidates to run for office; establishment of a sewing cooperative for women who had lost their jobs after protesting conditions; testing public accommodations (the Canton theater was successfully integrated in April 1965); and voter registration work.

This is the subject file of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), Fourth Congressional District Office, along with the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP), the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO), and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), all in one office located in Canton, Mississippi (re-located October 1965 to Carthage, Leake County, Mississippi). The files contain correspondence, reports, memoranda, affidavits, minutes, bulletins, publications, and lists concerning civil rights activities in Madison County, Mississippi (and some adjacent counties) from approximately February 1964 to October 1965. The principal activities documented are voter registration, the founding of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and attempts to gain recognition, the Freedom Schools, Community Centers, Federal aid projects, and school desegregation.

The subject file is arranged alphabetically and material within each folder is chronological. Information in parentheses in the folder list below has been provided by the processor in an attempt to help clarify this collection in which material overlaps and projects and organizations are sometimes obscure. In addition, in some cases publications or bulletins have been listed under the folder title. Cross references may be found on the folder identification sheets on the microfilm. Though the original folder numbers are listed for convenient navigation, the collection is available only in microfilm form.

Acquisition Information

Originals loaned for microfilming by Madison County CORE and Voters League, via Robert Chinn, 1967.

Processing Information

Processed by Ron L. Perkins, 1967.

Reel   1 Folder   1	Agricultural Extension Service: Negro Staff in Mississippi and Publications, 1963-1964
Reel   1 Folder   2	Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS): Programs and Elections, 1963-1964
Reel   1 Folder   3	Arrests and Bail Forms, 1963-1964
Reel   1 Folder   4	Attala County (Koscuisko), Report undated
Reel   1 Folder   5	Canton Project History (1964) - Memoranda, 1965
Reel   1 Folder   6	C. O. Chinn Property Case - Correspondence and Memoranda, 1964 July
Reel   1 Folder   7	Civil Rights Organizations other than CORE or SNCC - Correspondence, 1964-1965
	Community Centers
Reel   1 Folder   8	General - Memoranda and Notes, 1964
Reel   1 Folder   9	Lois Chaffee, Jackson COFO Office, 1964 July-1965 May
Reel   1 Folder   10	Geraldine Wilson, Jackson COFO Office, 1964 August-November
Reel   1 Folder   11	Community Center Correspondence on Adoption Plan Lois Chaffee, 1964 October-1965 Feb.
Reel   1 Folder   12	Canton Community Center Reports (Canton Center), 1964 July-September
	Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
Reel   1 Folder   13	National - Memoranda, Minutes, Bulletins, 1961-1965
	Southern
Reel   1 Folder   14	Correspondence, 1964-1965
Reel   1 Folder   15	Memoranda and Reports, 1964-1965
Reel   1 Folder   16	Cooperatives - Correspondence and Information, 1964-1965 Scope and Content Note: Includes (1) Course Outline “The Philosophy, Theory, Practice, and Policy, of Economic Cooperation” by J. D. Hardy, Jackson State College, and (2) Proceedings of the Conference on the Role of Cooperatives and Credit Unions in the War on Poverty at the Dana Student Center, Loyola University, New Orleans, July 27-28, 1965.
	Correspondence Answered
Reel   1 Folder   17	1964
Reel   1-2 Folder   18	By George Raymond, Jr., 1965 January-April
Reel   2 Folder   19	Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) - Memoranda and Reports, 1964-1965
Reel   2 Folder   20	Direct Action (Non-violent demonstration) - Correspondence and Memoranda, 1965
Reel   2 Folder   21	Education Programs (CORE, COFO) - Correspondence and Memoranda, 1964
Reel   2 Folder   22	Educational Materials - Workbooks, Outlines, Handbooks, 1963-1965 Scope and Content Note: Includes (1) CORE Southern Education Project, Oct. 22, 1964; (2) Work-Study Institute: Notes on Class held by Stokely Carmichael, Feb. - Mar. 1965; and (3) Mississippi Political Handbook; Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, undated.
Reel   2 Folder   23	Employment - Memoranda and Bulletins, 1963-1965 Scope and Content Note: Includes (1) Working Papers for Nyack Conference on Unemployment and Social Change, Students for a Democratic Society, June 1963; (2) “The Negro and Employment Opportunities in the South,” Chattanooga Council for Cooperative Action, Feb., 1962; and (3) Church and Race - “The Negro and Employment,” Vol. 2, No. 5, April 1965.
Reel   2 Folder   24	Farmers Home Administration (FHA) - Correspondence and Memoranda, 1964
Reel   2 Folder   25	Federal Credit Unions - Memorandum, undated
Reel   2 Folder   26	Federal Programs - Memoranda and Reports, 1964-1966
Reel   2 Folder   27	Food Programs (Surplus, Stamps, Milk, School Lunches) - Correspondence, Affidavits, Memoranda, 1964-1965
	Fourth Congressional District Project Office
Reel   2 Folder   28	General Reports and Memoranda, 1964-1965
Reel   2 Folder   29	Cars - Correspondence and Reports, 1964-1965
Reel   2 Folder   30	Operations - Memoranda and Reports, 1964-1965
Reel   2 Folder   31	Personnel - Applications and Lists, 1964-1965
Reel   2 Folder   32	Potential Personnel - Applications, 1964
Reel   2 Folder   33	Free South Theater - Memoranda, 1964-1965
Reel   2 Folder   34	Freedom Corps (National Council of Churches in Mississippi, Delta Ministry) - Memoranda, 1965
	Freedom Day
Reel   2 Folder   35	Canton, 1964, March 13
Reel   2 Folder   36	Madison County, 1964, May 29
	Freedom Democratic Party (Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party)
Reel   2-3 Folder   37	Memoranda and Reports, 1964-1966
Reel   3 Folder   38	Congressional Challenge - Memoranda, 1964 Dec.-1965 Sept.
Reel   3 Folder   39	Convention Challenge - Memoranda and Diary, 1964 June-Oct.
Reel   3 Folder   40	Newsletter, 1965 April, June
Reel   3 Folder   41	Rally (Canton) - Correspondence and Memoranda, 1964 October 3
Reel   3 Folder   42	Freedom Schools (COFO) - Memoranda, 1964
Reel   3 Folder   43	Fund Raising (COFO, CORE) - Correspondence and Memoranda, 1964-1965
Reel   3 Folder   44	Gilbert, Walter (CORE - Carthage, Mississippi) - Correspondence, 1965 October
Reel   3 Folder   45	Greensboro, North Carolina - The Candle (newsletter), Memoranda, Clippings, 1963
Reel   3 Folder   46	Harassment (Economic, CORE Association) - Statements and Affidavits 1964 Jan.-Nov.; 1965 Jan.-March
Reel   3 Folder   47	Health Programs - Correspondence and Memoranda, 1963-1966 Scope and Content Note: Includes (1) Planning Session for the White House Conference “To Fulfill These Rights,” Dec. 3, 1965; and (2) The White House Planning Conference “To Fulfill These Rights,” Work Group on Health and Welfare, Background Papers: “Variation in Access to Family Planning Services,” A.C. Hill; “Racial Discrimination in Health Services, Facilities, and Programs,” K.W. Clement; “The Challenge of the 70's for American Medicine: The Organization of Medical Services in the Great Society,” A.S. Yerby and J.G. Haughton.
Reel   3 Folder   48	Housing - Reports and Memoranda, 1964-1965
Reel   3 Folder   49	Indians (Choctaw in Mississippi) - Correspondence and Memoranda, 1964
Reel   3 Folder   50	Jasper County Project - Budget, 1965, September
Reel   3 Folder   51	Labor, Farm - Memoranda and Reports, 1961-1964
Reel   3 Folder   52	Labor Unions (Mississippi Freedom Labor Union) - Memoranda, 1965
Reel   3 Folder   53	Lauderdale County - Reports, 1964-1965
Reel   3 Folder   54	Leake County - Reports, 1964-1965
Reel   3 Folder   55	Legal (Laws and Counsel) - Memoranda and Reports, 1964-1965
Reel   3 Folder   56	Legal Cases, Fourth District - Memoranda, 1964-1965
Reel   3 Folder   57	Letters, Outgoing, 1963
Reel   3 Folder   58	Madison County Citizen - Newsletter, 1964 Oct.-1965 May
Reel   3 Folder   59	Madison County Congressional Challenge Hearings - Partial Transcript, 1965 Jan.-Feb.
Reel   3 Folder   60	Madison County Contacts - Lists, undated
Reel   3 Folder   61	Madison County Economic Power Structure - Memoranda, undated
Reel   3 Folder   62	Madison County Freedom Fund - Memorandum, 1964 September 9
Reel   3 Folder   63	Madison County Movement (Voter Registration) - Memoranda, 1964-1965
Reel   3 Folder   64	Madison County Programs (CORE, COFO, MFDP) - Memoranda, 1964-1965
Reel   3 Folder   65	Madison County Sewing Firm (Cooperative) - Correspondence and Reports, 1965 March-Sept.
Reel   3 Folder   66	Materials Available on Civil Rights Movement - Memoranda, 1964-1965
Reel   3 Folder   67	Ministers' Reports on Visits (Committee Projects of the National Council of Churches and United Church of Christ) - Correspondence and Reports, 1964 Feb.-August
Reel   3 Folder   68	Mississippi Economics - Memoranda, 1964-1965
Reel   3 Folder   69	Mississippi Free Press - Newspaper, 1964 Feb. 8-Aug. 1
Reel   3 Folder   70	Mississippi Politics - Memoranda, 1964
Reel   3 Folder   71	Mississippi Student Union - Memoranda and Reports, 1964 March-May
Reel   3 Folder   72	Mississippi Summer Project (COFO, SNCC, CORE) - Memoranda and Reports, 1964
Reel   4 Folder   73	Neshoba County (Philadelphia, Mississippi) - Correspondence, Memoranda, Reports, 1964-1965
Reel   4 Folder   74	Newton County: Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party Project Report, 1965 August
Reel   4 Folder   75	Political Organization (MFDP, CORE, SNCC) - Memoranda, 1964-1965
Reel   4 Folder   76	Poor People's Corporation - Memorandum, undated
Reel   4 Folder   77	Poverty, War on - Correspondence and Memoranda, 1964-1965 Scope and Content Note: Includes (1) “ The Corinth Poverty Program: A Minority Report,” Robert U. Jones, Feb. 4, 1965; and (2) “The War on Poverty, Notes on Insurgent Response,” Students for a Democratic Society, Rennie Davis.
Reel   4 Folder   78	Press Contacts and Relations - Lists, 1963-1965
Reel   4 Folder   79	Public Accommodations Testing (Canton Restaurants) - Affidavits, 1965 February
Reel   4 Folder   80	Radio License and Manual, 1964
Reel   4 Folder   81	Rankin County Project (CORE, SNCC) - Memoranda, Reports, Affidavits, 1964-1965
Reel   4 Folder   82	Reports on Projects (Weekly by Staff) 1964 March-1965 Sep. for Camden, Canton, Gluckstadt, Pleasant, Green, Valley View, Federal Programs, Freedom Schools, Political Programs
Reel   4 Folder   83	Rural Areas Development - Reports, 1963-1964 Scope and Content Note: Includes (1) “A Better Life for Farm Families,” National Sharecroppers Fund, Feb. 1963; (2) “Federal Programs to Promote Employment and Development in Rural Communities,” M. Hayes Mizell, Southern Regional Council, Winter 1963; and (3) “Programs to Aid in the Development of Rural America,” CORE/Research, Dec. 1964.
	Schools
Reel   4 Folder   84	Desegregation - Reports and Memoranda, 1963-1965
Reel   4 Folder   85	Schools: Special Report on Southern School Desegregation (SNCC), 1966?
Reel   4 Folder   86	Scott County - Reports, 1965
Reel   4 Folder   87	Security for Staff - Memorandum, undated
Reel   4 Folder   88	Selective Buying Campaign (Madison County Movement) - Reports and Memoranda, 1964-1965
Reel   4 Folder   89	Simpson County Convention of Freedom Democratic Party - Minutes, 1964 July 26
Reel   4 Folder   90	Staff Meetings (Canton and Meridian, CORE and COFO) - Minutes 1964 Jan., Feb., Aug.-1965 April, June
Reel   4 Folder   91	Staff Meetings on Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation (ASC) Board Elections - Minutes, 1964 November
Reel   4 Folder   92	Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) - Bulletins and Memoranda, 1964-1965 Scope and Content Note: Includes (1) The Student Voice, April 1964...Aug. 1965; and (2) “SNCC: The Beginning of Ideology,” by Staughton Lynd, undated
Reel   4 Folder   93	Telephone Log, 1964 Oct. 6-Nov. 8
Reel   4 Folder   94	Violence and Harassment Summary Reports (Southern Regional Council, COFO, SNCC, CORE), 1963-1965
	Volunteers
Reel   4-5 Folder   95	Lists and Applications, 1964 summer
Reel   5 Folder   96	Ministers - Lists and Applications, 1964 summer
	Voter Registration
Reel   5 Folder   97	Memoranda and Lists, 1964-1965
Reel   5 Folder   98	Attempts - Affidavits, 1963 Aug.-1965 July
Reel   5 Folder   99	Project (Canton) - Report, 1963 August
Reel   5 Folder   100	Canvass (Canton) - Canvass Sheets, 1964 August
Reel   5 Folder   101	Welfare Cases - Correspondence and Affidavits, 1964-1965
Reel   5 Folder   102	Youth Groups (MSU, Young Democratic Clubs, Southern Negro Youth Congress) - Memoranda, 1965