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.
