Jacqueline Bernard, a New York City resident, was an active supporter of the civil rights movement. Her son Joel worked for the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) on community organizing activities in Clay County, Mississippi, and she concentrated her energies on generating support in New York for Clay County projects. Initially she worked on a family-adoption program in which she interested northern friends in adopting a Clay County family to provide them with clothing and other basic necessities. In 1966, she chaired a “Blocks for Freedom” campaign for her local Democratic Party organization. The campaign raised funds for the purchase of cement blocks to construct a fire-proof building for the Una Sewing Co-op in Clay County. Mrs. Bernard also publicized the Clay County movement's need for general financial aid.
