THE STUDENT VOICE VOL. 5 NO. 19 STUDENT VOIC E. INt;. 6 Ra ymond S tree t , N . W. Alla n ia. Georgia 303 14 AUGUST 5, 19f4

FOP BLASTS MISS. DEMO CONVENTION

lic . the Freedom Democratic Party issued a statement calling the convention "the greatest ex­ample of hypocritica l polir.tcal expediency in A merican his­tory."

JACKSON, MISS. - In an ob­vious an empt to s idestep a pre­convent ion clash with the national party, Mississippi' s all-white Democratic Party named lUlin­st r ucted delega tes to the na ­t ional convention and took steps [0 place both pledged and un- " By resolving that in Seprem­pledged e lector s on the ballot ber both pledged and unpledged in November. e lectors will be placed on the

Immediate ly afte r the ccnven- ballot , the Miss issippi party hop­tion' s dec is ions were m ade pub- es [ 0 te mpt the na tional par ty

..... _____________ ~ with at least the poss ibility of

Ark. Workers Face their supporting the nationa l can­didates in November. But this transparent ruse was used io1960 While Harassment and it Is common knowledge that at that time the Mis siSSippi par­ty threw its whole we ight behind

AT NEW YORK MEETING From left to right, Bayard Rustin ; Greenberg of the Lega l Defense Fund, Inc •• Whitney Young. Urban League; James Farmer of CORE : Roy Wilkins of the NAACP; Dr. Martin Luther King . Jr.; J ohn Lewis . SNCC Chairman; A. P hilip Randolph. of "the Negro A me ric an Labor Council; and Cour tla nd Cox . SNCC Program Director.

ISNCC, CORE Refuse Action Moratorium HELENA, ARK. - Voter re-

gis t rat ion worke rs from SNCC the unpledged electors and de- NEW YORK, N. Y. - The Stu- of SNCC to di sc uss s icuations in nounced the na t ional candidates," have faced constant har ass- dent Nonviolent Coordina ting individua l Negro communities in

mellt f.CUllJ police off Ic1als and r--------------i Comm ittee (SNCC) and CORE which we are not work ing." other whites here . have refused to sign a s tatement When asked why SNCC had

Negroes fr iendly with SNCC HOLLY SPR INGS, MISS - Sum- calling for a moratorium on ac- refrained from s igning the anti-workers have been warned not to mer volunteer Wayne Yancey,21, tion protests until after the demonstration state me nt, Lewis house them. and policemen have of Chicago, was killed in a hend- November e lection. T he sta te- sa id "We arc conducting a mas­encouraged Negroes to run white on automobile collision Aug. 1. ment was signed by NAACP head s ive voter r egistration campaign SNCC staffers out of town. Roy Wllkins. Dr. Martin Luthe r in Southwest Georgia , Centr al Yancey was working in Holly

Bill Hansen, director of the Springs and Marshall County. King, Jr. , Urban League head Alabama, East Arkansas and Arkansas Project, reported the He attended Cooley Vocational WhiOley Young and Negro labor throughout the state of Mississ-fo loowing incidents : High School in Chicago. and had leader ' A. P hilip Randolph. ipp i. In the South and throughout

• a carload of white men A second s tatement. condemn- thi s countr y in communities like finished three years at Mobile threatened SNCC worker Lar- Economy School in Ann Arbor , ing violence and the panic ipa- Harlem, Negr oes must be allow-ry Siegel Mich. tion of " extremists " in the civ il ed [0 protest, for they are very • a policeman told a local He had been ac tive In civil rights movement wa s signed by fru s tra ted. despera te and r est-Negro that whites didn ' t allow r ights in Chicago, and had been NAACP, SCLC. the Urban Lea- less. Ther e is a need for some Negroes in their neighbor- an -e!?ted there sever al times. gue , Randolph and CORE . SNCC sort of crea tive expression." hoods and Negroes shouldn"t Cha irman John Lewis r efused to The state ment was proposed

allow white s In the irs. "'~:'::::::':;----1~S~i~g~n,;" ~S~a~y~in~g~'~' ;.;.~i=s~n~o~t~t!h:e~po~l~ic~y~~C~O~N~T~IN:U~E~D~O~N~P~A~GiE~'~4~':::~ • a judge at a tria l of a white ' FOP spokesmen sa id. man who assaulted a Negr o Some regular Democrats had during an integra tion attempt been expected [0 ask for de le-ordered some Negr oes to ga tes pledged to Republic an can-leave the courtroom. didate Barry Goldwater. • gr oups of white men have The Freedom Democr atic Par-bee n ma king night-time vi s it s ty is planning to challenge the to the home of a l oca l Negr o all-white MiSSiss ippi regulars at who houses SNCC wQ r kers . the convention in Atlantic C ity. Telephone threats have been The FOP has rece ived support rece ived from nine Northe rn s tate dele-• a Negro home was shot into gations, and thi s week. Georgia' s, five times. only Negro Senator, A tcorney Le ­

Local Negroes ha ve r eported roy J ohnson, announced he would " mostly unsuccessful" attempts support the FOP. J ohnson is to enter all white public places. one of four Negr oes named a even after the passage of the 1964 delegate to the convention from Civil Rights Act. Geor gia .

Operating from a c entral office The FOP 2nd Congressional in Pine Bluff . SNCC worker s Dis trict Convention was he ld this ar e organizing thr oughout the Delta portion of the s ta te. CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

... and the search continues TheL~1\ tltifwty (Miss.) not [0 be lieve what they r ead

Messenger has printe<1' ,,~ ... jJ:>otL. Hwti'6illf'i" ii .... .-,.l,e highlight s of ~ea.rel 1It1111G ~unllMM ~~ anJoJ!t~~ltVst continuing for three C iVillJii'~S.1 pe'!ll~ f.! tf..~ na tion ••• lle r e i s workers misstftlWlfNe fr<>ltl OutffttmG, PftIltS"1h County s ince June !l:- • blac k a'rE white . go where they

The Mes senger .says: "The please. when the y plea se, in com­sear c h by the Navy for the las t plete safety and withoutdanger." "FreedQm Riders ' i s r idic ulous to the exCreme. It is not a search, jus t an aimless random r ide up and down country roads. Oc­casionally a few will wa lk 10 or 15 yards off the r oad and kick ove r a leaf and say 'Well, they aren't her e .' ..

They (the sa ilor s) wr ite home­foU~ s in all 50 staces te lling them

"Annoyance on the base has resulted in the wea ring of a new ser vice ribbon, s imila r to those given out for battle participation.

"White bar. bl ack bar, white bar. with 'Miss isSippi Search' underneath. We under s tand even some of the officer s ar e wearing them ."'

PAGE 2 AUGUST 5, 1964

EEDOM SCHO ther s and sIsters of the 110 high school students who walked out of school when four of their number were arr esteu on a s it-in charge at the Greyhound hus sta tion in 1961.

"1 think the Fl'cedom School is inspiring the people to lend a 1t,IJld in the fight, " Fea ther­stone reports . "The older peo­ple ar e looking to the young people, ,mel theil' cOllrage, is rubbing off. The school makes the kiLls fee l they ha ve n' t been forgutten. It makes them fed that at last something is coming down to help them. The y fee l the school is for them:'

" 1 am Mississippi bred, 1 am Mississippi f ed,

The McCoinb school swrted in the backyard of the SNCC Free­dom. House a week after it was bombed. For one week, stlldents conducted c lasses in the blister­ing hea t only yards away from the spot where three explosions ripped away one wu ll . Now they al'e in a church.

I asked for your c hurches , and YOLI turned me down,

But I'll do my work if I have to do it on the ground,

YOli will not speak fur filar of be ing heard,

So YOll crowl in you shell and say, " Do not distrub,"

YOll th ink because you've turn­ed me (lwa y.

You' ve protected yourself Cor another day.

Bue tomorrow surely will come, A nd your enemy will sUll be

there with the r ising sun, He'll be there tomorrow as all

tomorrows in the past, And he 'll follow YOLI into the

future if you le t him pass.

*u from a poem by JOYCE: Brown, 16, Freedom School pupil in McComb, Mississ ippi

This poem was written by a 16-year old Negro girl in McComb Miss. She and approx imate ly 1,825 other Negroes -- child­ren , teen-agers and adults - - ar e attending the 39 F reedom Schools of the Miss iss ippi Sum ­mer Projec t, sponsored b,)' the Council of Federated Organi­za t ions (COFO). a statewide organiza tion of local groups a id­ed by fie ld secr etar ies of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). CORE. NAA ­C P. and the Southern Chr istian Leadership Confe r e nce . T hese s tudents -- go ing to " school" in c hurches. private homes, and backyards are team­ing Negro hi s tory , civ ics , t\ mcrican history , art s and crafts dl-ama , music , English, arith­metic , algebr3 ::l.lld chemistry

They are being tallght by 250 Negro and white summer volun­teers from 40 states in schools which have been se t lip in every Mississippi city or town of con­s iderable s ize , as well as in rur<ll counf. ips whe r e Negroes have been shot to dea th for at­tempting to registel' to vote.

Project coordinators state that the Freedom School program is an unqual ified success. Rev. rhom as Wallman, a coordinator )f religious activities at New York University, and a Freedom School coordinator, terms the project a " completely lUlexpected .,henomenon." Despite the fear Nhich prevails in most Negro communities throughout the sta­te , " several are demand ing that COFO come in and set up school s/' says Wahman.

Ralph Featherstone , a 25-year ~ld Negro speech teacher fr om Washington, D.C., is dir ec tor of the McComb Freedom School. Featherstone expla ins that the open ing of the school was de­layed for two we_eks aicer thr ee civil r ights wor kers disappear­ed in Philadelphia, Miss. and advance scouts prepared the way in the dangerous Sou thwest area of MiSSiss ippi .

But Fea the rstone found the stu­dents ready and wa iting. In fact, Feathcr s tone says , "They 'd ;leard about the school and they ~e lt left out because we d idn ' t arrive on t ime."

Now the registration in Mc­comb is up to lOS , with a daily a ttendance of 75. Many of the s tudents are the younger bro-

The I lattiesburg Freedom School system (there are five) ha s the highest regis'tration and the most v<lried curr icula in the state. Some 575 yOWlg people and adults attend morning and evening classes in the usual aca­demic subjects, plus music pro­grams, discussion groups , slide exhibitions, and.1n classes. Three of the five school s nre putting out a newspaper , and Mrs. Carolyn Reese, a Negro Detroit school teacher and admi.nistra­tor of the Haniesburg Freedom Schools, ceport s tha t the other two will begin putting theirs out soon.

To wlderstand what the Free­dom School s mean to those at­tending them , it i s first neces­sa r y to wlderstand severa l facts about the r egular system of edu­c ation in Mississ ippi.

The Miss issippi educa tional system is gea red to teac h the Miss issippi Way of Life : Dissent is hel'esy. Ignorance is safer than inquiry. Fear pervades the academic atmosphel'e.

Example : in the spring of 1961 , a number of Negro students in J ackson were expe lled from (Ne­gro) higl1 school because they stooel up in the ir classrooms and inquired pointedly .:tbout the Freedom Rides and their s ignifi­cances.

Example: More them 800 s tu­dents at Alcorn A&M College (Negro) in Southwest Mississippi were cossed out of school in the .:>~rillg of 1964 by the college pl'e-

nothing bitt

Mississippi slave, ... siden t because they protes ted soc ial conditions on the cam-pus . The preSident enli s ted the aid of the muc h-feared Miss-iss ippi Highwa y Patrol to load the students into busses so that the:! could be sent home wi thout evo;p the oppol'tunity to co llect the ir bel ongings .

Example : al so during this spr ing, an issue of the student newspaper a t the University of Southern Mississippi (white) was confisca ted by campus police lll­del' the direc tion of school pre­sident W.D. McCa in because it can -ied an article about the school administration ' s r efusa l to grant admi ss ion to <I Negro applicant. (rvlcCain is a strong s uppon er of the White Citizen ' s

VOICE AUGUST 5, 1964 PAGE 3

)LS ISSISSIPPI

poor black boy. "1 am a

Council. and an advisory board member of the Patriotic Ameri­can Youth. a campus youth or­ganization which shares space with the John Birch Society in a Jackson bookstore. He also received a special commenda­tion from the state legislature for refusing adm ittance for the fifth time to John Frazier, a stu­dent at predom inantly Negro Tougaloo College.

There are many other such ex­amples of suppression of swder,[ rights, and even offaculty r ight s , e.g., the constant persecution of Ole Miss Professor . James W. Silver. However. what is even more chilling is the econo­my of school segrega tion in Miss-

i ssippi . Despite the fact that Alabama

spends less per pupil, black and white , than any state in the na­tion. the expenditure in the Miss­issippi Delta is even less. More important. the di sparity betweer. funds spent per white student and funds spent per black student is even greater.

In Mississippi, the county ap­propriates funds for education --- accor ding to its own budgel --- in addition to the funds con-tributed by the s tate. The fol­lowing is the county appropria­tion. above the state min imum. for in~on per p'lpil in 1960-61: North Pike County (44. % non-white)

(McComb)

white Negro

South Pike COLUUY (Magnolia)

white •••• Negro ••••

Forrest Counry (28% non white)

• $30.89 • • • •• .76

• ••• $59.55 • • • •• 1.35

white Negro

••••• $67.76 • •• 34.19

Hattiesburg Separate

white • • • • • 0 $ll5.96 Negr o • • •• 61.69

Whites who control Mississ­ippi have little respect for edu­cation. but use it unscrupulously to prevent Negroes from obtain­ing the basic de mocratic dght. the right to vote.

For instance. while the State Penitentiary Reform Bill was s till in the Senate. Sen. Howard McDonnell of Biloxi proposed an amendment which would require that the superintendent of the penitentiary have two years of college educa tion. Foes of the amendment said the requirement would force the ouster of the pre­sent superintendent. C.Eo Brea­zeale . The amendment fa iled McDonnell then asked that theSu­perintendent be required to have a high school education. That a­mendment was also defeated.

Yet, the Mississippi legisla­ture ha s established voter re­gistration requirements which lawyers contend would be ex­tremely difficult for anyone with­out a law deg r ee to pass , if the

... •... I will be buried in a Mississippi grave,

nothing but a poor dead boy." o •• These words were penned

by a 13-year-old youngster , tests are honestly admin istered.. , ~hers for the month of AUgUSl

The Freedom .schOols are a and expects that schools in five

war aga inst this academic pro­verry. It is not just the cour­ses provided, but the fact that the schools are a focal point for personal expression against the oppress ion, on the one hand, and for personal growth and creativ­ity, on the other. The regular Mississippi school s are funda­mentally opposed to this ap­proach.

Mrs. Reese says, "The Free­dom Schools mean an exposure to a totally new field of learning new attitudes about people, new attitudes about self, and abo ut the right to be dissatisfied with the status quo. The children have had no conception that MissiSSippi is a part of the Uni­ted States ; their view of Ameri­can history is history with no Negroes in it. It's like making a cake with no butter 0"

Mrs. Reese e xplains that "M iss i ssippi has sold itse lf short. There are many good minds here which are be ing used as sacrifi­:::ial lambs. The children are alert and eager to learn . If they had something to learn, they'd be happy to learn it:'

Both Mrs. Reese and Feather­stone find them selves faced with the lUlexpected problem of a pu­pil-teacher ratio which is grow­ing too large. Mrs. Reese tells of one teacher who is so popular that he r class has increased from IS to 27 students -- who come every day. Wahm an is now re­cruiting an additiona l 100 tea-

new communities will be opened then.

Both Fea therstone and Wahman point to the Negro history cur­ric ulum as possibly the most valuable legacy of the Freedom Schools this summer. "Th~ only thing our kids knew about Negro history," Feather stone says, "is about Booker T . Washington and George Washington Carver and his peanuts."

But subjects like chemistry and algebra are also popUlar. Fea­ther s tone told by pupils in the McComb school that Negro child­ren are taught algebra in high school, but white -children begin the subject in the sixth grade •. Wahman says that when the che­mistry teacher left the Gulfport Freedom School, his 15 students also left in protest, and return only when another was sent into the school.

Mrs. Reese gives an idea what the Hattiesburg schools are ac­complishing : "The children are learning that somebody is sup­posed to listen to them. They are writing letters to the editor of Hatt iesburg newspapers, and learning where to direct their complaints .. A t first, the child­ren were somewhat awe-stricken with the white teachers, at their whiteness, their hair, but many are learning to appreciate them as hum an beings. "When you get an appr eciation of yourself, then you can put the other indi­vidual into hi s proper focus."

PAGE 4 _~~ _ _ ~-=-=::-:::A~U_G~US.:-=-.:T....:..5':.-I:.:%.::.:4' _ ___ _ ___ _ _ T::=-_ ___ ..!S~lUr:t:!!D~EN~T~V~O)!I:C:C~E

SHOOTINGS, BEATINGS, BOMBINGS AND BURNINGS CHUtCHES DESTtOYfD

BRANDON, MISS - The four­teenth church burning since the Summer Proje"cu began was re­poned here July 31.

The Pleasant Grove Bapti st Church on Highway 80 three mil­es from here was burned to the grolUld.

Unlike some recent church burn ings in the s tate , Pleasant Grove had been connected with civil rights activity.

A Mrs. Palmer. whose gr and­father built the c hurch and was the first pastor sa id she had made speeches about the Miss­issippi Summer Project at the church. Other reports indicated, however. that there had been no civil rights activity connected with the destroyed building.

Fire offic ials from Brandon sa id the church was destroyed so badly when they arrived, they could do nothing to sa ve it.

Churches have been burned in McComb. J ackson. Madison COWlty. near Greenwood, in Hat­tiesburg and Moss Point.

In Meridian. the MOWlt Moriah Bapti st Church was discovered July 30 burned to the ground.

Deputy Sher~ Alton Allen said there was no 'evidence of foul play~

There have been no arrests in any of the church burnings.

NIGHTtlDEtS ATTACK BATESVILLE, MISS. - N ight­

riders fired three shots past the home of a Negro who Is housing two volunteers in theMississippi Summer Project July 31.

Kathy Amatnick. 20, a volun­teer. reported the shots were fired around 11: 30. No one was injured.

The owner of the home. Robert Miles. had received threats. and on July 25, his home was tear­ga ssed.

During the past week, 100 P an­ola County Negroes wer e regi s t­ered. The Justice Department was successful in initiating a "freeze" suit in Panola . demand­ing that registration s tandards for white s and Negroes be the same.

OffICE SHOT AT GREENWOOD, MISS - Shots

were fired into the SNCC office Aug. 1 and a 93-pound swnmer volunteer was ::.rreste d f or assault with a deadly weapon.

Carol K-ornile ld, 21, of Bayside, N.Y •• was held under $1,000 bail in the Leflore County J ail.

She allegedly threw a brick through the window of a store owned by Greenwood Policel7,an " Slim" Hender son. Henderson pulled a pregnant woman along a Greenwood street during a Free­dom Day two weeks ago. (See July 22 SlUDENT VOICE)_ Three other local Negroes

were al so jailed Aug. 2. and a local volunteer worker, J ohn Handy, ", was beaten in the jail AUg. I.

Handy, who was char ged with

and policemen drive through the Negro neighborhoods "making arrests for little or no reason:'

VOLUNTEEtS IEATEN CARTHAGE, MlSS~ - A sum­

mer volunteer and a Iowa min­is ter were beaten in a doctor's office near here July 31~

John Polacheck. the volunteer, and Rev. Edward K. He ininger. from Des Moines, Iowa. report­ed they were attacked in the of­fice of a white doctor in Mad­den. 12 miles from here.

Rev. Heininger said the doc­tor asked him if he was" s tay­ing with those Negroes in Ha r­mony" where a carom unity cen­ter is being built by local Ne­groes.

While they we r e speakbtg. Heininger said, "I was suddenly hit from behind; at the same time they were hitting me with their fists and the doctor was pushing me from the front into the people who were hitting me:'

Between five and 10 men did the bea ting, he said.

Both Heininger and polacheck were arres ted and charged with disturbing the peace. They were

reieased on $100 bond.

"disorderly conduct:' said in a NOT E TO OUR READERS sworn statement Greenwood po-licemen beat and kicked him and If you are receiving more than tore his three-inch beard out one STUDENT VOICE, or if your with their hands . address is incorrect. please let

MRS, FANNIE LOU HAMER

MISS, DEMOCRATS CONTINUED FROM P AGE I weekend in Greenville.-

The party received additional support from Massachusetts De­mocrats . who ar e al ready on r e­cord - with Democr atic groups from eight other states - against the seating of the regular De­mocrats. A t least six mem ber s of the delegation from Massachu­setts "have publicly s tated their support for the seating of MFDP.

Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer of Ruleville. who opposed Repre­sentative J amie Whitten of the 2nd Dis trict , is touring Northern states seek1ng support for the party.

The party has established an office in Washington, at 1353 U Street, N. W.

ACTION TRUCE us know.

"They threw me up against the t--:::::~==~=-----~ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 concrete wall," Handy said. " I was wearing a rather long THE STUDENT VOICE by Wilkins after recent riots

Published Once A Week t igg d in H I b th h goatee. They pluc ked it out r ere ar em yes oot-On Monday s At Atlanta, lIt' g of a 13 year old N ~o

with their hands:' - - eO"" . SNCC worker s r eport Green- By ~~~;~;~u~~ic~~' INC, A survey of local civil rights

wood is " very tense." Cars drive groups acros s the country in-6 Ray mond Street. N, W, dicated few would follow the pro-

by the office during, the night, _~Atlankl . Geo rl!ia 30314 posed ban.

In Pine Bluff. Ark., J. Albert Bagsby. president of the pine Bluff Movement. said his followers would be "guided by the local situation r ather than de­cisions reached on the national level."

Pittsburgh NAACP leaders sa id they would demonstrate tithe

~Q 'c) T-f1~~ ~ ''VQ ~H b~'t.~

local scene r equired protests. Stanley Branche. head of the

Freedom Now Committee in Chester I P a., 'sa id demonstra­tions would be continued. Bran­che said protests were lithe only way we got as far as we have.1t

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! pleMpOOM SOLS ~:::>NS !O SPUo?J~.5!.,/\~:~!gllv

'N,N 'I"'IS puowAo~ 9

Two New York leader s, the Rev. Milton Ga la mison and Jesse Gray. said Harle m protests would go on. The ir sentiments were echoed by Br onx CORE leader Herbert Callender, who said " as long as unjus t conditions exist we will demonstrate."