I Bid You a Very Heartfelt Good Night

"I bid you a very heartfelt good night." *(See September 19th note below--and the October 6 note with a link to my new blog.)

Millions heard those words from Johnny Carson as he ended the final show of his 30 year career (it's hard to believe that was in 1992). Those words seemed like good ones to use for the title of my last "A Slice of Frank's Life" post. Of course my post is going out to about ten people instead of millions.

To say that the blog has "fallen victim" to my photography would be inaccurate. The time I spend on the photography is my choice and when things have dropped out of my life, such as tennis, travel, reading, television, and now the blogging, it is me choosing to reallocate my time in a different direction. These reallocations may be difficult ones to make, but they are the result of me weighing what I enjoy, what I want to accomplish, where I think there are needs, and what gives me a sense of satisfaction at the end of the day.

I've really enjoyed writing this blog for the last three and a half years, especially over the last couple of years when it focused on photos and a wide variety of subjects. Admittedly, it should have continued to focus a little more on the diet aspect which started it all, but maybe now I'll have some extra time to do something about losing the weight instead of writing about what needs to be done.

The enjoyment of writing the blog has centered around having enough time to write. That often means two or three hours an evening by the time I look up information, write and rewrite, find photos to post, look for appropriate links to supporting information, etc. The end result may not look like it has taken several hours, but I've said over and over that writing isn't a skill that comes naturally to me. It takes a lot of time and work to distill my thoughts into what you read here.

It's become evident that the time needed to write this blog vanished starting on September 1st, the first day of this year's Millsaps photo project. As mentioned yesterday, there are currently photos from four sporting events and two other events that need to be edited. There's a football game this Saturday followed by a Junior Varsity game on Monday. Maybe I could do the photos and the blog if the blog posts were reduced to a photo and a paragraph--except that the point and pleasure of the blog is lost if I'm not writing about bigger events and thoughts. Maybe I could do the photos and the blog if I cut way back on the Millsaps photography--except that my vision of the Millsaps project is lost if I cut way back on the photos.

There are a handful of you who have been reading the blog from the start. I'm extremely grateful for your readership and also for those of you who have joined in since that beginning. The blog has been a positive thing for me, but it wouldn't have lasted long without readers. I certainly hope that the blog has been a positive thing for you, not necessarily every day because I've written my fair share of lousy posts, but from time to time I hope there has been a photo that you've enjoyed and a post that was somewhat entertaining or informative. It wasn't the best writing ever, just the best I had to offer.

And now that I've spent the last 15 minutes or so trying to come up with an ending, I guess nothing could be more appropriate than to end the blog the way I end most of my emails--thanks again and take care,

Frank.

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* (Note added October 6th--Okay, I changed my mind. Not doing the blog was putting a big hole in my life so I started a new blog that is both similar and different to "A Slice of Frank's Life". I think you'll like it and hopefully you will check it out at: fle-pics (and fle-thoughts) (that internet address is: http://fle-pics.blogspot.com/ )

* (Note added September 19th--Okay, some of you might have checked back thinking that I'd change my mind and start blogging again. You are partially right. I'm still doing the weight loss blog that has gone under 6 or 7 different names, writing more about trying to lose weight just like you would find in the posts from 2006 on this blog. ALSO, there's a "Blogging Below the Line" section where I throw in stuff that catches my interest and isn't about dieting. It wasn't suppose to be a lot of extra writing, just a thought or two every now and then, but you know how I get carried away all the time.

That blog has really become "A Slice of Frank's Life--Lite" without the photos. I'm not sure if anyone would find that interesting and since there's no sitemeter option on that blog, I don't know if more than a couple of people are reading. Maybe it's better if I don't know the number of hits. If you do want to check it out, here's the link to my other blog.)

A Variety of Things

The same photo with two different croppings. I was shooting into the sun and couldn't see the LCD display when I took this shot. I'm sure the camera could have been angled in a way to get rid of the slight glare out of the first version, but that would have involved getting my face up close to the bee. I wasn't THAT determined to get a great shot.

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I really enjoyed writing yesterday's post about the movie "Inglourious Basterds". Spending time reading the different reviews, checking out various websites, coming up with some writing that wasn't great but somewhat near the best of my ability. I especially liked the ending about the crap in a can, hoping that some would tied it in with the film terminology of a finished film being described as "in the can".

The opportunities to write posts like that will might be a little scarce in the weeks to come. They take most of the evening and rare will be the evening when I can ignore working on photos. I have 2 volleyball games and 2 soccer games that are basically untouched. This Saturday there will be another football game and next Monday will be the first Junior Varsity football game. Not to mention the photos from the birthday party last Saturday and the music photos from New Stage the previous Saturday. It doesn't leave much time for writing one big post, so for a while we'll have more posts with multiple blurbs. While they aren't as satisfying to write, you might actually find them more interesting. Let us start:

-----From the "Art for Art's Sake" blog, I enjoyed this post on Top 100 Songs--All Time Favourites. How does one even begin to make such a list? I'm not sure if I could come up with my top 100 singers/groups of all time. He has "Perfect Day" as his only Lou Reed pick--I like that choice. He represented Janis Ian with "Jesse", "Stars", and "At Seventeen". Love them all but can any artist claim 3 top songs out of 50 years of music and how does one ignore the social impact of "Society's Child"? David Bowie got 2 songs, the relatively obscure "Life on Mars?" and "Ashes to Ashes". Again, songs I like but if going with slightly obscure Bowie, my pick would be "Putting Out Fire With Gasoline" which was featured in "Inglourious Basterds" and many years ago in the movie "Cat People". That song would definitely be near the top of my list of favorite 100 David Bowie songs of all time--that's a list I might be able to compile even though Bowie sure has a lot of good albums and great songs.

-----Here's another link, this one being a photo gallery from the Backyard Brawl on the Metromix website. There were taken by a local singer who has been featured on this blog and he has even suggested that I make a little money by covering some events for Metromix. It's a different type of photo shoot and I find it interesting to watch Scott when he is covering one of these events. He roams around asking people to pose for shots, takes a few photos of the event, and then he is out of there. No time wasted getting names, no time spent trying to get a lot of photos of the band or game--just a very efficient routine to get some photos and get out of there.

Nothing wrong with that approach and apparently it's exactly what the Metromix website wants, even down to all of the tilted horizons that I hate so much. It's just not something I would want to do. I'm not sure if my mindset is cut out for the business of taking photos.

-----This story about Texas DNA Exonerees Find Prosperity After Prison recently caught my eye. It's a story about states that compensate people who have been falsely imprisoned. Texas is leading the way with compensation of $80,000 for each year spent in prison, a sum that has amounted to close to $2,000,000 for several former prisoners. There's also a lifetime annuity that pays $40-50,000 a year for most of prisoners released.

Would I spend 25 years in prison for a $2,000,000 payout and a nice lifetime pension? No way! From that angle, it seems like a fair payment for an error made by the state. And yet, there's something about these programs that makes me think they are opening a real can of worms. With the size of the potential payout, I could see law firms specializing in getting cases reopened. The prisoners would get their freedom, the lawyers get the payout money. Maybe that's not a bad thing, maybe some folks who got sent to prison because of bad lawyers or unkind court systems will now get a fair day in court. But maybe it will also clog up court systems that can hardly handle the influx of new cases. My gut feeling tells me that this program is going to spin off into things that were never intended when the laws were passed. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out over the years to come.

Inglourious Basterds = Incredibly Boring

"Inglourious Basterds", the latest movie by Quentin Tarantino, is loved by the critics. This Rotten Tomatoes Movie Review website shows that 88% of the reviews are positive, close enough to say that 9 out of 10 critics give it a thumbs up. Here's a sample of what the top critics think:

-----"Will Basterds polarize audiences? That's a given. But for anyone professing true movie love, there's no resisting it." Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

-----"Quentin Tarantino's extremely witty revenge fantasy Inglourious Basterds may be the most fun you'll have at the movies this summer." Lou Lumenick, New York Post

-----"When a man makes a movie this good, you can forgive him the occasional indulgence." Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily Post

-----"These Basterds blend into a much richer story, a hugely entertaining one with stars you don't immediately see shining." Peter Howell, Toronto Star

-----"The outcome is gory and glorious." Claudia Puig, USA Today

-----"Inglourious Basterds is a social marker as startling as Easy Rider was in its day." J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

-----"Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds is a big, bold, audacious war movie that will annoy some, startle others and demonstrate once again that he’s the real thing, a director of quixotic delights." Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

-----"By turns surprising, nutty, windy, audacious and a bit caught up in its own cleverness, the picture is a completely distinctive piece of American pop art with a strong Euro flavor that's new for the director." Todd McCarthy, Variety

Okay, a lot of very smart people who make a living judging films say that "Inglourious Basterds" is a great movie. When Mother and I saw the film last Thursday, the two of us making up 40% of the audience, we both thought the movie was dreadful. I can't speak for the remaining 60% in attendance, but that trio never made a sound of laughter or anything else that would indicate a connection with the film. (By the way, my 85-year old mother is no longer driving and she requested that I take her to this show specifically because it was a Quentin Tarantino film. The last movie she requested to see was "The Wrestler" with Mickey Rourke, a movie we both loved as did 98% of the critics.)

This huge difference of opinion between myself and the critics is something that fascinates me. Regardless of what anyone else may think, I know that I'm a pretty smart guy. I know my mother is a film lover and it's extremely rare that she watches a movie and finds nothing redeeming about the time spent. How is it that we could watch a film and be so disappointed while others are enamored by the film's brilliance? Exploring that question has at least provided me the entertainment and thought process that I found missing from the film. Here's my guess about this wide difference of opinion.

First, I do think the fear of criticising Tarantino is a factor. Hey look, if my profession was that of movie critic I would have jumped on that Tarantino train as well. There is an Emperor's New Clothes factor about him and discounting his brilliance might be seen as a confession that one isn't smart enough to recognize his brilliance. I feel sure this is a factor, but not the only factor.

Maybe what the critics love is the craft of making the film. The opening scene is supposedly a brilliant job of film making in a confined space, in this case a small farm house. This is something a critic might love and it is totally lost on me. This opening scene has some wonderful acting, primarily between a German soldier and the farmer. I can see where a critic would love the word play back and forth, but ultimately this scene goes about 15-20 minutes to establish a plot element that could have easily been accomplished in less than 5 minutes. The excessive 15 minutes or so are well done but have absolutely nothing to do with any other part of the movie.

I guess that's where the critics differ so much with what I saw on the screen. It's like Tarantino came up with 7 or 8 scenes that almost feel like a bunch of one act plays. There's the scene at the farm house. The scene of the Inglourous Basterds training and later in the woods with captives. There's the scene in the tavern. The scene outside the movie theatre. The scene inside the movie theatre. Etc, etc. There's really no flow at all and there's no feel of connection between the various pieces.

Tarantino's movie "Pulp Fiction" jumped from scene to scene but they all had some pace to them and then all wove together into a complete fabric. The 2005 movie "Crash" was the same way, with seemingly unrelated stories coming together into a powerful conclusion. Go way back to Robert Altman's "Nashville" in 1975 and I love the way pieces of the puzzle worked their way to a focal point. "Inglourious Basterds" really only has two story lines and those two never really mesh. It's a story line that's just a mish-mash mess from start to finish.

Alright. One last thing about why I didn't like the movie and then I would love to hear comments and opinions from others who have seen the movie--and I'm not looking for people to confirm my opinion. I realize my viewpoint is very much in the minority amongst those who have written about this film. The last point about the movie that really bugged me is that Tarantino was just so lazy in drawing up anything that's credible.

I will accept a lot of things in a movie that obviously wouldn't happen in reality. For example, I'll accept that the National Guard wasn't called out when the Joker and Batman were destroying half of Gotham City. I'll accept that people can travel in time like in the Terminator movies or the Back to the Future series, etc. Maybe I'll even accept that Brad Pitt with a gosh awful Tennessee accent plus 8 Jewish soldiers could operate undetected in Nazi occupied France. That being said, the big scene at the movie theatre was ridiculous. I don't want to give away the story, but I think it's okay to say that there's a scene where many high ranking Germans are gathered at a theatre and that's the target for the Inglourious Basterds. Naturally security is tight so this will call for a Mission Impossible type plan--oh wait. No need to write anything clever if you just assume the Germans would post security on par with the concession stand workers at your local theatre, maybe even less security than the typical movie theatre.

It's like Tarantino wasn't even trying by the end of the movie. Actually, what it really felt like was Tarantino taunting the critics, putting together a totally ridiculous ending and daring anyone to have the nerve to call his bluff. The more I think about it, I have trouble seeing this film receiving many positive reviews if it was the work of anyone besides Tarantino. It's like Tarantino is Hollywood's version of Piero Manzoni, the artist who could put crap in a can and still have the critics call him brilliant.

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(PS--It's easier to write a PS than to rework the post--let's keep in mind that all these posts are quickly written and therefore are often ideas that are in progress, not fully developed. I've only written about how my views differ from the majority of the critics. My views also differ with some in the viewing public who have loved it. I don't know if those who love it are in the majority or minority.

I wanted to know if David and Suzy had seen the movie since I greatly trust their movie opinions. They had not, but said both sons (ages about 17 and 20) had seen it, like it, and thought their parents wouldn't like it. I heard on the sports show "Mike and Mike in the Morning" where one Mike said he like the movie and thought the other Mike would dislike it.

There's no right or wrong here. People like something or they don't. People have different views regarding music, books, politics, religion, etc, and I don't see other people as being wrong if their tastes and opinions differ from mind. Mostly I am interested in why their views differ. Maybe they can open my eyes to something I just don't see, either about the subject itself or about how different people view the same thing in multiple ways.

I'd really like to know what people think about this film. It seemed long and dull to me (maybe like this post), silly without being humorous, and while the scenes might have been well crafted, they all fit together so poorly that it seemed like Tarantino didn't care about the overall movie, just his building blocks. Some of you might read this and wonder how long I've been brain dead because you thought just the opposite. I especially hope those people will leave a comment. We all learn far more about a subject when we are willing to listen to differing opinions.)

The Photos Made Me Do It

Some photos from the birthday party of my grandniece Emerson who just turned 1. Emerson is the one with the bow on top in most of her photos. Emerson's older sister is Charley, dressed as Snow White but insisting that she is Sleeping Beauty (or do I have that backwards). And the last two photos include one of Mother and another of my niece Erica helping Emerson eat cake--it really wasn't as messy as anticipated.

Yesterday's post said today's post was going to be a movie review. That will have to wait and it's the photos to blame. It's 10:35 pm and I've just finished editing the football photos. They are now being uploaded to Smugmug and that will take a while with my slow DSL Lite internet connection. I only went out one time today and that was to help Mother with a small task. Otherwise, it has been a day of sitting at the computer. Mostly it was editing photos, but then come the little things like finding and emailing some photos for the Millsaps student newspaper. Helping make a contact between a parent who took football photos Saturday and has posted them on the internet, and a parent who knows how to the get the info about the photos to the other parents. There's always little stuff that adds up to a substantial time commitment.

My Smugmug uploading still has 230 of 345 photos to go. That 345 photos that I ended up with from Saturday comes from almost 1,200 photos taken. It was a night game which means a shutter speed that's too slow for action photos and a lens that doesn't reach enough to cover much of the field. I knew before the game that the majority of my photos wouldn't be good enough to keep. The problem I'll have in the future is when taking 1,200 photos at a day game and then having about 900 good photos. There's no way I can keep that many per game, but it's so hard for me to delete a decent photo. That photo is important to someone and I need to get it to that person--this is the attitude that gets me in trouble.

Speaking of trouble--this is a segue to a new topic--today is the day President Obama speaks to the school children. I've been very disappointed in the majority of the news coverage concerning this controversy. The uproar hasn't been about the fact that the President is addressing the school children, it has been about the study guide or talking points that were sent to the school teachers about things to discuss with the children after the President's speech.

That's the key issue and the focal point of the debate, and yet this AP Story about the controversy doesn't mention the study guide until the last few paragraphs and even then it doesn't report on the original text of the handout. It's sloppy journalism. Maybe intentional, maybe not--either way there's no excuse for it.

On the other hand, credit should be give to those who did present the story in a correct manner. Here's a story from the Washington Times that presents the facts and it allows the reader to decide if they think there's something to all this hubbub or if it is much ado about nothing. That's what we should get from the media in this country, a fair presentation of both sides of each issue and then the public can make up their own mind. I'm afraid that those days of journalism are in the past, assuming that they ever really existed at all.

It's 11:15 and still have 30 photos waiting to download. The loader also says there have been 18 errors. I don't want to go through all of the photos trying to figure out which didn't download. Like I said, it's the little tasks that pop up that eat up so much time. The good news it that the fall sports will be over in another 10-12 weeks--is it too early to be starting that sort of countdown?

Some Rest Before Labor Day

I took off work Friday afternoon to photograph two Millsaps volleyball games. Saturday started off with a couple of hours at a birthday party for my grandniece Emerson, her first birthday. That was followed by another volleyball game and then the Millsaps at MS College football game. Sunday afternoon the camera was back out taking photos of the home opener for the Millsaps Women's Soccer team. Six events, something in the neighborhood of 3,500 to 4,000 photos.

My Labor Day will mostly be spent editing photos. First up will be the football photos because football is king--and also because football involves well over 100 student athletes which is more than all the other fall sports combined. This photo was the first Millsaps touchdown of the game, a 3rd quarter play that narrowed a 24-3 halftime deficit to 24-10. Millsaps eventually rallied to tie the game with a 47-yard field goal on the last play of regulation. Unfortunately, they fell in the second overtime when MS College scored a touchdown after Millsaps had only scored a field goal.

After all of this volunteer work, I'm taking a break Sunday evening and watching "The Rocky Horror Show" for the umpteenth time. I'll worry about editing photos and the writing more for the blog tomorrow. I can tell you that the Tuesday post will be a review of the movie "Inglorious Basterds". I'll give my opinion and then be interested to get comments for those of you who have seen the film.

Enjoy your Labor Day--oh yeah, Monday is also the birthday of my brother Fred and of "Gang of 8" member, Dick Molpus--Happy Birthday to the two of them!

The Story Behind the Chamber Statement--July, 1964

There must be a great temptation by historical researchers to tamper with history. Think about it. Let's say you are researching Abraham Lincoln or John Kennedy or Richard Nixon. If you are interested enough to devote hundreds or thousands of hours studying a person, then you probably have a preconceived viewpoint about that person. Every person has their good moments and their bad. Every person has brilliant ideas and does wonderful deeds, but they also make errors and sometimes fail to act or act in the wrong manner. Don't you think every researchers comes across items that they would like to change just a big, or maybe forget altogether?

I had that feeling of wanting to change history when reading what's written below regarding the origin of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce statement of July 3, 1964. I wanted to rewrite it to say that a core of Jackson businessmen came together and were move by their sense of social responsibility, by their desire to see equal rights for everyone, and they employed the opening created by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to push for that equality. That would be a flight of fiction.

The executive committee of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce was a cross section of businessmen, not a group brought together in a desire to promote social changes. Their concern and the concern of the organization they represented was the health of the business community in Jackson. The statement really was mostly about what was best for the Jackson business community, and especially for the business who couldn't afford to anger their white customers and also couldn't afford to be hit with costly law suits.

Disappointed? I was. Then I realized it all made sense. Social change always seems to start with profits and losses. Countries often uses financial pressure on other countries to force behavior that is more acceptable. People angry with a television show or broadcaster put pressure on the advertisers of the show. The Civil Rights movement is full of putting pressure on communities by boycotting stores. Change often starts in the pocketbook area before it moves to the hearts of humans.

One other thing to add and this pertains to my father. When I read about all of the other things he did in the 1960's, there's no doubt in my mind that he wanted to push for social changes. Maybe that was in the back of his mind as he chaired this meeting. However, I also know something else from reading my father's letters and various other things from the early 1960's. In 1964 he had already spent two or three years, and especially two or three summers working in the background trying to keep Jackson from becoming a battleground.

There were groups on both sides ready for an all out war. I mentioned the rioting at Ole Miss earlier this week, an example of the violent potential from that side of the situation. There were also some radical black groups trying to push for riots in Jackson. A lot of the problems came from radical whites and blacks coming into Jackson from other areas, and there was a network of whites and blacks from the local community who were working hard to keep the lid on all of this potential violence. In July, 1964, I'm sure that keeping peace in Jackson was my father's top priority.

With all that said, below is the section pertaining to the Chamber statement as found in the Civil Rights Oral History given by my dad in 1965:

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(INT.): So then you were president-elect as of December, 1963.

(EZELLE): That’s right.

(INT.): You were, then, among the leadership of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce at the time they issued a statement urging compliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, were you not?

(EZELLE): That’s correct.

(INT.): Could you tell us something about the origin of that statement?

(EZELLE): Yes. Actually, I presided at both the executive and the board meeting at which the statement was adopted because Mr. Clarence Lott, who was then president, was out of town. When the civil rights law was passed, the business people in the city, particularly small businesses such as drug stores who had luncheon counters, restaurants, and motels, hotels, and so forth were particularly concerned about it. They felt that if they served someone from the Negro race, if they were tested, they would probably lose their trade with the white community, and if they did not, they faced a disastrous law suit, which most of them could not afford. And there was a great deal of concern.

These people began to take their problem to not only the Chamber of Commerce but to the mayor and to the bank presidents with whom they were doing business, and so the morning of the day the statement was issued, the executive committee of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce met with the mayor and two of the bank presidents here in Jackson—one from the Deposit Guaranty Bank and one from the First National Bank—to discuss this problem, since all three had been getting requests from people on it.

The mayor stated that he was going to have to enforce the law, that he had always stood on the stand that he enforced the law, that he had always stood on the stand that he enforced the law and that this was now the law and it would be enforced. With this understanding it was felt that it would be certainly helpful if some business organization would make a statement concerning this law, showing that it was the law of the land and should be obeyed until tested or taken up with a test case.

Therefore we issued the statement. The executive committee voted on it and then there was a board meeting in which the entire board was given an opportunity of reviewing and voting on this. At this time there was a quorum; however, there were some who were out of town and this was reviewed again a week later at the regular board meeting when those who happened to be absent were present. Again the board confirmed this stand.

(INT.): What is the size of this board?

(EZELLE): Twenty-seven members.

(INT.): Are they elected by nomination from the membership of the Chamber?

(EZELLE): Yes, they were elected on a three-year term. The board is a rotating board. One third comes on and one third goes off each year.

(INT.): How does one become a member of the Chamber of Commerce?

(EZELLE): By paying their dues.

(INT.): What, approximately, is the membership of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce?

(EZELLE): It’s over fifteen hundred members. I’m not exactly sure.

(INT.): Is it possible to characterize the membership? Do they come from largely small or large or medium sized industries or…?

(EZELLE): They come from all businesses, including doctors, dentists, and clergy. We have members from those professions.

(INT.): So, then, it would strike you as, possibly, a fair characterization to say that it represents the business community of Jackson.

(EZELLE): Very largely, yes. As far as the white community is concerned.

(INT.): Oh, yes. Do you have some impression of how the membership at large accepted the board’s issuance of the statement?

(EZELLE): Actually, there was more relief than anything else; this is particularly true among members who were under fire and many of them expressed a great deal of gratitude for it. There was some reaction. We lost a total of five members. But the mail and the telephone calls that came in were better than two to one in favorable reaction.

(INT.): Were any other courses of action besides the issuance of a statement of this kind considered in addition to or in place of this issuance of this statement to help these people?

(EZELLE): No, actually, it’s about the only thing you could do to take the pressure off them and let people know they were just obeying the law and that we had always stood for obeying the law and they should not be condemned for that. Otherwise, they felt that there was a good possibility of some condemnation coming to them individually.

(INT.): Do you have some impression of the extent to which there has been action under the Civil Rights Act—that is to say, lunch rooms integrated and so on?

(EZELLE): Well, most of them in the city are, except a few of them which have turned into private clubs. The only major exception that I know would be Primos and they are under a court suit at this time.

(INT.): Are you also a member of the Mississippi Economic Council?

(EZELLE): Yes, we have membership here in this firm.

(INT.): Did you participate in any way or are you familiar with the origin of their statement, which, as I recall, was issued somewhat after the Chamber’s statement?

(EZELLE): I’m familiar with it. I was in on the development of it. I knew about it. I was informed about it and the Jackson Chamber was informed so that, if it was issued, they hoped that we would back them up on it. And so, after it was issued, we were among the first organizations to back them up with another statement that we endorsed their statement.

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OKAY! I know some of you found this interesting and some are probably bored out of their mind with the subject. Next week we'll go back to the typical blog posts. There are some other bits of family history that I'd like to post to the blog, in particular a wonderful history written by my Belgium grandmother. Maybe I can do those on a series of Friday's instead of five straight days. We'll see.

Have a great weekend and if you are going to be at Millsaps volleyball, football or soccer this weekend, then look for me. It's going to be a very busy weekend.

Chamber of Commerce Element Our Worst Enemy

(NOTE: The following was originally posted October 25, 2007, on the Civil Rights Blog. Tomorrow I'll have more from the Oral History interview given by my father, the part that goes into the thinking behind the Chamber of Commerce statement. You know, in some ways the KKK newsletter is fairly accurate. You'll see tomorrow.)

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I was less familiar with this KKK newsletter even though I must have read it in the past when I was sorting through the box of items that Mother gave me. I'm sure the other newsletter was more firmly in my mind because of the experience of finding them in our neighborhood. What follows in italics is the newsletter, and then you'll see some notes I have added at the end:


CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ELEMENT OUR WORST ENEMY

The Holy Bible says, “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than it is for a rich man to go to heaven.” Of course, the real meaning here is that the rich live only for their money and in most cases turn back on God, Race and Country. The best example of this can be found here in the South.

In recent weeks our local newspapers have been carrying ads written and paid for by local businessmen and their Chamber of Commerce. They plead with the White people to obey the Civil Rights Laws, and to keep the peace and help quietly integrate all communities. They cannot stand the thought of losing a single dollar from any Negro boycott. In fact, they are so frightened by the thought of any Negro CORE picket line, they want to surrender in advance. They are in a big rush to hire Negro clerks, cashiers, even white collar workers, place Negroes in supervisory positions over White workers, just to appease the demands of Martin Luther King and his communist rabble.

The rich businessmen know that they can afford to live in wealthy areas of a city where the Negro cannot move, they have their rich private country clubs and golf links and swimming pools and private schools. THEY ARE SELFISH AND VICIOUS IN DEMANDING THAT THE WHITE WORKING CLASS MIX WITH BLACK UN-CIVILIZED ANIMALS JUST SO THAT THEY MAY MAKE MONEY OFF THEIR NEGRO CUSTOMERS!

It is time that we single out the main leaders of these “surrender all White Rights at any cost just so I can make money” business leaders and boycott them to the hilt. Let’s cut off their White trade and put them in the bread lines with negroes where they would like to place OUR people. SPEAK UP, WHITE MAN, TELL THESE SELL-OUT TRAITORS TO EITHER STAND AND FIGHT WITH THE WHITE RACE, OR PACK UP THEIR CARPETBAGS AND MOVE IN WITH THE NEGROES BECAUSE THEY ARE GOING TO LOSE ALL THEIR WHITE TRADE. SINCE THEIR PRINCIPLES ARE BANKRUPT, LET THEIR BANK ACCOUNTS ALSO BE BANKRUPT.

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The above is an exact copy of a recent article in the conservative publication “Thunderbolt”. We wish to point out the following: There are some different tactics being used on our local scene.

Robert L. Ezell, Jr., president of our Chamber of Commerce and Mississippi Bedding (Mattress) Co., has had a lot of people sound asleep, but not with the use of his mattresses. This motley master was a Millsaps Major in the mid 30’s, followed in a couple of years by Robert Mayo and Nat S. Rogers, and all of them follow the socialist lines. Also, there has been a “finger” in the pie in more recent years.

The Chamber, with “Big Robert” at the head, has remained primarily in the background for almost one year, or ever since they came out with their outright compliance in absolute defiance of the principles and people they are supposed to represent. The Miss. Manufactures Association and the Miss. Economic Council have been used as the somewhat open supporters of the communist-backed movement to bring about complete abolition of our Christian beliefs and way of life.

If you can recall or assemble the recent comments and announcements from our liberal press, you will readily see how many phases of activity the Miss. Economic Council has delved into (business, social, civic, churches, schools, even roads, etc.), nothing short of dictating policies to all of these organizations.

We invite and humbly request that you take notice and ask questions about “Big Robert” and this situation. There will be more, and THEN, think about these comments and announcements, and you will readily realize the seriousness of the sell-out that has taken and is taking place, and what can and will be done about it.

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Various notes from Frank:

--I assume the line about a “finger” in the pie is a reference to Ellis Finger who was the President at Millsaps College from 1952-1964.

--I’ve seen several copies of this newsletter, but none have any information regarding the date of the newsletter, where it was distributed, etc. The first half of the newsletter quotes a story from the “Thunderbolt” that must have been written in 1964 since it refers to ads placed in local newspapers. This would have been soon after the passage of the Civil Rights Law in 1964. The second half of the newsletter refers to Robert Ezelle as the president of the Chamber of Commerce and says the Chamber has been in the background for almost one year so the newsletter had to have come out in 1965.

--At first the above newsletter didn’t make much sense to me since it said "Big Robert" and the Chamber had been fairly quiet. Instead they focus on the work of the Miss. Manufacturers Association and the Miss. Economic Council. I didn’t see the connection to my father until I reread an Oral History interview that he did in the summer of 1965. Here’s part of that interview:

INTERVIEWER: Are you also a member of the Mississippi Economic Council?
EZELLE: Yes, we have membership here in this firm.
INTERVIEWER: Did you participate in any way or are you familiar with the origin of their statement, which, as I recall, was issued somewhat after the Chamber’s statement?
EZELLE: I’m familiar with it. I was in on the development of it. I knew about it. I was informed about it and the Jackson Chamber was informed so that, if it was issued, they hoped that we would back them up on it. And so, after it was issued, we were among the first organizations to back them up with another statement that we endorsed their statement.

Jackson Chamber of Commerce Statement Regarding the Civil Rights Act of 1964

(NOTE: This post originally appeared October 26, 2007 on my Civil Rights blog. I left it exactly as it appeared that day so the mention of the KKK newsletter is referring to a post made October 25, 2007. I'll reprint that KKK newsletter post tomorrow--it's a real eyeopener.)

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Photo: The above is a photo of my father in the December 8, 1964 Clarion-Ledger, announcing the start of his term as President of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce. By the way, the announcement mentions that he is the first second-generation president of the Chamber, following his father who was president in 1937. You might be able to read the headline in the center that says, "Minister Says Klan Rules Area". That's an article quoting the Rev. Clay Lee whom most of you know. He was a 34 year old minister in Phildelphia, MS at the time.

Post: It may seem backwards to have posted the KKK newsletter first, followed by the Jackson Chamber of Commerce statement. I think you'll understand my reason when you read the statement. In today's context, the statement put out by the Chamber is a racist statement and I think it helps put it into the context of 1964 by having shown how this statement was view by some in 1964 as "just to appease the demands of Martin Luther King and his communist rabble". Here's the statement which is dated one day after the signing of the Civil Rights Bill of 1964:

Policy Statement as Approved by the Board of Directors
Jackson Chamber of Commerce
Friday, July 3, 1964

In view of the passage by the Congress and the signing by the President of the Civil Rights Act, the Board of Directors of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce makes the following statement:

1) The Board of Directors of the Chamber, acting as the policy making body for this organization of business and professional people, officially opposed the Civil Rights Bill, and encouraged opposition to it during the period that it was under consideration in the Congress.

2) Now that the bill has been passed, the Chamber Board recommends that businesses affected comply with the law, pending tests of its constitutionality in court. The citizens of Jackson have earned a reputation as a law abiding community, and the business and professional leadership of the city, and our elected city officials, have always encouraged all of our people of both races to abide by the law of the land. We may not be in sympathy with all of the laws of the land, but we must maintain our standing as a community which abides by the law.

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Wow! What a stunning cry for equality for all--the Chamber was against the Civil Rights Act, the Chamber doesn't like the Civil Rights Act and we think it may be unconstitutional, but our hands are tied because we are law abiding citizens. It's interesting that this was a statement that was widely condemmed in 1964 as the talk of a liberal, communist group, and in 2007 this statement would be condemned as being racist and hateful. A lot has changed in 43 years.

Earlier this week, I thought that my version of family history must have been wrong. I thought my dad was the president of the Chamber of Commerce in 1964, and as such, he had guided this call for compliance through the Chamber. Then I discovered he was just the president-elect in 1964, so maybe I was giving him more credit than he was due. The answer to this mystery comes once again from the oral history interview done by my dad in 1965:

INTERVIEWER: So then you were president-elect as of December, 1963.
EZELLE: That's right.
INTERVIEWER: You were, then, among the leadership of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce at the time they issued a statement urging compliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, were you not?
EZELLE: That's correct.
INTERVIEWER: Could you tell us something about the origin of that statement?
EZELLE: Yes. Actually, I presided at both the executive and the board meeting at which the statement was adopted because Mr. Clarence Lott, who was then president, was out of town....

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There's a good bit more after the above, discussing the sqeeze that was being put on Jackson businesses from both sides, meetings with the mayor and a couple of the bank presidents, etc. This oral history interview is 25 pages long (double spaced) and I'll get it on the blog at some point in the future.

Let me just finish up the post and this week with a personal observation. There are places in this world today where seemingly small things are very dangerous things to do. In some places, a woman going out in public without being completely covered is risking being stoned to death. In some American neighborhoods, a youth wearing the wrong colors can be a very dangerous thing to do. In countries around the world, speaking out against the government results in time spent in jail. Small things at the wrong time and in the wrong place can be dangerous. That's what it was like in Mississippi in the 1960's. Blacks and whites meeting together, someone trying to register people to vote, an intergrated group sitting at a lunch counter, advocating that people should follow the law--normal day-to-day things that we've all done for years were acts of bravery 40+ years ago. It was a totally different world back then, a fact that has to be kept in mind when reading any of the information from that era.

Mayor Asks Compliance (Jackson, MS--July, 1964)

(Frank's note: As mentioned yesterday, looking at the past can be perplexing. How is it that women didn't always have the vote in this country? Why was there ever a need to establish child labor laws in America? How could there be such a separation between races 100 years after a war to end slavery? I have no answers to those questions.

What I know is that Mississippi and other areas of this country were ready to explode in the early 1960's. In 1962 there were 2 deaths, 175 injuries, and 212 arrest in a campus riot the day before James Meridith became the first black student at Ole Miss. Medgar Evers was killed in Jackson in 1963. James Cheney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner were killed in Philadelphia, MS in June, 1964. I guess Mississippi had already started exploding and then came the passage of the The Civil Rights Act of 1964 on July 2, 1964.

At this critical time in Mississippi history, with the governor of the state calling for non-compliance, 16 Jackson businessmen went on record July 3rd supporting compliance with the law. Their statement didn't support the law, it even questioned if the law was constitutional, but it recognized that this was now a law and urged businesses and people to obey the law.

Far from being a weak statement, you will read below and later this week about the outrage that followed the Jackson Chamber of Commerce statement. It was as far as they could possibly go in 1964 and it set the stage for Jackson Mayor Allen Thompson to publicly support the same position of compliance. Considering how things got so out of hand at Ole Miss in 1962, the possibility certainly was there for a far more violent summer in Jackson if this group of businessmen hadn't step in so quickly with such a bold statement--at least bold in the context of the time and situation.

For the record, I recognize that the motivation behind the vote of these 16 men must have varied. For some, it might have simply been a business decision. It's hard to make money if there are riots, boycotts, and lawsuits for refusing service. For others, it was a vehicle for advancing social issue. For most, it was probably a combination of factors. Whatever the reason, they all had the option of finding an excuse to miss the meeting and yet these 16 men were willing to show up and vote on something that was going to be very unpopular and controversial. That took courage and it's a shame that this part of Jackson history is almost totally forgotten.

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Mayor Asks Compliance
by William L. Chaze, Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer
(no date given--my guess is Friday, July 10, 1964)

Jackson Mayor Allen Thompson Thursday acknowledged that the new civil rights law makes the city "sick all over" but urged compliance. "We'll go along with it, though we don't like it," Thompson said. "In two months, things will be worked out so that we can live with the law."

Thompson urged compliance at a meeting with his department heads at city hall. The meeting was attended by leaders of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce, about 50 city employees and a number of police officers.

In making his statement, Thompson drew a sharp contrast with Gov. Paul B. Johnson who urged noncompliance with the law.

"I'm fond of Gov. Johnson," Thompson said, "but I don't know how or why he made his remarks. The governor is an astute man, but his thinking on the theory of noncompliance is making it difficult for us."

ENDORSES IT

"People have been getting excited about the chamber statement urging us to obey the law," Thompson said. "I want you all to know that I had nothing to do with the statement, but, I endorse it 100 per cent."

The mayor warned against the consequences of noncompliance. He said the city was "full of Federal Bureau of Investigation and Justice Department men with unlimited money, police and legal power, poised to act."

"We are going to obey the law and protect you against harassment and intimidation," Thompson promised. "If we disobey the law," he said, "we'll have violence, bloodshed and insurrection."

Thompson urged "each citizen to take stock of the situation and decide who has the decision to make. Are we going to continue living in a progressive city? If you feel you don't have to obey one law--the civil rights code--you'll soon feel that you don't have to obey any law."

Thompson said peaceful compliance with the civil rights code in Mississippi has already had far-ranging effects. He said Jackson representatives were recently in New York City to sell $10 million in bonds "and financiers were eager to buy because we are at peace down here."

"You can't call this going along capitulation," Thompson said, "because it is just common sense. What kind of city would we have here if we shut everything down just because a few colored folks showed up?" Thompson asked. "Do you know what would happen if I got up here and told you that you didn't have to obey the law? The federal government would move troops in here--what kind of situation would you have then...what type of existence?" he asked.

"We are going to abide by the law and you can count on your leaders fighting," Thompson said. "We'll operate within the law and you'll be protected from violence, bloodshed, dirtiness, intimidation, harassment and discomfort. This is the only way we can go."

Thompson received a round of applause after his statement.

By United Press International

Jackson Mayor Allen Thompson, who has led this city down the paths of defiance to integration, Thursday urged businessmen to comply with the civil rights law. The mayor said "we can't turn down all the stores just to keep from serving a few Negroes."

The mayor's statement followed a resolution passed by the Mississippi House of Representatives Wednesday condemning the executive committee of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce for taking the same position.

When lawmakers returned to the capitol Thursday, on each desk was a copy of minutes of the chamber meeting which said Thompson privately supported the position. "Mayor Thompson was present as the policy statement was developed and stated on a confidential basis that he was in favor of such a statement and thought it would help in the Jackson situation," the minutes read.

Sources said the copies of the minutes were distributed by a disgruntled member of the board who was absent from the meeting.

MAYOR ATTACKED

Sen. Hayden Campbell of Jackson, infuriated by Thompson's speech, tried to get the resolution called up for a vote immediately in the state Senate, but opponents forced it into the Rules Committee.

In a speech on the Senate floor, Campbell said "Allen Thompson is weak! He has always been weak and his true colors are just now coming out." Campbell said "he has been politically lucky over a period of years, but these are trying times...demanding that men stand up and be counted and those who are weak are going to be swept from the mainstream of our affairs...."

Sen. Noel Monaghan fought the immediate consideration of the resolution. He said, "We pass too many resolutions. We are here to pass laws."

Sen. Ellis Bodron of Vicksburg argued against censuring the Chamber Committee. He said "the freedom to be different is one of our most fundamental freedoms."

Sen. G. V. Montgomery of Meridian moved to send the resolution to committee. He said there were "strong segregationists" among the Chamber members he did not want to censure.

Thompson is the past had developed a formula of hard-nosed resistance to integration, and had police quickly arrest demonstrators. Since the passage of the civil rights law, however, the city has taken no action to stop enforcement of the new federal law.

"The mayor pointed out that as political leader and head of the police force of the city, he felt that he should not make any statement of any kind," the chamber minutes read. "Because any position he might take in the present situation would bring on controversy from pressure groups, either Negro or white."

The minutes, signed by Chamber Secretary Mendell M. Davis, said "the motion passed on a voice vote with no dissenting votes expressed" to urge compliance.

The minutes said those present at the meeting included James B. Campbell, W. H. 'Brock' Day, Robert Ezelle, Purser Hewitt, Fred Johnson, Garner Lester, Thurman Lewis, W. M. Mann, Richard McRae, Hal D. Miller, Leon Thomas, George M. Wilkinson, Sherwood Wise, Nat Rogers, Bob Hearin and Bill Underwood.

Statement of Belief and Intention--May 1, 1968

Today's post is one of the longest and most important posts in the 3+ years of the blog. The bulk of the text is from an item I found in the MS Sovereignty Commission Files. It's a paid advertisement signed by 268 members of the Jackson community. While by today's standards it may read as a somewhat tame call for equality to all, it was quite a courageous action in 1968. There are three parts to the post: (1) my introduction; (2) the text of the document and the list of names--if you are from Jackson you will recognize many on the list; (3) a followup with some links and closing thoughts. While I hope you'll read all three parts, don't skip part 2 or the list of names--it's a group of people who should be remembered for their contributions during this era of Jackson, Mississippi and American history.

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Introduction: From our perspective in the year 2009, there are many things about our country's past that seem perplexing. One of those perplexing things would be the race relations in Mississippi prior to and during the 1960's. The amount of change since that time has been stunning to the point where courageous actions of that era might look insignificant by today's perspective. Don't be fooled.

From personal experience, I know my father was the subject of KKK newsletters, had a cross burned on the front yard, was warned by the FBI that his name was on a KKK hit list, received numerous bomb threats, had his mail intercepted, and the list goes on. The actions that generated this hate and danger would all be considered inconsequential in today's environment. It has to be viewed within the context of its time.

In 1968 the act of signing your name to a statement that calls for fair and equal treatment of all members of society was a courageous thing to do in the Deep South. I proud to say that my father and two uncles are on the following list. Virginia's father is on the list. The parents of many of my friends are on the list. Current Jacksonians like Clay Lee, T.W. Lewis, and Dean Miller are on the list, men whom I admire and certainly view as friends just as my father valued their friendship decades ago. I gave each name a seperate line instead of listing them all run together in paragraphs--they need to be listed one per line to recognize the contribution each made. I wish there was a way to give each name a full post. It's a list of people who should be remembered.

Tuesday I will post a news story where the MS House of Representatives passed a resolution condemning the executive committee of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce for a statement they issued in 1964. Wednesday I will post the statement that caused such outrage--quite frankly it would be seen as a racist statement by today's standards but at the time it brought condemnation to those who stood behind it.

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Statement of Belief and Intention (a paid advertisement from the May 1, 1968 edition of the Jackson Daily News in Jackson, MS)

These days constitute the swiftest time of change in our memory. Events hurriedly pile themselves upon events. In our business, or professions and everywhere fast-breaking changes require quick answers and quick actions.

We are threatened with a widening chasm between our people in this State and in our City. Yet, here in this State and in this City there is a vast reservoir of good will, compassion and kindness that is genuinely a very part of our being. This vital reservoir of true neighborly feeling, true friendship must be brought to the fore now and without delay.

We cannot sit back and become prisoners of events. We must cope with them firmly and decisively and manage our own destiny. Accordingly, in the set conviction that the great majority of our people, white and black, desire harmony, good order, a decent honorable family life and a chance to better themselves economically, we, the undersigned Jackson business and professional men and women declare we believe in the following principles, and we pledge ourselves to do everything within our power to see that they are carried out:

1) We believe in the essential worth and dignity of every human being and all that such implies.

2) Fair and impartial treatment must be accorded to all citizens in the enforcement and administration of the law.

3) Every citizen of this City regardless of race, creed or color is entitled to equal access to employment as he is qualified by training and experience to perform, and to earn the continuation of such employment by his own hard efforts.

4) In order that all of our citizens may be qualified for equal employment opportunities, educational opportunities must be available to them on an equal basis.

5) Adequate and properly staffed recreational facilities should be made available for all of the citizens of the City of Jackson. Specifically, with the coming of the summer season, all City swimming pools should be opened. All parks should be open, and should be staffed by competent personnel, and properly equipped to the end that all our people may obtain the maximum benefits from them.

6) Communications between the races should be encouraged on every level of our City. This should include all of us whether we be public officials, civic, business, religious, or professional leaders.

7) There is no place in the life of our City for hate, discord or violence. No man, whatever his cause, or whatever his convictions, is above the law. All of our citizens should work untiringly and unceasingly to bring out to the fullest the best in us in the way of kindness, compassion, friendliness and understanding that we may all progress through cooperation. We owe this to ourselves, our families, the oncoming generations, and the development of all of our talents.

Respectfully submitted,

Fred Adams, Jr. (hard to read--I believe this is correct)
John Quincy Adams
Leigh B. Allen III
Max T. Allen, Jr.
John M. Allin
Fred Allison, Jr.
Joel Alvis
Bob Anding
John L. Ash
McCarrell Ayers
John F. Babbitt, Jr.
John J. Babbs
Travis W. Bain
Battle M. Barksdale
Clay L. Bartlett (my guess at a last name that is mostly unreadable)
Ross F. Bass
Blair E. Batson
Margaret B. Batson
E. B. Beard
Warren N. Bell
John A. Bellan, Jr.
Joe H. Bennett
Richard T. Bennett
Robert E. Bergmark
Perrin L. Berry
R. A. Berry, Jr.
Thomas J. Biggs
Carl Black
Frances B. Boeckman
H. E. Boone
George W. Boyd
G. F. Bracken, Jr.
W. Meredith Bradford
T. J. Brooks, Jr.
George L. Broussard
Rex I. Brown
Edmund L. Brunini
Joseph B. Brunini
Fred J. Bush
Leland Byler
William L. Cabaniss
Shirley Callen
Claude G. Callender
J. S. Camara
William O. Carter, Jr.
P. Stanley Castleman
J. R. Cavett, Jr.
George T. Chambers
James G. Chastain
Reynolds Cheney
James K. Child, Jr.
Joseph A. Christo
Richard D. Clayton
Marvin A. Cohen
Frances Coker
Wilfred O. Cole
Foster E. Collins
Sarah I. Collins
O. W. Conner III
John H. Cook
George E. Cooper
James W. Crook
W. L. Crouch
R. W. Crowell
Emanuel Crystal
H. T. Currie
C. Ralph Daniel
Joe H. Daniel
Charles R. Davis
Mary James Dean
Joe T. Dehmer, Jr.
Paul Derian
George E. Donovan
Richard W. Dortch
Richard M. Edmondson
Lara C. Ethridge
Fred J. Ezelle
Robert L. Ezelle, Jr.
A. P. Fatheree
Ed Fernandez
Ben T. Fitzhugh
William J. Fitzhugh
Al Flannes
Noel G. Foley
John E. Fontaine
Dennis M. Ford
James E. Fowler
Lawrence J. Franck
William F. Galtney
John H. Geary
Sydney Geiger
A. Richard Gemperle
Lucy Gerhart
John D. Gibbons
A. Spencer Gilbert III
James D. Gilbert
Harold Gotthelf, Jr.
Harry J. Goulet
Gordon Grantham
Benjamin B. Graves
Albert H. Green
John M. Grower
John L. Guest
Arthur C. Guyton
Robert P. Guyton
Warren C. Hamby
L. C. Hanes
Paul D. Hardin
James D. Hardy
Elmer J. Harris
William C. Harris
Newt P. Harrison
Stanley M. Hart
Paul Hawkins, Jr.
Charles Head
Robert P. Henderson
Jim G. Hendrick
J. H. Hendrix, Jr.
Eugene Hesdorffer
Ralph Hester
George P. Hewes III
Herman Hines
Duncan M. Hobart
Warren Hood (hard to read--I believe this is correct)
Charles Horwitz
J. Manning Hudson
Joe Jack Hurst
John R. Hutcherson
W. F. Hutchison
James W. Irby
Stuart C. Irby, Jr.
Marshall O. James
John S. Jenkins
J. Harvey Johnston, Jr.
C. E. Jones
Tim Jones
R. E. Jordan
Robert T. Killelea
John T. Kitchings
Maury S. Knowlton
Sam D. Knowlton II
Frank M. Laney, Jr.
J. W. Latham
Clay F. Lee
S. H. Leech
J. Willard Leggett III
Russell W. Levanway
David Levy
T. W. Lewis III
Thomas G. Lilly
J. Walton Lipscomb III
James J. Livesay
John P. Maloney
Jack K. Mann
W. Merle Mann
Alfred C. Marble, Jr.
Thomas J. Marland
Raymond Martin, Jr.
Raymond McClinton
S. H. McDonnieal, Jr.
James P. McKeown
Thad McLaurin
David M. McMullan
James M. McMullan
W. P. McMullan
W. P. McMullan, Jr.
Colin A. P. McNease
Albert L. Meena
Adrian G. Mercier
Joseph Mercier
Calvin Michel
E. E. Michelin
Dean M. Miller
James W. Mitchell
George Mitchell
Frank T. Moore, Jr.
R. Edgar Moore
R. H. Moore
R. B. Morgan, Jr.
W. H. Mounger
Warren Mullen
Edward Neal
Sam J. Nicholas, Jr.
John W. Nicholson, Jr.
James R. Nickles
William (Bill) Nelson
Perry E. Nussbaum
Mary O'Bryant
Andrew W. Orkin
D. H. Orkin
James M. Packer
Robert H. Padgett
James Y. Palmer
John N. Palmer
A. L. Parman
Edward J. Pendergrass
Leonard Pepper
Ford Petty
George B. Pickett
Edgar A. Poe, Jr.
Benjamin P. Polk, Jr.
Barry H. Powell
Richard R. Priddy
George D. Purvis
Julius Ratliff, Jr.
Maurice Reed, Jr.
Thomas J. Reed
Lee H. Reiff
C. R. Ridgway
W. B. Ridgway
Arnold Ritchie
R. W. Ritchie
E. B. Robinson, Jr.
C. S. Roby
Nat S. Rogers
D. S. Rosen
C. B. Rutledge
Charles B. Ryan
H. E. Saunders, Jr.
M. J. Scanlon
W. A. Schmid
Wallis Schutt
Wilbourn C. Shands
L. H. Shornick
Walter H. Simmons
R. Stewart Smith
Thomas H. Smith
J. O. Snowden, Jr.
Leland R. Speed
H. K. Stauss
John Hampton Stennis
Hubert D. Stephens III
Francis B. Stevens
Phineas Stevens
Thomas E. Stevens
R. C. Stockett
E. M. Swart
Robert W. Tabscott
Charles C. Taylor, Jr.
William M. Taylor
J. A. Thayer
Melvin M. Thomas, Jr.
Thomas E. Tiller
Robert C. Travis
Thomas C. Turner
Robert E. Tyson
George E. Uricheck
David J. Van Landingham
C. E. Wallace
H. V. Watkins
Walker L. Watters
James Watts
Robert H. Weaver
Harry E. Weir
Paul L. Wells
John A. Welsch, Jr.
Edwin B. Werkheiser
James O. Wheeler
Julian Wiener
William B. Wiener
Edwin R. Wilson
L. Dudley Wilson
R. B. Wilson
Richard B. Wilson, Jr.
Sherwood W. Wise
Noel Womack, Jr.
Jack L. Woodward
J. Will Young

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Links and other things:

The posts this week will all be about Civil Rights. Some will be new items like today and tomorrow, and some will be posts that were written for my Civil Rights blog in 2007. I wish there was a way to get back to writing that blog, but it was so much effort and there were rarely more than 5 readers a day.

Part of the reason for wanting to continue that blog would be to shine a spotlight on some of the people who are listed above. It muddies up the story of Civil Rights when you included the contribution of white Mississippians, so their efforts have been slowly filtered out of most histories of the Civil Rights era. I have tried to get the Clarion-Ledger interested in telling these stories, but they are only interested in writing about the villians. The stories of the heroes need to be told before time takes away all who can give a first-hand account.

But I digress. Let me give you some links for anyone who is interested in digging deeper into the items that are available thanks to the internet:

Link to the Sovereignty Commission document used in today's post

Mississippi Civil Rights--One Man, One Story: This is the blog that went for a few months in 2007 primarily on the subject of my dad and his involvement in the Civil Rights era.

Sovereignty Commission Online Home Page: Personally, I believe these files were greatly sanitized before they ever were unlocked to the public. Not by the folks at the MS Department of Archives and History, but by the ones who ran the Sovereignty Commission and then had sole access to the files for many years after the operation ceased.

Civil Rights in Mississippi Digital Archives: You could spend months on this site and feel like you've just scratched the surface, especially if you branch off into the page with links to "Other Civil Rights Resources".

If that's not enough, any search engine result on "Civil Rights" or "Civil Rights digital history" will give you plenty to look through. It's unlikely that you'll find much on the people listed above, hence the need for someone in Jackson to research and write about the subject, but you will find plenty.

Thanks to any and all who made it through all of today's post. I think you'll find the entire week an interesting look back at history and the posts will get shorter after today.