Tiffany Edmondson
Staff Writer
Before there was a Mississippi Freedom summer, there was Fannie Lou Hamer. Hamer was a Civil Right’s Activist that worked hard to help overcome the social injustices in the south and to help African Americans gain the right to vote.
Hamer was instrumental in organizing the Freedom Summer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in 1964 to help register as many African American voters that they could in Mississippi. It was directed by Bob Moses, the field secretary for SNCC.
Over 1,000 out-of-state college students, volunteers, along with 1,000’s of Mississippians combed the state educating residents about their right to vote.
The Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) consisted of (SNCC, CORE, NAACP, & SCLC). Many of the college students that were recruited were members or volunteers of these organizations that were involved in the Movement. Out of this movement came freedom schools, freedom houses, and community centers that were very pivotal in aiding their efforts.
More than 40 years later, some of those students came back to Jackson to share their personal experiences at Jackson State University for the 28th Annual Fannie Lou Hamer Memorial Symposium Lecture Series that was held on Thursday October 6. JSU is the official home to The Fannie Lou Hamer National Institute on Citizenship and Democracy.
Students and faculty packed the room to its capacity as they listened to untold stories of the Civil Right’s Movement. The Panel was moderated Dr. Michelle Deardorff, a founding faculty member of the Hamer Institute. Frankye Adams-Johnson, Roscoe Jones, Dr. William Scott, and Hollis Watkins were on the panel.
Johnson, a JSU English Professor and the Chairwoman of the Veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement, spoke first about her experiences. Johnson wanted the students to know about what they did and how they did things to help empower them to address issues in their lives today.
“The students that attended this symposium will have an awareness and consciousness of what it meant to be a student then and what it means to be a student now,” said Johnson.
Another student from the movement, Roscoe Jones from Meridian, spoke about how Fannie Lou Hamer was the vice-chair of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and how she and others attended the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Their goal then was to challenge Mississippi’s all white and anti-civil rights delegation at the convention because they felt that they didn’t represent the entire state.
Jones told the audience that Hamer’s testimony unseated democrats from the state of Mississippi. He recalled being jailed and Michael Schwerner asked him if he needed anything. Jones told Schwerner that he wanted to see Fannie Lou Hamer. “Fannie Lou Hamer was a dynamic woman and an inspiration to my life,” said Jones.
Schwerner, along with James Chanay and Andrew Goodman were three civil rights workers that were killed while on their way to investigate a burning of a church which served as a meeting place for civil rights organizations. Their murders were ordered by the imperial Wizard of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.
Jones said that he had talked to Schwerner on the phone 24 hours before his death because he was suppose to ride with them to Longdale, Miss. to investigate the church burning. Instead, Schwerner told him to go speak to the youth group at the church he was scheduled to be at, which saved his life.
Another panelists, Dr. William Scott from Holly Springs, Miss. said that he decided early in life to define his self worth. His involvement started when they questioned why their education system was in a bad shape. To help make things better, they did presentations at churches to raise money to purchase science equipment for students in the Delta. This lead hime to found the underground student government association.
Scott said, “Bob Moses came to our town in 1961 and he motivated me to do other things. His head was right and he made logical statements.” Shortly after that, one of the first civil rights meeting places in Indianola was founded and later burned.
Last but not least to speak to the students was Hollis Watkins. Watkins was the child of sharecroppers and the youngest of 10 children. Watkins said that he always wondered why there was so much disparity and why white folks could do what blacks folks couldn’t do and there is one God.
Watkins involvement in the movement lead him to serve 34 days in the McComb jail. Shortly after that he was jailed in the Leflore county jail and then the county penal farm.
“They finally gave me an apartment at the institution known as Parchman for 55 days and with an affection called maximum security,” said Watkins.
Watkins said that the consequences of getting involved made things better for everybody sitting in this audience. “We made the conditions better for all the people across this nation,” Watkins added.
Watkins also spoke about how the theme song “We Shall Overcome” gave them motivation and inspiration. Watkins started singing and the audience started clapping and singing along with him.
A lesson to be learned from this panel was to ask questions and get engaged in the elections. They all agree that these are the basic things that students can do now because everything that was fought for can be easily taken away.
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