Acknowledgments
Because Freedom Summer involved more than one thousand people, each with stories to tell, I am indebted to those who shared their stories, either with me or in letters, journals, diaries, and other first-person sources. Of the fifty-two people I interviewed, some were telling their stories for the first time, and I thank them for their bravery and candor. Many more, including Bob Moses, Hollis Watkins, and other SNCC veterans, graciously took time out from their ongoing activism to share, once again, oft-told stories of that singular summer.
Four names in particular stand out from my list. To Chris Williams, Muriel Tillinghast, Fran OBrien, and Fred Bright Winn, I offer my deepest thanks. Each put up with two long interviews followed by innumerable nit-picking questions that surfaced from out of nowhere on their e-mail queues. And each responded with more thought and detail than I had any right to expect. Along with my admiration for their courage in going to Mississippi, each has my thanks for looking back over so many years to dredge up memories both joyous and painful.
To my mothers best friend, dedicated teacher Georgie Cooper, I owe heartfelt thanks for getting me started with a detailed reading list from her native Mississippi. Sadly, Georgie passed away before I could show her all she had taught me. I will never forget her enthusiasm, her accent, or her passion for life and literature.
Thanks also to Jan Hillegas, a Freedom Summer volunteer who has lived in Mississippi since 1964. Jan opened her sizable archive of COFO documents, notably the complete WATS line reports that gave me access to hourly events throughout the summer. Jans work to preserve COFO records continues, including the revival of the long-abandoned COFO headquarters on Lynch Street, which will soon open as an educational center.
Though I have never met her, I offer special thanks to Elizabeth Martinez, who began compiling volunteers letters moments after Freedom Summer ended. Her book, Letters from Mississippi, was of invaluable help. It is also the most moving compilation of historical letters I have seen on any subject. Thanks also to ex-volunteer Jim Kates, whose Zephyr Press rereleased Letters from Mississippi, and who offered advice early in my research.
Thanks to my patient and wise editor at Viking, Wendy Wolf, for allowing me to give my own touch to another American story. And to my agent, Jeff Kleinman, for his continued help in negotiating the Manuscript Jungle. Two friends and former civil rights activistsBob Winston and Sue Thrasherprovided encouragement along the way. Bob also offered kind comments on the initial draft. And as always, I owe more than I can express to my wife, Julie, and our two children, for allowing me to head south three times in a single year, and for trying the grits I brought back.
Finally, to the people of Mississippi who spoke freely with me during my visits there, I owe more than gratitude. Freedom Summer was not their beloved states finest hour, but Mississippians continue to treat it with remarkable frankness. Their honesty and hospitality made each trip to Mississippi a genuine pleasure. In particular, thanks to Dr. Stacy White for sharing stories of her great-aunt, Irene Magruder, for giving me a tour of Freedom Summer sites in Indianola, and for inviting me back for the Sunflower County Civil Rights Reunion. Thanks to Robert Miles Jr. for inviting me into the Batesville home of his courageous father, and to Neil White for insights and hospitality over coffee in Oxford. Former sheriff Charles W. Capps Jr., retired after a long career in the state legislature, demonstrated true Mississippi hospitality when he agreed to be interviewed on an hours notice about a time he would probably rather forget. And thanks to Gary Brooks, who came all the way from New Orleans to show me around his hometown of McComb. These memories, and not the scars of the Jim Crow system, are the Mississippi I know, convincing me that more Americans should go to the Magnolia State. Its a wonderful place, to which I hope to return again and again.
Bibliography
Archives
Barber, Rims. Oral History Collection. McCain Library and Archives, University of Southern Mississippi.
Cobb, Charles. Oral History Collection. McCain Library and Archives, University of Southern Mississippi.
Dahl, Kathleen. Papers. McCain Library and Archives, University of Southern Mississippi.
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Mississippi Burning Case, File 44-25706.
Glass, Jinny. Papers. McCain Library and Archives, University of Southern Mississippi.
Goodman, Carolyn. Papers. State Historical Society of Wisconsin.
Guyot, Lawrence. Oral History Collection. McCain Library and Archives, University of Southern Mississippi.
Hamer, Fannie Lou. Papers. State Historical Society of Wisconsin.
Hamlett, Ed. Papers. White Folks Project Collection, McCain Library and Archives, University of Southern Mississippi.
Hazelton, Margaret. Papers. McCain Library and Archives, University of Southern Mississippi.
Henderson, William and Kathleen. Papers. State Historical Society of Wisconsin.
Hillegas Collection. Private collection of Jan Hillegas, Jackson, MS.
Hodes, William. Papers. State Historical Society of Wisconsin.
Hudson, Winson. Oral History Collection. McCain Library and Archives, University of Southern Mississippi.
Hunn, Eugene. Papers. State Historical Society of Wisconsin.
Johnson, Paul B. Papers. McCain Library and Archives, University of Southern Mississippi.
Kates, James. Papers. State Historical Society of Wisconsin.
Kwanguvu, Umoja. Papers. McCain Library and Archives, University of Southern Mississippi.
Lake, Ellen. Papers. McCain Library and Archives, University of Southern Mississippi.
. Papers. State Historical Society of Wisconsin.
Miller, Charles. Papers. State Historical Society of Wisconsin.
Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. Papers. State Historical Society of Wisconsin.
North Mississippi Oral History and Archives Project. McCain Library and Archives, University of Southern Mississippi.
Orris, Peter. Oral History Collection. McCain Library and Archives, University of Southern Mississippi.
Owen, David. Papers. McCain Library and Archives, University of Southern Mississippi.
Samstein, Mendy. Papers. State Historical Society of Wisconsin.
Savio, Mario. The Reminiscences of Mario Savio. Oral History Research Office Collection, Columbia University.
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Papers. Harvard University.
Tecklin, Jerry. Papers. State Historical Society of Wisconsin.
Torkington, Roy. Papers. Civil Rights Collection, McCain Library and Archives, University of Southern Mississippi.
Vogel, Lisa. Papers. State Historical Society of Wisconsin.
Walker, Samuel. Papers. State Historical Society of Wisconsin.
Zeman, Zoya. Oral History Collection. McCain Library and Archives, University of Southern Mississippi.
Magazines and Journals
Atwater, James. If We Can Crack Mississippi... Saturday Evening Post, July 25, 1964, pp. 15-19.
Beecher, John. All You Have to Do Is Lie. New Republic, October 24, 1964, pp. 9-10.
Civil Rights: And the Walls Came Tumbling Down. Time, July 17, 1974, pp. 25-26.
Coles, Robert. Social Struggle and Weariness. Psychiatry 27, no. 4 (November 1964): 305-15.
Cowan, Geoff, and Paul Cowan. And Three Letters Home from Mississippi. Esquire, September 1964, pp. 104-5, 190.
Crusade in Mississippi.
