Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Freedom Summer

I am reading Bruce Watson's book entitled Freedom Summer. It is about the summer of 1963 when college students from around America spent their summer vacations helping blacks from the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee to register black voters in Mississippi. That's not exactly how native white Mississippians would characterize that summer. They saw it more like a renewal of the Civil War.

I spoke with a black woman at work, who was born in Mississippi. She told me that it has been her experience that the attitudes exhibited by white Mississippians in 1963 are still in evidence today. When she goes back to visit relatives, she does not feel welcome by whites, to put it mildly.

1 comment:

Terri Wagner said...

There's a reason Bob. But as a southerner I would be reluctant to explain it. Just believe me when I tell you there's a reason.