SPOHP staff members in front of B.B. King Museum in Indianola, Mississippi, September 2008
Indianola, Mississippi
SPOHP will be returning to Indianola in August 2009.
Learn more about this exciting project:
Ordinary People Living Extraordinary Lives
Sunflower County Civil Rights Reunion 2008
The Samuel Proctor Oral History Program (SPOHP) had the distinct privilege of witnessing, questioning and recording stories shared at the Sunflower County Civil Rights Reunion 2008 as part of a research project. Generously funded by William DeGrove, SPOHP sent a research team consisting of graduates, undergraduates, staff, and faculty to collect oral histories of Civil Rights veterans.
“Seeing people that were the same age as I am now being able to drop their lives in order to go be a part of the movement made me feel like I had so much to do,” said Stacey Nelson, a University of Florida undergraduate student and participant in the research project.
During the weekend of September 11-13, 2008, the reunion held in Indianola, Mississippi, relived parts of the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi. Their mission was to preserve history and educate future generations regarding the continuing Civil Rights efforts.
“As Dr. Martin Luther King said in a different way, this movement liberates whites, too,” stated Carver Randle, a local lawyer and storyteller, during opening comments at the Friday morning veterans breakfast. The focus of the reunion was not bitter recollection, but a cause for hope and call to action for the next generation to continue Civil Rights activism.
Many veterans came forward to share their stories, sometimes with sobering details of beatings and narrowly averted attempts to end their lives simply because they wanted the right to vote. A few veterans honored during the weekend events included Margaret Block, a poet whose frank, powerful words strike deep into the listener’s heart; Carver Randle, a local attorney; Hollis Watkins, a singer sharing the history of Civil Rights through songs; Allen Cooper, veteran supporter of both Native American and African American Civil Rights movements; and Representative John Lewis, a dynamic speaker whose voice commands attention to the meaning rather than just the sound of his words.
Other notable speakers included three female African American mayors: Sheriel Perkins of Greenwood; Heather Hudson of Greenville; and Yvonne Brown of Tchula. They spoke of their personal journeys to change history in their respective towns and the influence earlier veterans had on their lives.
A subsequent tour of nearby Drew gave travelers a chance to stand inside the jail that imprisoned many Civil Rights activists. Most striking were the small cells barely 6 by 10 feet that housed fifteen, twenty or more prisoners at a time with no bathroom let alone room enough to sleep. Travelers then walked through the memorial garden dedicated to the late Fannie Lou Hamer, who was famous for her personal statement, “I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.”
McLaurin, a veteran of the movement himself acted as tour guide telling the life story of Hamer and how she survived a beating so severe its aftereffects afflicted her body until her death. In spite of such extreme abuses Fannie refused to give up the fight, McLaurin explained to tour guests. She was determined to secure Civil Rights for herself and her community.
Saturday, September 13, reunion participants received a VIP preview of the new BB King Museum. The museum presented an interactive walk through King’s life depicting African American history as it influenced his life. Interactive exhibits allowed patrons to visit the childhood home of King, strum "Lucille" like King, ride the tour bus, walk the streets of Indianola listening to street musicians, and peek into King’s home office complete with bobble heads of other famous singers.
Perhaps the most poignant part of the weekend came as students performed plays honoring the Civil Rights Movement and its veterans. The first play was directed by Areka Watkins from Connected Branches School of Tutoring, Drama & Fine Arts. She led her elementary-age children in a dramatic musical performance honoring African Americans from Martin Luther King to James Brown.
Greg McCoy, Director of Sunflower County Freedom Project, led the second performance played by middle and high school age students. Nowhere else could the passing of the torch from one generation to the next be felt as deeply as this play; particularly since many of the veterans being portrayed sat among the audience.
To find out more about this phenomenal research project or to hear for yourself the stories of these courageous individuals, visit the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program archives in Pugh Hall.
