Finding Aid for the Citizens’ Council Collection
(MUM00072)
Questions? Contact us!
The Citizens’ Council Collection is open for research.
Finding Aid for the Citizens’ Council Collection
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Descriptive Summary
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| PURL: |
http://purl.oclc.org/umarchives/MUM00072/ |
| Title: |
Citizens’ Council Collection |
| Dates: |
1947-1979 |
| Collector: |
University of Mississippi |
| Physical Extent: |
3 boxes (2.0 linear feet) |
| Repository: |
University of Mississippi. Department of Archives and Special Collections.University, MS 38677, USA |
| Identification: |
MUM00072 |
| Location: |
General Special Collections
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| Language of Material: |
English |
| Abstract: |
The collection contains materials related to the formation and activities of the White
Citizens’ Councils in Mississippi. This collection includes correspondence, reports,speeches,
flyers, article reprints, and other materials documenting the activities of the Citizens’
Council from 1954-1979.
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Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
The Citizens’ Council Collection was created by compiling printed material from the
Knox Collection (79-1) and the Race Relations Collection (76-15), both housed in the
Department of Archives and Special Collections at The University of Mississippi.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Archives and Special Collections staff. Finding aid encoded
by ByteManagers, 2005. Finding aid revised by Laura Helton, 2006, and Kathryn Michaelis,
June 2012.
Additions
No further additions are expected to this collection.
Alternative Formats
This collection has been digitized and made available online: https://clio.lib.olemiss.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/citizens.
Subject Terms
Race relations
White Citizens councils — Mississippi
White supremacy movements — United States
Formats
correspondence
pamphlets
journals (periodicals)
Historical Note
The first Citizens’ Council (also known as the White Citizens’ Council) was formed
in Indianola, Mississippi, following the United States Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown
v. Board of Education ruling, which struck down segregation in public schools. White
businessmen, planters, and professionals organized the group to prevent the court’s
ruling from taking hold in Mississippi. Thomas Pickens Brady, a circuit court judge
and Citizens’ Council leader, published a handbook entitled Black Monday outlining
the group’s goals, including the abolition of public schools, nullification of the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and establishment of a
separate black state. The publication of this handbook inspired many Mississippians
to join the Citizens’ Council movement.
Other Citizens’ Council chapters were formed around the state, and within three months
a statewide body, the Association of Citizens’ Councils of Mississippi, began in Winona,
Mississippi. By 1956, the group claimed eighty thousand members in Mississippi. It
was particularly active in the Delta region and also had a powerful Jackson chapter,
led by William J. Simmons. A national group, the Citizens’ Council of America, was
formed by 1956. Its board of advisors included Senator James O. Eastland and Representative
John Bell Williams of Mississippi, Senator J. Strom Thurmond and Representative L.
Mendel Rivers of South Carolina, and Georgia Governor Marvin Griffin.
The Citizens’ Council received its revenue from membership dues and grants from the
publicly-funded Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission, an agency that promoted
segregation and investigated the activities of civil rights groups. The Citizens’
Council officially eschewed violence as a strategy, although many Council members
privately condoned the violent tactics used by the Ku Klux Klan. Council members used
their connections to influential lawmakers, editors, business people, and state officials
to enact pro-segregation legislation, exert economic pressure on those who supported
civil rights activities, intimidate African Americans who attempted to register to
vote, and create publicity for anti-integration viewpoints. The Council published
a national magazine, The Citizen, and produced a weekly telecast, “Forum,” on WLBT-TV
in Jackson. The Council’s work has been credited with significantly reducing the number
of Mississippi blacks registered to vote in the 1950s. The Council was active for
more than a decade, but began to lose some of its influence by the late 1960s.
Scope and Content Note
This collection documents Citizens’ Council activities from 1954 to 1979. It is housed
in three boxes and organized according to format.
Box 1 contains a variety of printed material produced by or relating to the Citizens’
Council, including correspondence, reports, speeches, flyers, press releases, newsletters,
advertisements, pamphlets, broadsides, article reprints, and ephemera. It includes
a copy of Thomas J. Brady’s 1954 pamphlet, “A Review of Black Monday,” which is credited
with inspiring the formation of the Citizens’ Council.
Boxes 2 and 3 contain oversize article reprints and loose issues of publications,
including The Citizen, Dixie-American, Citizens’ Council, The Community Citizen, Augusta Courier, Citizens’ Informer, and a Citizens’ Council section of the Jackson Clarion-Ledger.
User Information
Preferred Citation
Citizens’ Council Collection, Archives and Special Collections, J.D. Williams Library,
The
University of Mississippi
Access Restrictions
The Citizens’ Council Collection is open for research.
Copyright Restrictions
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the
making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under
certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized
to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions
is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other
than private study, scholarship or research.” If a user makes a request for,
or
later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,”
that user may be liable for copyright infringement.
Related Material
Resources at the University of Mississippi
This collection has been digitized and made available online: https://clio.lib.olemiss.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/citizens.
More materials related to race relations and integration can be found in the Civil Rights and Race Relations Subject Guide.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged by format.
Container List
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Annual Reports |
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b1.f1
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| 2nd Annual Report, August 1956 |
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| 4th Annual Report, July 1958 |
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Scope: 2 copies
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Miscellaneous |
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b1.f2
| Citizens’ Council Resolution, 16 May 1957 |
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b1.f3
| News flash re: Emmett Till, Sr., circa 1957 |
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b1.f4
| Text of NAACP telegram regarding civil rights activity in Mississippi, 1961 |
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b1.f5
| Letter, W. J. Simmons to Mrs. Clifton H. Morgan, 17 February 1964 |
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b1.f6
| “Civil Rights and the Negro Revolution,” a lecture presented by William J. Simmons at the University of Hawaii, 1964 |
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b1.f7
| Flyer for Citizens’ Council program, Jackson, 1965 |
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b1.f8
| Jackson Citizens’ Council Political Forum press release, 15 May 1967 |
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b1.f9
| The Council Newsletter, February 1971-June 1971 |
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b1.f10
| List of recommended speakers, undated |
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b1.f11
| Book advertisement: States’ Rights vs. the Supreme Court, undated |
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b1.f12
| Questionnaire for political candidates, undated |
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Pamphlets |
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b1.f13
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| Thomas Brady, “Segregation and the South,” 1957 |
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Scope: 2 copies
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| Thomas Brady, “A Review of Black Monday,” 1954 |
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b1.f14
| Ross Barnett: Strength Through Unity, 1960 |
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b1.f15
| Crime: Don’t Let it Happen to You, undated |
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b1.f16
| Dr. D. M. Nelson: Conflicting Views on Segregation, 1954 |
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b1.f17
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| What Every White Parent Should Know, 1956 |
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| Essay Contest for MS High School Students, 1959-1960 |
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Scope: 3 copies
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| Essay Contest for MS High School Students, 1961-1962 |
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Scope: 3 copies
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| How to Keep Schools Open, undated |
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Scope: 2 copies
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| The Educational Fund of the Citizens’ Council, undated |
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Scope: 3 copies
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| Propaganda in Our Schools, circa 1956 |
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| Congressional Committee Report on What Happened When Schools Were Integrated in Washington,
D. C., circa 1957
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Scope: 2 copies
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| The Public Schools of Mississippi, 1957 |
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Scope: 2 copies
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b1.f18
| The Citizens’ Council, undated |
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b1.f19
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| James F. Byrnes: The Supreme Court Must Be Curbed, 1956 |
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Scope: 2 copies
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| James O. Eastland: We’ve Reached the Era of Judicial Tyranny, 1955 |
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| Joseph P. Kamp: Trickery, Treachery, Tyranny and Treason in Washington, 1957 |
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| I Am the Bill of Rights, undated |
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Scope: 3 copies
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b1.f20
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| John Bell Williams: Interposition, the Barrier Against Tyranny, 1956 |
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| Judge M. M. McGowan: Interposition or Nullification, undated |
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b1.f21
| Carleton Putnam: Second Putnam Letter Cuts Roots of Integration Fallacy, 1959 |
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b1.f22
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| S. E. Rogers: Christian Love and Segregation, undated |
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| Stuart O. Landry: Rebuilding the Tower of Babel, 1957 |
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| Rev. G. T. Gillespie: A Christian View on Segregation, 1954 |
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Scope: 4 copies
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| A Jewish View on Segregation, undated |
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Scope: 2 copies
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b1.f23
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| The Story of the NAACP, 1947 |
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Scope: 2 copies
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| The NAACP Legislative Scoreboard, undated |
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Scope: 2 copies
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| The Ugly Truth About the NAACP, undated |
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Scope: 2 copies
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b1.f24
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| Carleton Putnam: High Court’s ‘Arrogance’ is Viewed by Northerner, 1958 |
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| Eugene Cook: The Ugly Truth About the NAACP, undated |
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| Congressional Committee Report on What Happened When Schools Were Integrated in Washington,
D. C., 1956
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| James O. Eastland: We’ve Reached the Era of Judicial Tyranny, 1955 |
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| What is the Citizens’ Council Doing?, undated |
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| Essay Contest for Mississippi High School Students, 1961-1962 |
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| Land of One Race, undated |
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| Louis W. Hollis: Integrity, 1965 |
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| John Bell Williams: Where is the Reign of Terror?, 1956 |
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| Famous Quotations: Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Henry W. Grady, James F. Byrnes,
Theodore Bilbo
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b1.f25
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| Robert B. Patterson: The Truth Cries Out, 1966 |
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| Statement by George Wallace, undated |
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b1.f27
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| What is the Citizens’ Council Doing informative leaflet, June 1972-February 1978 |
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| Two small pamphlets: What is the Citizens’ Council Doing?, undated |
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Famous Quotations Cards |
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b1.f26
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| Tocqueville |
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| George Washington |
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Scope: 3 copies
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| Thomas Jefferson |
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| Theodore G. Bilbo |
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Scope: 5 copies
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| Henry W. Grady |
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Scope: 3 copies
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| James F. Byrnes |
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Scope: 3 copies
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| Abraham Lincoln |
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Correspondence |
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b1.f28
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| Robert Patterson, Winona, to “The Library” with carbon copy of Bibliography on Race
Problem, 9 December 1954
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| Ellett Lawrence, Winona, to All District and County Chairmen, and the Executive Comittee,
8 November 1955
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| Carbon copy, W. J. Simmons, Jackson, 22 November 1955 |
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| Ellis W. Wright, Jackson, to Members of the 1956-1960 Legislature State of Mississippi,
23 November 1955
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| Ellett Lawrence, Greenwood, to “Those Interested in Helping,” 26 November 1956 |
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Scope: 3 copies. On back: C. E. Powell, Greenwood, to Ellett Lawrence, 14 December 1956
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| Robert B. Patterson, Greenwood, to Citizens’ Council Members and Friends, 11 January
1957
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Scope: 2 copies
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| Robert B. Patterson, Greenwood, to Mr. Paul R. Davis, 29 January 1957 |
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| Ellett Lawrence, Greenwood, to All Council Members and Officers, 15 June 1957 |
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Scope: 2 copies
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| Robert Patterson, Greenwood, to All Officers and Members, 30 December 1957 |
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Scope: 2 copies
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| Ellett Lawrence, Greenwood, to All Council Officers and Members, 24 February 1958 |
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| Robert B. Patterson, Greenwood, to Officers and Members, 24 September 1958 |
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| Robert B. Patterson, Greenwood, to “Dear Friend,” 27 November 1958 |
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| Robert B. Patterson, Greenwood, to “Dear Friend,” 12 March 1959 |
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| Robert B. Patterson, Greenwood, to All Citizens’ Council Officers, 22 May 1959 |
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| Robert B. Patterson, Greenwood, to “Dear Friend,” 20 August 1959 |
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| W. J. Simmons, Jackson, to “Dear Members,” 31 August 1959 |
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| Robert B. Patterson, Greenwood, to “Dear Friend,” 10 November 1959 |
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| Ellett Lawrence, Greenwood, to “Any and All Good, but slumbering, Citizens, Everywhere,”
25 May 1961
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| H. C. Lewis, Deerfield, IL, to Association of Citizens’ Councils, 16 December 1959 |
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| Robert B. Patterson, Greenwood, to “Dear Friend,” 25 July 1961 |
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| Robert B. Patterson, Greenwood, to “To Whom it May Concern,” 17 November 1961 |
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| Robert B. Patterson, Greenwood, to “Dear Friend,” 21 June 1962 |
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| Robert B. Patteson, Greenwood, to “Dear Friend,” 24 October 1962 |
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| Robert B. Patterson, Greenwood, to Citizens’ Council Officers, Members and Friends,
June 1965
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| Ellett Lawrence, Greenwood, to “Dear Friend,” February 1967 |
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| Robert B. Patterson, Greenwood, to “All Citizens’ Council Members,” May 1967 |
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| Ellett Lawrence, Greenwood, to “Dear Friend,” undated |
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| Ellett Lawrence, Greenwood, to “Fellow Mississippians,” undated |
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| Ellett Lawrence, Greenwood, to “Dear Friend,” undated |
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| Ellett Lawrence, Greenwood, to “Dear Friend,” undated |
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Scope: Includes contribution form
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| Ellett Lawrence, Greenwood to “Dear Friend,” undated |
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| Robert Patterson, Greenwood, to “All Citizens’ Council Officers, Members and Friends,”
undated
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| Robert B. Patterson, Greenwood, to “To Whom it May Concern,” undated |
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| Notice of Meeting, 19 February [?] |
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Broadsides and Broadsheets |
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b1.f29
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| W. J. Simmons, “Organization: The Key to Victory,” 1962 |
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| Dollars Make Sense, undated |
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| It’s Your Fight, Too, undated |
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| Special Bulletin, undated |
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| Migration, the Only Reasonable Answer, undated |
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| Meeting, 28 May 1956 |
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| Community Plan to Counteract Negro or White Agitators, undated |
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Scope: 2 copies
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| Resolution Adopted by Citizens’ Council of Greenwood, Mississippi, February 1965 |
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Scope: 2 copies
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| Support Your Citizens’ Council, undated |
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Scope: 2 copies
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| To the States, undated |
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| Mississippi Population, 1960 |
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Scope: 2 copies
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| Aaron Henry of Clarksdale, 1964 |
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| An Ordinance, undated |
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| Notice! Stop Help Save the Youth of America, undated |
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Scope: 9 copies
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| Is Segregation Unchristian?, undated |
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Scope: 3 copies
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| Keep the Dark Tide Moving North, circa 1960 |
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| Negro Senators from Mississippi, undated |
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| Crime Report Reveals Menace of Integration, undated |
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Scope: 2 copies
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| Historical Novelist Tells of Events that Almost Surpass Human Belief, undated |
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| Prominent Kingstree Negro Makes Frank Statement, 1955 |
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| Jackson V. A. Hospital Integration, 1956 |
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| Vote for the Amendments, 1960 |
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| Population of the United States Based on 1950 Census |
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Scope: 2 copies
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| The Colossal Fraud on the American People, undated |
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| Integrated Schools Hurting Both White, Colored Pupils, circa 1955 |
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b1.f30
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| Cartoon by “White,” undated |
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| Little Brother’s New Social Club, undated |
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| Martin Luther King at Communist Training School, undated |
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| Throwing Children to Wolves, undated |
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| To Those Who Stand Against Race Mixing, undated |
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| Land of One Race, undated |
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Scope: 2 copies
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Ephemera |
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b1.f31
| Brotherhood by Bayonet bumper sticker, circa 1962 |
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Reprints of Articles |
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b1.f32
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| “Change of Mind,” from Sea Coast Echo, 28 July 1960
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| “Going to [sic] Far,” from The Meridian Star, 10 September 1961
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| Hodding Carter, “Citadel of the Citizens’ Council,” from New York Times Magazine, 12 November 1961
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| “Being Married to a Negro Is …,” 18 March 1962 |
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| “Address by William L. Dickinson,” Congressional Record, 30 March 1965
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| “Prominent Negro Warns of Demonstration Cost,” Greenwood Commonwealth, 28 February 1964
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| Edward F. Cummerford, “Civil Rights and Civil Wrongs,” American Bar Association Journal, February 1964
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| “Mississippi Purge of Moderates,” New York Times, 3 November 1963
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| “Rape Victim’s Child Can’t Erase Night of Horror,” Jackson Daily News, 13 May 1959
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| “Montgomery and the World,” Wall Street Journal, and “Rebellion Terror Felt by South Angola Whites,” Memphis Press Scimitar, 24 May 1961
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b3.f5
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| Hodding Carter, “Citadel of the Citizens’ Council,” New York Times Magazine, 12 November 1961
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Scope: Oversized item
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| “Pow-Wow on 40th Street,” and “Integration Leaders Work Busily to Influence Public
Opinion,” Richmond News Leader, 27 February 1959
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Periodicals |
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Box 2
| The Citizen |
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Scope: The Citizen was the “official journal of the Citizens’ Councils of America.”
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| October 1961 |
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| May 1973 |
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| November 1961 |
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Scope: 2 copies
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| September 1962 |
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Scope: 2 copies
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| September 1964 |
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Scope: 2 copies
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| July-August 1965 |
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| November 1965 |
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| January 1966 |
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| February 1966 |
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| March 1966 |
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| April 1966 |
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| May 1966 |
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Scope: 2 copies
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| June 1966 |
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| April 1967 |
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Scope: 2 copies
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| May 1967 |
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| October 1967 |
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| July-August 1968 |
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| January 1969 |
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| February 1969 |
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| June 1969 |
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| February 1970 |
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| March 1970 |
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Scope: 3 copies
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| May 1970 |
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| May 1971 |
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| January 1972 |
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| February 1972 |
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| November 1972 |
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| February 1973 |
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| September 1973 |
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| June 1974 |
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Scope: 2 copies
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| July-August 1974 |
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| September 1974 |
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| November 1974 |
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| December 1974 |
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| April 1975 |
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| July-August 1975 |
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| June 1976 |
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| July-August 1976 |
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| September 1976 |
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| January 1977 |
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| March 1977 |
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| June 1977 |
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| July-August 1977 |
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| March 1978 |
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| April 1978 |
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| May 1978 |
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| August 1978 |
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| September 1978 |
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| November 1978 |
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| December 1978 |
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| January 1979 |
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b3.f1
| Dixie-American (Birmingham), 1 March 1956
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b3.f2
| The Citizens’ Council (Newspaper)
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| July 1957 |
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| October 1957 |
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| April 1958 |
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Scope: 2 copies
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| May 1958 |
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Scope: 2 copies
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| July 1958 |
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| September 1958 |
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| October 1958 |
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| December 1958 |
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| January 1959 |
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| February 1959 |
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| May 1959 |
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| July 1959 |
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| August 1959 |
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| October 1959 |
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b3.f3
| The Community Citizen (New Albany, Miss.), 23 June 1955
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b3.f4
| Augusta Courier (Augusta, Ga.)
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| 18 March 1957 |
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| 1 April 1957 |
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| 23 June 1958 |
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| 17 November 1958 |
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| 19 October 1959 |
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b3.f6
| The Citizens’ Informer (Jackson, Miss.), July 1975
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b3.f7
| Jackson, Miss. Clarion Ledger, “Citizens’ Council Section,” 11 August 1968.
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