Crossroads at Clarksdale: The Black Freedom Struggle in the Mississippi Delta after World War II

Title Page, Copyright, Dedication, Quote

Crossroads at Clarksdale THE JOHN HOPE FRANKLIN SERIES IN AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE Waldo E. Martin Jr. and Patricia Sullivan, editors Crossroads at Clarksdale The Black Freedom Struggle in the Mississippi Delta after World War II Françoise N. Hamlin THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINAChapel Hill © 2012 The University of North Carolina Press All rights reserved Designed by Jacquline Johnson Set in Ehrhardt MT by Tseng Information Systems, Inc. Manufactured in the United States of America The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. The University of North Carolina Press has been a member of the Green Press Initiative since 2003. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hamlin, Françoise N. Crossroads at Clarksdale : the black freedom struggle in the Mississippi Delta after World War II / Françoise N. Hamlin. p. cm. — (The John Hope Franklin series in African American history and culture) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8078-3549-4 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. African Americans—Civil rights—Mississippi— Clarksdale—History—20th century. 2. African Americans—Segregation—Mississippi—Clarksdale— History—20th century. 3. Civil rights movements— Mississippi—Clarksdale—History—20th century. 4. Segregation—Mississippi—Clarksdale—History— 20th century. 5. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Coahoma County Branch—History. 6. Henry, Aaron, 1922–1997. 7. Pigee, Vera Mae, 1924– 2007. 8. Clarksdale (Miss.)—Race relations—History— 20th century. I. Title. F349.C6H36 2012 323.1196′073076244—dc23 2011045259 The author wishes to thank the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for authorizing the use of Table 2 and Figures 3.4 and 4.2. Poems in chapter 5: Elnora Fondren, “Changing the American Stage,” and Allan Goodner, “Segregation Will Not Be Here Long,” from Letters from Mississippi, edited by Elizabeth Sutherland Martínez. Original edition© 1965 and renewed by Elizabeth Sutherland Martínez. New edition © 2002 by Elizabeth Sutherland Martínez. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company, Inc., on behalf of Zephyr Press, www.zephyr press.org. 16 15 14 13 125 4 3 2 1 FOR ELIJAH  In memory of Corine Bradley (1929–2005) Aaron E. Henry (1922–1997) Vera Mae Pigee (1924–2007) Mississippi has always been a bewitched and tragic ground, yet it’s also a land of heroism and nobility; a land which has honored those of us of all our races who possess the courage and the imagination of the resources given us on this haunted terrain. I love Mississippi, and I hope the best of it will endure. —Willie Morris (1986) ...