Letters from Mississippi / Document
August 28, 1965:  Pre-Arrest Meeting
Posted: 3 September 2013
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These images* (their text is shown below) are scans of one of the many documents in Mayor McLean's files at the Marion County Historical Society's museum that were made available by museum director Chris Watts to Rev. Bill McAtee for research on his book, Transformed: A White Mississippi Pastor's Journey Into Civil Rights and Beyond, and which are used here by permission.

This set of notes details a meeting we had with the mayor and several others -- about which I'd totally forgotten -- on the morning of our arrests on August 28, to air complaints and demands on both sides. Particularly revealing of how difficult the situation must have been for the mayor is his final comment, "Meeting very distasteful."

 
*  The brightness and contrast of the above images has been altered to increase the legibility of the text.
 
Sat August 28, 1965

1. 9:00 AM Pickets at Sunflower

2. Meeting at City Hall
    ??, Lester Haddox, Ernest Fuzz,
    Jim Draper, Ann Marsh, Shana Shumer,
    Richard Atlee, Curt Styles, <Ashley
    & Watts>   Demands:
     A. Repay $218.00 Fine
     B. Apologize for false arrest
     C. Hire Negro Employees

3. Request ceasing parading in front of
     door at sunflower. Privilege to
     picket not questioned. Only
     requested that they confine
     parading into a defined area.

4. Meeting failed [?] to arrest
     confirmed by Jim Draper off the Record.

5. Police complaints -> Vulgar language
     hitting people while hidden

6. Admitted we arrested wrong persons &
     they knew who correct persons
     were. They had apologized and
     confessed to civil rights [?]
 
(Con't'd)

7. All laughed when we Moore confessed
     to be a christian.

8. Complain about calling [?]
     children "boy" & "girl" should
     use "Young Lady" & "Mr. or Young Man"

9. Police force [?] - Requested
     negro policemen. First actual
     complaint to me about police
     action or false arrest.

10. Meeting very distasteful


Aug 29.65      Sun

   Parade   12 People   Hwy Patrol
   in force.   Klan [?]
   Deacons.   FBI.   Too many
   on [?]


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