March Against Fear
Encyclopedia
On June 6, 1966, James Meredith
started a solitary March Against Fear for 220 miles from Memphis, Tennessee
, to Jackson, Mississippi
, to protest against racism
. Soon after starting his march he was shot by a sniper
with birdshot, injuring him. When they heard the news, other civil rights
campaigners, including SCLC
's Martin Luther King, SNCC
's Stokely Carmichael
, Cleveland Sellers
and Floyd McKissick
, as well as the Human Rights Medical Committee and other civil rights organizations decided to continue the march in Meredith's name. The NAACP were originally involved but pulled out on learning that the Deacons for Defense and Justice
were going to be protecting the march. Ordinary people both black and white came from the South and all parts of the country to participate. The marchers slept on the ground outside or in large tents, and were fed mainly by local communities.
On the early evening of Thursday, June 16, 1966, when the marchers arrived in Greenwood, Mississippi
, and tried to set up camp at Stone Street Negro Elementary School, Carmichael was arrested for trespassing on public property. Carmichael was held for several hours and then rejoined the marchers at a local park where they had set up camp and were beginning a night-time rally. According to civil rights historian David J. Garrow's Pulitzer-Prize-winning Bearing the Cross (page 481), an angry Carmichael took the speaker's platform and delivered his famous "Black Power
" speech. King, who had flown to Chicago
on Wednesday to help organize the open housing marches, returned to Mississippi on Friday to find that the civil rights movements' internal divisions between the old guard and new guard had gone public. SNCC's "Black Power" slogan was now competing with SCLC's "Freedom Now" slogan.
In Canton, Mississippi the march was attacked and tear-gassed by the Mississippi State Police, who were joined by other police agencies. Several marchers were wounded, one severely. Human Rights Medical Committee members conducted a house-to-house search that night looking for wounded marchers. The nuns of the Catholic school extended their help and hospitality to the marchers, especially to the wounded.
When the march stopped at Tougaloo College
before entering Jackson, it was entertained by James Brown
and other musicians.
By June 26, when the march entered Jackson, it was estimated to be 15,000 strong. Its passage was warmly welcomed in the black neighborhoods and by some whites. However, many whites jeered and threatened the marchers; others simply stayed indoors.
After hospital treatment Meredith rejoined the March Against Fear on June 25, 1966. The following day, the march arrived in Jackson.
In 2010, C. D. Wright, a MacArthur grant winner, published "One with Others" (Copper Canyon), a book-length poem about another March Against Fear across Eastern Arkansas in 1969 that includes a profile of Margaret Kaelin McHugh, a white woman from a small town. McHugh joined the march, and, for her trouble, was run out of her home town, and practically disowned by her husband, with whom she had seven children. McHugh wound up in a fleabag motel in Memphis, and was rescued by Wright and others from Memphis State College, who moved her into their student duplex.
James Meredith
James H. Meredith is an American civil rights movement figure, a writer, and a political adviser. In 1962, he was the first African American student admitted to the segregated University of Mississippi, an event that was a flashpoint in the American civil rights movement. Motivated by President...
started a solitary March Against Fear for 220 miles from Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, to Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
, to protest against racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
. Soon after starting his march he was shot by a sniper
Sniper
A sniper is a marksman who shoots targets from concealed positions or distances exceeding the capabilities of regular personnel. Snipers typically have specialized training and distinct high-precision rifles....
with birdshot, injuring him. When they heard the news, other civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
campaigners, including SCLC
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference is an African-American civil rights organization. SCLC was closely associated with its first president, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr...
's Martin Luther King, SNCC
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee ' was one of the principal organizations of the American Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. It emerged from a series of student meetings led by Ella Baker held at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina in April 1960...
's Stokely Carmichael
Stokely Carmichael
Kwame Ture , also known as Stokely Carmichael, was a Trinidadian-American black activist active in the 1960s American Civil Rights Movement. He rose to prominence first as a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and later as the "Honorary Prime Minister" of the Black Panther Party...
, Cleveland Sellers
Cleveland Sellers
Cleveland Sellers, Jr. was born in 1944 in Denmark, South Carolina to Cleveland and Pauline Sellers. As a young man, he was known for his involvement in the African-American Civil Rights Movement through the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee...
and Floyd McKissick
Floyd McKissick
Floyd Bixler McKissick was born in Asheville, North Carolina on March 9, 1922. He became the first African American student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Law School. In 1966 he became leader of CORE, the Congress of Racial Equality, taking over from James L. Farmer, Jr. A...
, as well as the Human Rights Medical Committee and other civil rights organizations decided to continue the march in Meredith's name. The NAACP were originally involved but pulled out on learning that the Deacons for Defense and Justice
Deacons for Defense and Justice
The Deacons for Defense and Justice is an armed self defense African American civil rights organization in the U.S. Southern states during the 1960s. Historically, the organization practiced self-defense methods in the face of racist oppression that was carried out by Jim Crow Laws; local and state...
were going to be protecting the march. Ordinary people both black and white came from the South and all parts of the country to participate. The marchers slept on the ground outside or in large tents, and were fed mainly by local communities.
On the early evening of Thursday, June 16, 1966, when the marchers arrived in Greenwood, Mississippi
Greenwood, Mississippi
Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, United States, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta approximately 96 miles north of Jackson, Mississippi, and 130 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. The population was 15,205 at the 2010 census. It is the...
, and tried to set up camp at Stone Street Negro Elementary School, Carmichael was arrested for trespassing on public property. Carmichael was held for several hours and then rejoined the marchers at a local park where they had set up camp and were beginning a night-time rally. According to civil rights historian David J. Garrow's Pulitzer-Prize-winning Bearing the Cross (page 481), an angry Carmichael took the speaker's platform and delivered his famous "Black Power
Black Power
Black Power is a political slogan and a name for various associated ideologies. It is used in the movement among people of Black African descent throughout the world, though primarily by African Americans in the United States...
" speech. King, who had flown to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
on Wednesday to help organize the open housing marches, returned to Mississippi on Friday to find that the civil rights movements' internal divisions between the old guard and new guard had gone public. SNCC's "Black Power" slogan was now competing with SCLC's "Freedom Now" slogan.
In Canton, Mississippi the march was attacked and tear-gassed by the Mississippi State Police, who were joined by other police agencies. Several marchers were wounded, one severely. Human Rights Medical Committee members conducted a house-to-house search that night looking for wounded marchers. The nuns of the Catholic school extended their help and hospitality to the marchers, especially to the wounded.
When the march stopped at Tougaloo College
Tougaloo College
Tougaloo College is a private, co-educational, liberal arts institution of higher education founded in 1869, in Madison County, north of Jackson, Mississippi, USA.Academically, Tougaloo College has received high ranks in recent years...
before entering Jackson, it was entertained by James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
and other musicians.
By June 26, when the march entered Jackson, it was estimated to be 15,000 strong. Its passage was warmly welcomed in the black neighborhoods and by some whites. However, many whites jeered and threatened the marchers; others simply stayed indoors.
After hospital treatment Meredith rejoined the March Against Fear on June 25, 1966. The following day, the march arrived in Jackson.
In 2010, C. D. Wright, a MacArthur grant winner, published "One with Others" (Copper Canyon), a book-length poem about another March Against Fear across Eastern Arkansas in 1969 that includes a profile of Margaret Kaelin McHugh, a white woman from a small town. McHugh joined the march, and, for her trouble, was run out of her home town, and practically disowned by her husband, with whom she had seven children. McHugh wound up in a fleabag motel in Memphis, and was rescued by Wright and others from Memphis State College, who moved her into their student duplex.