Mississippi: The Closed Society

Listen to an extraordinary historical account – Mississippi: State of Siege!... and other remarkable stories...
by Charlie Leck

Last Thursday (March 10), I was due to have lunch with someone. Driving toward the designated spot, I had, as usual, Minnesota Public Radio tuned in on the car’s audio system. The on-air personality promoted the day’s noon-hour show: Mississippi: State of Siege – an account, he said, of the state that fought the most strenuously to hold off integration within its society and how they did it through the White Citizens Councils.

“Well, gosh dern’ it all! What a time to put a show like that on – when a guy’s gotta go have lunch wid’ a buddy!”

I told my friend what he was causing me to miss. He reminded me that all these shows are archived now and I need only go on-line and listen at my convenience.

“Hot dang! Let’s eat! That duck confit salad looks good!”

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Here’s where you can listen to this extraordinary radio report that will show you just how hard the white citizens of Mississippi tried to fight off the integration of its carefully constructed segregated society.

Better yet, here's the America Radio Works web site that gives you loads of information about Mississippi’s incredible battle against forced integration.

You regular readers will recall that I wrote a series of blogs here about my Mississippi experiences (both in 1964 and in 2008). Those have been published as a small book (66 pages) and The Mississippi Blogs can be ordered here – at the Lulu Publication web site. Any proceeds I might receive from the sale of these books will be donated to KIVA.

We are also publishing all of my blogs from 2007 in 4 volumes and the first volume will be ready soon. Again, I’ll let you know when the book is ready for purchase.

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Another of my books, My Town (essays from 1992-’93 about living here in my small town), has been republished and will be available for purchase very soon. I’ll let you know when that book will be available (and proceeds of the sale will also go to KIVA.

Tomorrow I’ll write about the extraordinary radio show and web site, Mississippi: State of Siege!

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