Mississippi Heroes: White Champions of Racial Justice, 1954-1974

Between 1954-1974 hundreds of courageous Black individuals in Mississippi defied intimidation, police arrests, violence, and death to gain justice and equality in the courts, in education, job opportunities, and the right to vote. A very small minority of White Mississippians supported their efforts by championing racial justice and equality in the courts, in educational opportunity, in job opportunities, and the right to vote. There was a much larger silent minority who, for a variety of reasons, did not publicly articulate their views on equality and racial justice for Black Mississippians. In many instances, connections with family, church, business, profession, and organization combined with the coercion of the Sovereignty Commission, intimidation and threats from the Ku Klux Klan, meant that public discourse exposed them and their families to substantial risks. Undeterred by these pressures and threats, this minority persevered in championing racial justice for Black Mississippians.

This book hails this minority as Mississippi Heroes. It is inspired in part by Mississippi Heroes, edited by Dean Faulkner and Hunter Cole, and published in 1980 by the University Press of Mississippi. It consists of scholarly essays about ten Mississippi heroes who contributed to the state's identity. They define a Mississippi hero as an individual whose contribution was marked by "a kind of religious conviction, qualities of leadership, charisma, and aura" that differentiates them from ordinary people. Although they specify "hero" is generic for both genders, no women and only one Black, Medgar Evers, are included. In contrast, this book reflects the current focus of civil rights scholarship on ordinary White Mississippians whose support for racial justice in the 1950s helped unleash forces that produced momentous social and political changes in Mississippi. These White champions of racial justice and equality for Black Mississippians were considered traitors whose activities would destroy the Mississippi way of life. Undeterred by estrangement from friends and family, social and financial pressure to recant, and intimidation through threats of violence, they stayed the course and merit recognition as Mississippi Heroes.

Author: Charles Dollar
Publisher: Dollar
Published: 05/30/2025
Pages: 388
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.48lbs
Size: 10.00h x 7.00w x 0.80d
ISBN: 9798218682002

About the Author
Dollar, Charles: - Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Charles Dollar holds a BA degree from Union University and a PhD degree in history from the University of Kentucky. He was a faculty member at Oklahoma State University and the University of British Columbia and is co-author of three books on American History and is author of two books on archives theory and practice. Dollar joined the staff of the National Archives of the United States in 1974 to lead an archives preservation program of electronic records. He played a major leadershiprole in early efforts of the Society of American Archivists and the International Council on Archives to address the challenges of electronic records. He served for more than a decade on a technical committee of the International Organization for Standards (ISO). Recognition for his contributions to the field of records and information management include the Company of AIIM Fellows, Fellow of the Society of American Archivists, and the recipient of the Emmett Leahy Award. He resides in Sparks, Nevada.