In 1964, black people in Mississippi launched a vast movement to break the barriers put in place by the state to prevent them from voting. Freedom Summer marked a turning point in the history of civil rights in the United States. But 60 years later, this fight is still not won. Travel to a state where, even in 2024, democracy comes up against old racial barriers.
At a religious community center in downtown Jackson, Mississippi’s capital, Jan Hillegas organizes the paper archives of “Freedom Summer” that she has kept over the years. “The best I can do is preserve these documents so that other people can study them and draw inspiration from them for today’s struggles,” she said in a soft voice, leafing through some files. application form for volunteers that summer.
Scattered in small austere rooms, under the lighting and noise of neon lights, hundreds of cardboard boxes are stacked on top of each other, on the floor. Here and there, a few metal filing cabinets furnish this makeshift warehouse.
“We are looking for a place to house the collection. Some people believe that the archives should be placed in the care of an academic institution, regardless of whether it is in California or another state. But it’s important to me, these archives must stay in Mississippi,” says the frail-looking octogenarian.
Born in Syracuse, New York, Jan Hillegas came to Mississippi in 1964 like a thousand other volunteers to participate in Freedom Summer. By the end of the summer, most of the volunteers had returned home. But Jan Hillegas stayed to keep the civil rights movement alive. One thing led to another, she never left and dedicated her life to different social and political causes in Mississippi.
Impressed by the value of his collection, Christina Thomas, a civil rights historian in residence at Jackson State University, offered to help organize the archives and ensure their preservation.
“I stopped counting after 400 boxes. It’s such a rich collection. We found newspapers defending civil rights, letters from people who had sent donations, some even from India,” says the historian.
“Information is the basis for thinking. I would like these archives to start conversations, argues Jan Hillegas. We need to show people that they have the power to make things happen, to be active, to express themselves for themselves. »
A need for transmission
Nestled in the Delta, a two-hour drive northwest of Jackson, Mound Bayou is a small municipality of just 1,400 residents. Founded at the end of the 19th centurye century by former slaves, it was considered a refuge against segregation until the 1960s. Even today, almost all of its population is black.
Three years ago, Hermon Johnson Jr. and his brother, Darryl — formerly the local mayor — opened a museum there on African-American culture and history.
“Each time, I ask the children who come to visit the museum: “Do you know who is [la militante pour les droits civiques] Fannie Lou Hamer?” I’m always surprised by how many of them don’t know her,” laments Hermon Johnson.
His father, who is also named Hermon, shares his distress. “We see politicians trying to remove books on black history from schools. But these books are essential. We must pass this story on to our young people. »
The 95-year-old remembers segregation, the obligation to pay a tax to be able to vote, but also the literacy tests imposed on voters.
“I remember once being asked to explain part of the Constitution. I had a college education, so I didn’t have a problem… But at the same time as me, an ignorant white man entered the polling station. I was ready. If I had been refused access to the vote, I would have asked this man to explain the Constitution to me in front of everyone,” he recalls.
“Today, there are still problems with access to voting. There is partisan redistribution of the electoral lists, underlines Hermon Johnson Sr. But if young people understand the fight that their ancestors fought, then they can understand the importance of voting. »
This report was financed thanks to the support of the Transat-International Journalism Fund.Duty.