Living in Mississippi (Biloxi), we still get to read often about those events.
Some are angry about "not letting sleeping dogs lie", and attempt to compare prosecuting those involved in those crimes as being similar to chasing after WWII nazi prison guards.
Interesting factoid about the beach a half a mile from my house: It was the scene of something called "wade-ins" as black people were banned from going on it except for a stretch about a quarter of a mile wide. The (man-made) beach is 27 miles long
The wade-ins were organized by a local (black) doctor who sadly just died recently.
On April 24, 1960, a terrible race riot occurred when 40-50 African-Americans attempted to swim off of the Mississippi Gulf Coast beaches in Biloxi and Gulfport. The whites-only beach became a scene of chaos as angry whites attacked the civil rights activists with sticks, chains, blackjacks, and pool cues. Four were seriously wounded in this incident. The violence continued into the night, and two white men and eight black men suffered gunshot wounds. On April 25, 1960, two firebombs were thrown into the office of Dr. Gilbert Mason in response to his leadership of the wade-ins the day before that resulted in a bloody riot. One firebomb burned itself out. When the other exploded, neighbors quickly put out the flames. After the riots that occurred as a result of the wade-ins in April 1960, the black community in Biloxi boycotted several white-owned businesses instead of planning future wade-ins. Specifically, the group targeted the Borden Milk Company, a large drugstore on Howard Avenue, and a general food and variety store at Nixon and Division Streets. The drugstore fired six black employees after the beach boycott, but it sustained enough business from the white community to survive. The white-owned general food and variety store, however, was put out of business after Biloxi African-Americans refused to shop there. The Borden milk company fired A.A. Dickey, a participant in the beach boycotts. The subsequent boycott put Borden out of business in Biloxi, and Dairy Fresh moved in and thrived there. On May 17, 1960, the Justice Department filed suit in the United States District Court to force equal access of the 26-mile beach of the Mississippi Gulf Coast for all races. After eight years of struggle and litigation, on August 16, 1968, Judge J.P. Coleman ruled that the Mississippi Gulf Coast beach was public property, available for use by all citizens. Coleman was the former Governor of Mississippi and Fifth Court Circuit Court of Appeals.
Local TV piece here: http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=10337136&nav=menu40_2_2
Some are angry about "not letting sleeping dogs lie", and attempt to compare prosecuting those involved in those crimes as being similar to chasing after WWII nazi prison guards.
Interesting factoid about the beach a half a mile from my house: It was the scene of something called "wade-ins" as black people were banned from going on it except for a stretch about a quarter of a mile wide. The (man-made) beach is 27 miles long
The wade-ins were organized by a local (black) doctor who sadly just died recently.
On April 24, 1960, a terrible race riot occurred when 40-50 African-Americans attempted to swim off of the Mississippi Gulf Coast beaches in Biloxi and Gulfport. The whites-only beach became a scene of chaos as angry whites attacked the civil rights activists with sticks, chains, blackjacks, and pool cues. Four were seriously wounded in this incident. The violence continued into the night, and two white men and eight black men suffered gunshot wounds. On April 25, 1960, two firebombs were thrown into the office of Dr. Gilbert Mason in response to his leadership of the wade-ins the day before that resulted in a bloody riot. One firebomb burned itself out. When the other exploded, neighbors quickly put out the flames. After the riots that occurred as a result of the wade-ins in April 1960, the black community in Biloxi boycotted several white-owned businesses instead of planning future wade-ins. Specifically, the group targeted the Borden Milk Company, a large drugstore on Howard Avenue, and a general food and variety store at Nixon and Division Streets. The drugstore fired six black employees after the beach boycott, but it sustained enough business from the white community to survive. The white-owned general food and variety store, however, was put out of business after Biloxi African-Americans refused to shop there. The Borden milk company fired A.A. Dickey, a participant in the beach boycotts. The subsequent boycott put Borden out of business in Biloxi, and Dairy Fresh moved in and thrived there. On May 17, 1960, the Justice Department filed suit in the United States District Court to force equal access of the 26-mile beach of the Mississippi Gulf Coast for all races. After eight years of struggle and litigation, on August 16, 1968, Judge J.P. Coleman ruled that the Mississippi Gulf Coast beach was public property, available for use by all citizens. Coleman was the former Governor of Mississippi and Fifth Court Circuit Court of Appeals.
Local TV piece here: http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=10337136&nav=menu40_2_2
