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I'M STANLEY TUCCI, YOUR HOST OF INDEPENDENT LENS. MISSISSIPPI 1959. BLACK KOREAN WAR VETERAN CLYDE KENNARD WAS SENTENCED TO SEVEN YEARS IN JAIL FOR STEALING CHICKEN FEED. YEARS LATER, IT WAS CONFIRMED THAT A STATE-RUN ORGANIZATION HAD PLANTED THE EVIDENCE THAT LED TO HIS CONVICTION. WHAT HAD HE DONE TO MAKE HIM AN ENEMY OF THE STATE? HE APPLIED FOR COLLEGE. INDEPENDENT FILMMAKER DAWN PORTER EXPOSES THE LONG-HIDDEN SECRETS OF THE MISSISSIPPI SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION, AN ORGANIZATION CREATED TO KEEP SEGREGATION IN PLACE AT ANY PRICE. WHEN A JUDGE ORDERED THE SEALED FILES OPENED, THEY REVEALED A SORDID HISTORY THAT WAS NOT AS BLACK-AND-WHITE AS YOU MIGHT THINK. THE COMMISSION CREATED A NETWORK OF BLACK DOUBLE AGENTS WHO INFILTRATED THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT. WHEN COVERT INFORMATION LANDED IN THE HANDS OF THE KU KLUX KLAN, WELL, THAT WAS JUST COLLATERAL DAMAGE. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THOSE WITH THE POWER TO PROTECT OUR RIGHTS ARE WORKING TO SUPPRESS THEM? SPIES OF MISSISSIPPI NEXT. -YEAH -DOWN IN MISSISSIPPI WAY DOWN LYNDON JOHNSON SAID, "THERE'S AMERICA, THERE'S THE SOUTH, AND THEN THERE'S MISSISSIPPI." MISSISSIPPI WAS A VIOLENT PLACE IN THE 1950s AND 1960s. -AS FAR BACK AS I CAN REMEMBER ANY KIND OF CIVIL RIGHTS AGITATION WAS A DEATH-DEFYING ACT. MISSISSIPPI STATE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION WAS MISSISSIPPI'S SPY AGENCY DURING THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT. THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION WANTED TO KNOW WHO THE ACTIVISTS WERE IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY. -DOWN IN MISSISSIPPI THEY WERE OUT TO STOP OVERT EFFORTS AT INTEGRATION. -DOWN IN MISSISSIPPI WHERE I WAS BORN IT'S STATE GOVERNMENT ITSELF. WE'RE NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT SOME REDNECKS ON THE STREET ARE PULLING THIS OFF. THIS IS DEFIANCE AT ITS HIGHEST LEVELS. -THEY HAD A HUNTING SEASON ON THE RABBIT WE KNEW WE WERE BEING FOLLOWED. I KNEW MY LIFE WAS IN DANGER. THIS IS STILL THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND YOU DON'T TREAT AMERICAN CITIZENS THIS WAY. YOU WILL BE ARRESTED FOR PARADING WITHOUT A PERMIT. HOW FAR THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION WENT IN TERMS OF CROSSING LEGAL LINES, I THINK IT IS ACCURATE TO SAY THAT THEY CROSSED THEM ALL THE TIME. -WAY DOWN IN MISSISSIPPI DOWN IN MISSISSIPPI

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LOOKING AT THE UNITED STATES, MISSISSIPPI IS IN THE CENTER OF THE STATE AT THE SOUTHERNMOST TIP. MISSISSIPPI DEFINITELY IS CONSIDERED THE DEEP SOUTH. GROWING UP IN MISSISSIPPI, I'M THE YOUNGEST OF 12 CHILDREN. MY PARENTS WERE SHARECROPPERS WHEN I WAS BORN. SO NATURALLY, BEING A SHARECROPPER, I DID A LOT OF WORK IN THE FIELDS. WHEN WE WENT TO SCHOOL AT THAT PARTICULAR TIME, GROWING UP, ESPECIALLY AS BLACKS, THE BOOKS WE RECEIVED AND USED WERE HAND-ME-DOWN BOOKS, ONCE THEY BECAME OBSOLETE FOR THE WHITE STUDENTS. IT WAS TO KEEP THAT WHOLE SYSTEM THAT REALLY HAD ITS ROOTS IN SLAVERY. THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO CLEAN THEIR HOMES, WORKED THEIR LAND, AND IF THEY COULD DO MORE THAN THAT, THEY MIGHT ACTUALLY BECOME EQUAL, AND THEY NEVER WANTED IT TO COME TO A POINT WHERE THERE WOULD BE REAL EQUALITY. THERE WAS A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS LIVING IN MISSISSIPPI THAN IN ANY OTHER STATE. AT ONE TIME, IT WAS A MAJORITY. THOSE WERE THE NUMBERS THAT DROVE THE INTENSITY OF THE OPPOSITION TO INTEGRATION. SO MANY WHITE PEOPLE COULD NOT COMPREHEND A REVERSAL OF THE ROLES OF WHITES AND BLACKS, AND THEY THOUGHT THAT BLACKS WOULD DOMINATE THE STATE IN ALMOST EVERY WAY.

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THE POLITICAL ATMOSPHERE IN MISSISSIPPI IN THE MIDDLE 1950s WAS BEGINNING TO CHANGE VERY DRASTICALLY. BY 1956, BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION HAD BEEN PASSED, THE GREAT SUPREME COURT RULING THAT SAID THAT YOU COULDN'T DISCRIMINATE WITHIN EDUCATION ON THE BASIS OF RACE. THE LEGISLATURE OF MISSISSIPPI WAS ALMOST 100% SEGREGATIONIST, AND MANY OF THEM WERE AVID SEGREGATIONISTS AT THE TIME WHO FELT THAT THE STRUGGLE WAS STARTING TO TURN AGAINST THE STATE AND THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WAS GAINING POWER TO ENFORCE CIVIL RIGHTS LAWS. AND THEY CREATE A SPECIAL AGENCY WITH THE DIRECT MISSION TO PRESERVE SEGREGATION.

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IN THE LEGISLATURE OF 1956, ONE OF THE MAJOR BILLS THAT WAS PASSED DURING THAT SESSION WAS A BILL TO CREATE SOMETHING CALLED "THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION." I AM SURE THAT YOU WILL NOT FAIL TO ENACT AN APPROPRIATE STATE SOVEREIGNTY BILL WHICH WILL ENABLE US DURING THE NEXT TWO YEARS TO MAINTAIN A SUCCESSFUL FIGHT FOR PRESERVING THE SEPARATION OF THE RACES IN THIS STATE. AT THAT TIME, IT SEEMED TO BE A HARMLESS KIND OF LEGISLATION. IT WAS MORE LIKE A WHITE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE. THEN WE BEGAN TO ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT IT, ABOUT HOW THAT BILL COULD BE ABUSED. IT PASSED, HOWEVER, AND WAS ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE AND SIGNED BY GOVERNOR COLEMAN AND SET IN MOTION.

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THIS IS MISSISSIPPI, THE CENTRAL STATE, THE HEART OF THE SOUTH. IT STARTED OUT AS A PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGN WITH FILMS LIKE MESSAGE FROM MISSISSIPPI, LETTING THE WORLD KNOW THAT PEOPLE LIKE THE SYSTEM OF SEGREGATION IN MISSISSIPPI AND THAT NOTHING SHOULD EVER CHANGE IT. OUT OF THE STATEWIDE PATTERN OF SEGREGATION AND MUTUAL RESPECT AND COOPERATION AMONG THE RACES HAS ARISEN A PRODUCTIVE, LAW-ABIDING WAY OF LIFE. REVEREND J.W. JONES, COLORED PASTOR OF NEW ALBANY, AN EDITOR OF A STATEWIDE COLORED NEWSPAPER, HAS THIS TO SAY. WE HAVE FAR LESS CRIME IN OUR RACE IN MISSISSIPPI IN PROPORTION TO THE POPULATION THAN IN ANY STATE IN THE NATION. I BELIEVE THIS IS BECAUSE OF THE WAY OF LIFE IN MISSISSIPPI. THEY SENT OUT MAILINGS. THEY SENT OUT SPEAKERS. THEY INVITED NEWSPAPER PEOPLE INTO THE STATE. TALKED TO THEM, TRIED TO PERSUADE THEM THAT, YOU KNOW, "ALL IS WELL HERE. WE GOT SOME GOOD BLACK PEOPLE, AND WE TREAT THEM WELL." WELL, THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION BECAME AN INSTRUMENT OF STATE POWER IN ENFORCING SEGREGATION. IT'S INITIALLY A SMALL AGENCY UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE GOVERNOR THAT WILL KEEP TRACK OF THESE CIVIL RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS. WE WERE MOUNTING WHAT I THINK OF AS AN EARNED INSURGENCY IN THIS COUNTRY AND IN MISSISSIPPI. I THINK THAT EARNED FOR US THE RIGHT TO GO TO THE REST OF THE COUNTRY AND SAY, "WE NEED THE REST OF THE COUNTRY TO TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT'S GOING IN MISSISSIPPI." IF YOU REGISTERED TO VOTE, YOU IMMEDIATELY BECAME AN ENEMY OF THE STATE. IF YOU RENTED FROM A WHITE PERSON, YOU WERE KICKED OUT. IF YOU WORKED FOR A WHITE PERSON, YOU WERE FIRED. AND YET WE GOT THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE TO TAKE ON AN ENTIRE STATE THAT WAS COMMITTED TO AN APARTHEID SYSTEM THAT WOULD MAKE SOUTH AFRICA BLUSH. IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF THE SO-CALLED CIVIL RIGHTS ERA. THAT'S WHEN THE TENSIONS BEGAN TO RISE OVER WHAT WAS COMING, WHAT PEOPLE THOUGHT WAS COMING DOWN THE ROAD. WITHIN THREE TO FOUR YEARS OF ITS BEING FORMED, THE MISSISSIPPI STATE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION TRANSFORMS ITSELF INTO A FULL-BLOWN SPY AGENCY WITH A WHOLE NETWORK OF INVESTIGATORS AND AGENTS TO GO AROUND THE STATE, EXPLORING THINGS THAT WERE GOING TO POSSIBLY CHANGE WHAT PEOPLE EUPHEMISTICALLY CALLED THE MISSISSIPPI WAY OF LIFE. THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION SPY PROGRAM ACTUALLY STARTED AT A VERY SMALL LEVEL. IT'S A COUPLE OF AGENTS, USUALLY FORMER STATE POLICE INVESTIGATORS, EVEN FORMER FBI AGENTS, WHO ARE HIGHLY SKILLED INVESTIGATORS, AND THEY'RE AT THE CORE. SO THEY'RE INVESTIGATING PEOPLE BELIEVED TO BE CONNECTED TO THE NAACP. SO THESE ARE PEOPLE LIKE ZACH VAN LANDINGHAM, A WHITE AGENT TRAINED IN INVESTIGATION OUT THERE GATHERING INFORMATION. THE NAACP IS THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE, AND IT'S A HISTORIC ORGANIZATION. IT WAS STARTED IN 1909. IT WAS A BIRACIAL ORGANIZATION, SO WHITES AND BLACKS JOINING TOGETHER TO HAVE A DEDICATED ORGANIZATION THAT WOULD FOCUS ON ADVANCING THE RIGHTS OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN THE UNITED STATES. I'LL NEVER FORGET FINDING THE FILE ON CLYDE KENNARD, A YOUNG MAN WHOSE GREAT CRIME AGAINST THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI WAS TO APPLY TO GO TO COLLEGE. CLYDE KENNARD WAS A KOREAN WAR VETERAN, AN UPSTANDING CITIZEN WHO HAD STUDIED IN THE NORTHERN UNIVERSITIES AND WHO WAS VERY AMBITIOUS AND A PROFOUNDLY DECENT AND GOOD GUY. IN THE '50s, CLYDE KENNARD TRIED TO GO TO THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI. IN THE 1950s, A FEW AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN THE SOUTH WHO WERE ABLE TO ENROLL IN COLLEGE COULD ONLY ATTEND BLACK SCHOOLS. KENNARD'S APPLICATION TO ATTEND MISSISSIPPI SOUTHERN WAS SEEN AS AN ATTACK ON SEGREGATION AND SET INTO MOTION A SWIFT RESPONSE FROM THE STATE. HIS APPLICATION WAS GIVEN TO THE MISSISSIPPI STATE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION, AN ORGANIZATION FEW MISSISSIPPIANS EVEN KNEW EXISTED. THEY DID A REPORT THAT TRACKED HIS BACKGROUND GROWING UP IN MISSISSIPPI, HIS TIME SPENT WITH HIS FAMILY IN CHICAGO, HIS TIME IN THE MILITARY, HIS TIME AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO... AND HIS TIME BACK IN MISSISSIPPI HELPING HIS AILING MOTHER ON HER CHICKEN FARM. WITH MULTIPLE AGENTS TRACKING EVERYBODY IN HIS BACKGROUND, THEY COULDN'T COME UP WITH ANYTHING THAT COULD UNDERCUT HIS APPLICATION TO GO TO COLLEGE. THE POLICE, WITH THE COOPERATION OF THE STATE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION, PLANTED STOLEN CHICKEN FEED FROM THE COUNTY CO-OP, ABOUT 20 BUCKS WORTH OF CHICKEN FEED PLANTED ON HIS FARM. HE DIDN'T STEAL 'EM. EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT. BUT HE WAS ARRESTED FOR THAT, AND HE WAS PUT IN PRISON FOR SEVEN YEARS. HE WAS SENTENCED TO PARCHMAN PENITENTIARY, THE WORST PRISON AT THAT TIME PROBABLY IN THE COUNTRY. THEY LET HIM OUT A COUPLE MONTHS BEFORE HE DIED OF CANCER, BUT ONLY BECAUSE HE WAS TERMINAL. THAT SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION DID ALL THEY COULD TO HOLD BACK PROGRESS IN OUR STATE AND BASICALLY DISCOURAGED ANY KIND OF EFFORTS TO BRING BLACK AND WHITE PEOPLE TOGETHER. THERE WERE RUMORS THAT THE WHITE CAR PARKED OUTSIDE THE GATE OF TOUGALOO COLLEGE WAS TAKING DOWN THE LICENSE PLATE NUMBERS OF EVERYONE, BLACK OR WHITE, WHO WENT TO AN INTERRACIAL MEETING. IT TURNS OUT THAT IS WHAT WAS HAPPENING. PEOPLE WOULD THEN BE AFRAID TO COME TO ANOTHER MEETING.

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ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY WERE REALLY KNOWN FOR DOING WAS GETTING THE LICENSE PLATE TAGS, NAMES, AND ADDRESSES OF PEOPLE WHO WERE ATTENDING CIVIL RIGHTS MEETINGS AND GIVING THEM TO NEWSPAPER EDITORS, WHO WOULD PUBLISH THE NAMES AND ADDRESSES OF THESE PEOPLE, WHICH IS AN INCREDIBLY EFFECTIVE TERROR TACTIC, BECAUSE THEY OBVIOUSLY WERE SUBJECT TO NIGHT RAIDS BY THE KLAN AND BY OTHER TERRORIST GROUPS OR BY INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE JUST BENT ON WHITE SUPREMACY. SO OTHER BLACK LEADERS KNEW THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING GOING ON, THAT THESE WHITE AGENTS WHO WERE SHOWING UP AT THEIR MEETINGS, TAKING DOWN THEIR LICENSE NUMBERS, WERE PART OF SOMETHING, BUT THEY DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION.

WE WOULD ALWAYS HAVE A SAYING IN THE MEETINGS

"WE DON'T EVER HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT PLANNING "AND PEOPLE KNOWING, "'CAUSE BY THE TIME WE LEAVE HERE "IN THE MORNING, THEY GONNA KNOW ANYWAY." THAT WAS KIND OF AN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT THAT THERE WAS PEOPLE AROUND GIVING UP INFORMATION. WE COULDN'T DO A WHOLE LOT ABOUT IT, 'CAUSE WE COULDN'T REALLY PROVE IT. EARLY ON, THE COMMISSION REALIZED THAT IN ORDER TO TRULY BE EFFECTIVE, IT NEEDED BLACK AGENTS. THEY WERE ESSENTIALLY AFRICAN-AMERICANS WHO WERE PAID TO GO OUT AND THEY WOULD SIT IN AN NAACP MEETING, AND THEY WOULD COME BACK AND REPORT TO THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION, "HEY, HERE'S WHAT WAS SAID." IT'S IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE THAT THESE WERE THE MINORITY WITHIN IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY, SO IT WAS NOT EASY TO FIND SOMEONE WHO WAS WILLING TO DO THIS. BUT THERE ARE A NUMBER OF THEM WHO WERE TIED IN TO THE BLACK POWER STRUCTURE AND WHO WERE WILLING TO SHARE THAT INFORMATION.

B.L. BELL WROTE THE GOVERNOR A LETTER

"I UNDERSTAND YOU STARTED THIS SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION, AND I'D LIKE TO VOLUNTEER MY SERVICES," AND SO HE DOES. AND SO THEY SEND HIM OUT, AND HE GOES TO THESE VARIOUS MEETINGS. B.L. BELL WAS MY UNCLE. HE MARRIED MY FATHER'S BABY SISTER. MY AUNT MARRIED HIM, BUT HE NEVER DEALT WITH US THAT MUCH BECAUSE WE WERE NOT, AS HE CALLED PEOPLE, "THE THINKING-CLASS PEOPLE." MY MOM WAS A MAID, AND MY DADDY WAS A CEMENT FINISHER AND A COTTON SAMPLER, SO WE WERE WORKING-CLASS PEOPLE. HE REALLY DIDN'T WANT TO SEE PROGRESS, AND HE THOUGHT THAT-- LIKE MANY OTHER PEOPLE, FELT THAT THEY WERE ABOVE US, AND THEY WANTED TO STAY ABOVE US. I KNEW H.H. HUMES WHEN I WAS A KID GROWING UP IN CLEVELAND. HE WAS THE PASTOR OF THIS CHURCH CALLED ST. PAUL MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH. PEOPLE LIKED DR. HUMES BECAUSE HE COULD-- HE WAS A WHOOPING PREACHER. HE COULD HOLLER AND STOMP REAL LOUD AND PUT THE FEAR OF FIRE AND BRIMSTONES IN YOU. HE WAS ONE OF THE BIGGEST PREACHERS IN CLEVELAND. PEOPLE RESPECTED HIM. I HAD NO IDEA THAT HE WAS AN INFORMANT FOR THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION. HE WAS A METICULOUS SPY WHO WOULD FILE HIS REPORTS BACK TO THE COMMISSION-- NEW MEMBERS OF THE NAACP, NEW TACTICS THAT THEY PLANNED TO EMPLOY, NEW EVENTS THAT THEY WERE GONNA ORCHESTRATE. CONSTANT REPORTS GOING FROM REVEREND HUMES BACK TO THE COMMISSION. AND THAT BECAME A MODEL OF HOW THE COMMISSION COULD TAKE A CONSERVATIVE BLACK LEADER, WHO MIGHT HAVE HIS OWN ISSUES WITH THE NAACP, AND, THROUGH THE POWER OF MONEY AND THROUGH THE POWER OF PRESTIGE, TAP THAT PERSON AS A SOURCE OF INTELLIGENCE TO BE USED AGAINST THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT. WE WERE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR THE WHITE GUYS IN THE PICKUP TRUCKS DOWN THE ROAD TO TAKE TAG NUMBERS DOWN WHEN WE WERE LEAVING, BUT WE NEVER DECIDED TO LOOK AROUND THE ROOM. WE WERE NOT UNDERSTANDING THAT PERHAPS PEOPLE WERE BEING PAID, WHO LOOKED LIKE US, TO SPY AND REPORT BACK. PERCY GREENE, EDITOR OF THE JACKSON ADVOCATE, THE BIGGEST NEWSPAPER FOR THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY AT THE TIME, DIDN'T LIKE THE NEW, YOUNGER MEMBERSHIP OF THE NAACP THAT MIGHT BE A LITTLE MORE STRIDENT THAN THE OLDER GENERATION AND ENDED UP SUPPLYING A PRETTY STEADY STREAM OF INTELLIGENCE FOR INFORMATION FROM WITHIN THE BLACK COMMUNITY. A LOT OF US OPERATED ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT THIS WAS SOMEBODY THAT I MIGHT WANT TO EMULATE WHEN I GROW UP. HE WAS ALWAYS IMPECCABLY DRESSED AND, FROM ALL INDICATIONS, APPEARED TO BE A VERY SUCCESSFUL INDIVIDUAL. THEY WERE SCARED THAT THEY WOULD LOSE THEIR SOCIAL STANDING IN THE COMMUNITY IF YOU HAD EQUALITY. NOW, ALL TOO MANY NEGROES ALL OVER THIS COUNTRY WHO ARE THE-- WHO HAVE SEGREGATED MINDS, THEY HAVE BEEN TOLD SO LONG THAT THEY DON'T COUNT, THAT THEY ARE INFERIOR, THAT THEY'VE COME TO BELIEVE THAT. THIS IS THE TRAGEDY OF SEGREGATION, NOT NEARLY WHAT IT HAS DONE TO THE NEGRO IN TERMS OF PHYSICAL INCONVENIENCE, BUT WHAT IT HAS DONE TO HIS SOUL, WHAT IT HAS DONE TO HIM PSYCHOLOGICALLY.

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B.L. BELL WROTE THE GOVERNOR A LETTER

IN THE LATE '50s, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS GOT AHOLD OF TWO CHECKS, ONE FILED FROM THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION TO PERCY GREENE AND ONE FILED FROM THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION TO REVEREND HUMES, AND THEY WROTE A STORY ABOUT THESE TWO PROMINENT BLACK LEADERS GETTING PAID UNDER THE TABLE BY AN AGENCY DEDICATED TO PRESERVING SEGREGATION. THERE WERE DEMANDS THAT PERCY GREENE BE TAKEN OUT OF HIS ROLE AS HEAD OF THE BAPTIST CONVENTION, WHICH WAS A HUGE GROUP OF HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF BAPTISTS. THERE WAS A BIG OUTCRY AGAINST GREENE AND HIS NEWSPAPER. REVEREND HUMES WAS UNDER TREMENDOUS STRESS AT THAT TIME, AND LATE ONE NIGHT, WHILE COMING HOME FROM A FRIEND'S HOUSE, HE SUFFERED A HEART ATTACK AND DIED. ONE OF THE MORE TELLING THINGS THAT HAPPENED WAS, THE NEXT DAY, A SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION AGENT SHOWED UP AT HIS HOUSE, AND, UNBEKNOWNST TO THE GRIEVING FAMILY, WENT INTO HIS PRIVATE OFFICE AND REMOVED ALL FILES PERTAINING TO THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION TO HIDE THAT RELATIONSHIP. B.L. BELL--HE'S EXPOSED AS A SPY PUBLICLY, SO HIS EFFECTIVENESS AS A SPY IS ZERO NOW. AND THE LETTERS THAT YOU READ AFTER THAT ARE REALLY KIND OF PITIFUL. HE, LIKE, WRITES THEM AND SAYS, "I'VE GOT THIS EXPENSE OR THAT EXPENSE I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD HELP ME WITH." HE OUTLIVED HIS USEFULNESS, AND THEY JUST COMPLETELY CUT HIM OFF. ANYTIME THERE'S A GREAT FREEDOM MOVEMENT, THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO END UP ON BOTH SIDES, AND IF WOULD COULD TRANSPORT OURSELVES BACK TO MISSISSIPPI AT THAT TIME, IT WAS A CONFUSING TIME. THERE WERE MANY SHADES OF OPINION ON ALL THE ISSUES RELATED TO CIVIL RIGHTS. WE HAD A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO FELT THAT THERE WAS NO WAY THAT THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT COULD POSSIBLY WIN, SO WHY NOT GET ON THE WINNING SIDE EARLY? AND OTHERS-- WHICH THERE WAS-- "THE GOVERNMENT ASKED ME TO DO IT; "THEREFORE, IT HAS TO BE LEGAL. "THE GOVERNMENT DOESN'T DO ILLEGAL THINGS. DOES IT?" THE FUTURE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA MAY WELL BE DETERMINED HERE IN MISSISSIPPI, FOR IT IS HERE THAT DEMOCRACY FACES ITS MOST SERIOUS CHALLENGE. CAN WE HAVE GOVERNMENT IN MISSISSIPPI WHICH REPRESENTS ALL OF THE PEOPLE? THIS IS A QUESTION WHICH MUCH BE ANSWERED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE IF THESE UNITED STATES ARE TO CONTINUE TO GIVE MORAL LEADERSHIP TO THE FREE WORLD. THERE IS NO CASE IN HISTORY WHERE THE CAUCASIAN RACE HAS SURVIVED SOCIAL INTEGRATION. WE WILL NOT DRINK FROM THE CUP OF GENOCIDE.

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B.L. BELL WROTE THE GOVERNOR A LETTER

AND JUST OVER THE PERIOD OF A LITTLE OVER TWO WEEKS, YOU HAD 50 MAJOR DEMONSTRATIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY IN ALL PARTS OF THE UNITED STATES, NOT BEING CREATED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. THEY'RE BEING CREATED BY PEOPLE WHO ARE DISSATISFIED AT BEING TREATED AS SECOND-CLASS CITIZENS. AND THIS IS THE DIFFICULTY. WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT. BY 1960 IN THE DEEP SOUTH, THE SIT-IN MOVEMENT HAS JUST EXPLODED. THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION SEES THIS HAPPENING AND THIS RAPID DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH OF AN ORGANIZED CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT WHERE YOU DO HAVE PEOPLE WHO CALL THEMSELVES CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS. AND SO THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION HAS TO RAMP UP ITS OWN EFFORTS TO DEFY THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT AND THESE ACTIVISTS. THE STATE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION REALLY ASSUMED ITS MATURE AND MOST MALIGNANT FORM AFTER 1960, AFTER ROSS BARNETT WAS GOVERNOR OF THE STATE. THE AGENCY REALLY BECAME SORT OF THE STASI OF MISSISSIPPI UNDER ROSS BARNETT. THEY DOUBLE THE NUMBER OF SPIES THEY HAVE THEMSELVES. THEY DECIDE THEY'RE GONNA TRY AND REACH OUT-- "WELL, HOW CAN WE DO THIS?" THESE DETECTIVE AGENCIES KIND OF VOLUNTEER THEIR SERVICES. THESE PRIVATE DETECTIVE AGENCIES HAD BOTH WHITE INVESTIGATORS AND BLACK INVESTIGATORS. THEY HAD FOUR OR FIVE DETECTIVE AGENCIES THAT THEY HIRED TO HELP DO THE WORK OF THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE THESE PEOPLE, TO ATTEND CIVIL RIGHTS MEETINGS. SO THE BLACK DETECTIVE BECAME THE NEW MODEL. AND THEY COULD KEEP THE PAYMENTS TO THE DETECTIVE AGENCIES HIDDEN, AND CERTAINLY THE ROLE OF THE BLACK DETECTIVE WOULD BE VERY DIFFICULT FOR ANYONE TO TRACE. SPIES LET US KNOW WHAT THESE MARCHERS WERE GOING TO DO, WHERE THEY WERE GOING, WHAT TOWNS THEY WERE GOING TO. THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION WAS TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH THE INVASION FROM THE NORTH, THE MARCHERS COMING DOWN THROUGH HERE, YOU KNOW? AND WE PRETTY WELL DID.

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B.L. BELL WROTE THE GOVERNOR A LETTER

OUR PHONES WERE TAPPED. THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION HAS FILES OF SPEECHES THAT I GAVE AND OTHERS GAVE EXTEMPORANEOUSLY, BUT THEY WERE COPIED, TAPED, TYPED, AND STORED IN THEIR FILES. THERE'S 160,000 PAGES OF SPY REPORTS TALKING ABOUT TRACKING MEDGAR EVERS, TALKING ABOUT PREPARING FOR AN ARRIVAL OF MARTIN LUTHER KING INTO THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, GETTING INFORMATION IN ADVANCE ABOUT WHAT HIS ROUTE WOULD BE AND WHAT THE STRATEGY WOULD BE TO UNDERCUT HIM. IN MANY CASES, AS IT PERTAINS TO SPECIFIC CIVIL RIGHTS EVENTS OR ORGANIZATIONS, HOW LITTLE THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION ACTUALLY KNEW COMPARED TO WHAT IT THOUGHT IT KNEW-- AND OFTENTIMES THAT WAS BECAUSE OF THE ABILITY OF CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS TO FUNNEL THE INFORMATION THAT THEY WANTED TO FUNNEL BACK TO THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION THROUGH THESE PEOPLE WHO THEY KNEW WERE BLACK INFORMANTS. IT WASN'T JUST THE PEOPLE WHO WERE OUT ON THE FRONT LINES. IT WAS EVERYBODY. MY PARENTS' INVOLVEMENT IN THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT-- THEY WOULD HELP PEOPLE PASS LITERACY TESTS, AND THEN ONCE THEY GOT REGISTERED TO VOTE, MY PARENTS WOULD COLLECT THE MONEY AND PAY THEIR POLL TAXES. THEY WEREN'T ON THE FRONT LINES. THEY WEREN'T MARCHERS. THEY WERE AT THE BACKGROUND. ANYBODY WHO WAS TRYING TO CHANGE THE SYSTEM IN WHATEVER SMALL WAY THEY WERE TRYING TO DO IT, YOU WERE SUSPECT. THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION SAW ITSELF AS WORKING WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF STATE GOVERNMENT, KNOWING THAT THE MISSION OF STATE GOVERNMENT WAS TO PRESERVE SEGREGATION AND WAS ROOTED IN WHITE SUPREMACY. SO THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION WAS SUPPLYING INFORMATION TO THE POLICE AGENCIES, THE STATE POLICE, THE COUNTY SHERIFFS, WITHOUT FULLY REALIZING THAT THE KU KLUX KLAN WAS ON THE ASCENDENCY AND THAT ITS STRATEGY WAS TO INFILTRATE THE COUNTY SHERIFFS DEPARTMENTS. THE KLAN HAD MORE OR LESS DISAPPEARED IN THE 1920s AND HADN'T BEEN MUCH THROUGH THE '30s AND '40s AND '50s, BUT IT CAME BACK WITH A VENGEANCE, OF COURSE, IN THE 1960s AND THOROUGHLY TERRORIZED THE STATE WITH ITS CAMPAIGN OF BOMBING. BUT IS IT VIOLENCE WHEN OUR COMMUNITIES ARE JEOPARDIZED BY SUCH SEX-CRAZED, IDIOTIC MOBS AS THE DEACONS OR THE NAACP? I SAY, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE'VE GOT TO MAKE OUR STAND, AND I SAY THAT IT IS NOT VIOLENCE WHEN WE PROTECT OURSELVES.

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B.L. BELL WROTE THE GOVERNOR A LETTER

ALMOST EVERYONE WAS INTIMIDATED-- REALLY INTIMIDATED-- BY THE FORCE OF THOSE WHO MOST RIGIDLY OPPOSED ANY CHANGE IN THE RACIAL STATUS QUO. IT WAS A TIME OF ALMOST UNBELIEVABLE THOUGHT CONTROL, AND IT LED TO SOME OF THE MOST UNFORTUNATE EVENTS IN THE HISTORY OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT.

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B.L. BELL WROTE THE GOVERNOR A LETTER

WE HOPE TO SEND INTO MISSISSIPPI THIS SUMMER UPWARDS OF 1,000 TEACHERS, MINISTERS, LAWYERS, AND STUDENTS FROM ALL AROUND THE COUNTRY, WHO WILL ENGAGE IN WHAT WE'RE CALLING FREEDOM SCHOOLS, COMMUNITY CENTER PROGRAMS, VOTER REGISTRATION ACTIVITY, RESEARCH WORK, WORK IN THE WHITE COMMUNITIES, AND, IN GENERAL, A PROGRAM DESIGNED TO OPEN UP MISSISSIPPI TO THE COUNTRY. WE NOTICED THAT WE WERE FINALLY GETTING THE ATTENTION OF THE COUNTRY, BECAUSE WHAT WE HAD TO DO WAS NOT ONLY FIGHT AGAINST THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, BUT WE HAD TO FIGHT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ON ITS INDIFFERENCE. IT WAS AMAZING TO SEE THAT MANY YOUNG PEOPLE THAT ACTUALLY CARED, 'CAUSE MOST PRIVILEGED KIDS-- AND THESE WERE PRIVILEGED KIDS-- THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO DO THAT. I THOUGHT THEY WERE ALL JUST SELF-CENTERED YOUNG PEOPLE THAT WERE SPOILED, BUT THAT WAS NOT THE CASE WITH MOST OF THEM THAT CAME. THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION, LIKE THE KLAN, VIEWED FREEDOM SUMMER AS AN INVASION. I MEAN, THEY BASICALLY THOUGHT, "WE'RE UNDER SIEGE. THIS IS WAR." THE JACKSON POLICE DEPARTMENT OPERATES WITH THE BEST DEMONSTRATION DETERRENT OF ANY CITY IN THE COUNTRY. IN ADDITION TO THOMPSON'S TANK, ARMOR-PLATED AND EQUIPPED WITH NINE MACHINE GUN POSITIONS, THE ARSENAL INCLUDES CAGE TRUCKS, FOR TRANSPORTING MASSES OF ARRESTED VIOLATORS; SEARCHLIGHT TRUCKS, EACH OF WHICH CAN LIGHT THREE CITY BLOCKS IN CASE OF NIGHT RIOTS; POLICE DOG TEAMS, TRAINED TO TRAIL, SEARCH A BUILDING, OR DISPERSE A MOB OR CROWD; MOUNTED POLICE, FOR CONTROLLING PARADES AND PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC; AND COMPOUNDS AND DETENTION FACILITIES TO HOLD AND HOUSE 10,000 PRISONERS. ALONG WITH THESE IRONCLAD POLICE FACILITIES, THERE ARE NEW IRONCLAD STATE LAWS OUTLAWING PICKETING, ECONOMIC BOYCOTTING, AND DEMONSTRATING, OTHER LAWS TO CONTROL THE PRINTING AND DISTRIBUTION OF CERTAIN TYPES OF INFORMATION, AND LAWS TO DAMPEN COMPLAINTS TO FEDERAL AUTHORITIES. WE CALLED OUT TO HIGHWAY PATROL AND THE GUARD, PEOPLE LIKE THAT, TO KEEP 'EM IN LINE. WE KEPT 'EM IN LINE. WE LOCKED UP A LOT OF 'EM. PUT 'EM IN JAIL FOR DISORDERLY CONDUCT, THAT SORT OF THING. THE JAILS IN JACKSON WERE FULL AND SEVERAL OTHER PLACES WE HAD 'EM. I DON'T MIND COMING TO JAIL. I DON'T MIND SUFFERING AT ALL, AND I WILL SUFFER SOME MORE JUST FOR MY FREEDOM. I WANT EQUAL RIGHTS. I WANT EQUAL RIGHTS. WE WERE NOT INTIMIDATED, AND I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT. IF YOU GET INTIMIDATED, YOU CAN'T CONTROL ANYTHING.

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B.L. BELL WROTE THE GOVERNOR A LETTER

THE TRAINING IN OHIO THAT WE WERE DOING FOR THE YOUNG PEOPLE THAT WERE COMING FOR THE 1964 SUMMER PROJECT LASTED FOR TWO WEEKS. THE TRAINING HAD TO DO WITH PREPARING THEM FOR COMING INTO MISSISSIPPI. THOSE THREE THINGS YOU NEEDED TO PREPARED FOR WAS TO BE BEATEN, TO BE PUT IN JAIL, AND TO BE KILLED, AND IF YOU'RE NOT PREPARED FOR ALL THREE OF THOSE, WE WON'T HOLD IT AGAINST YOU IF YOU DECIDE NOT TO COME. MOST LIKELY A COP WON'T TRY TO CHUNK YOU IN HERE, BUT HE WILL HIT YOU ACROSS HERE. YOU CAN ONLY TAKE THOSE LICKS. MICKEY SCHWERNER WAS A DEDICATED ACTIVIST WORKING TO REGISTER VOTERS IN MISSISSIPPI. HE WAS AT A TRAINING SESSION IN OHIO PRIOR TO FREEDOM SUMMER. AGENT "X" WAS AT THAT SAME TRAINING SESSION, A BLACK AGENT WHO WAS DESCRIBING HIMSELF AS AN ACTIVIST, AND HE HAD ACCESS TO INFORMATION ABOUT THE PEOPLE INVOLVED. AND HE WAS GOING TO SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION, WHICH HE DID. SO WHEN THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION COMES OVER AND BEGINS SPYING ON MICKEY SCHWERNER BACK IN SPRING OF '64, THEY'RE SHARING THAT INFORMATION WITH THE MERIDIAN POLICE DEPARTMENT. WELL, THE MERIDIAN POLICE DEPARTMENT, ACCORDING TO-- I'VE TALKED DIRECTLY TO THE OFFICERS THEMSELVES. MORE THAN HALF THE POLICE FORCE OVER THERE WERE PROBABLY KLANSMEN. I MET MICKEY SCHWERNER AND JAMES CHANEY WHEN WE WENT TO MERIDIAN TO A C.O.F.O. CONFERENCE. MICKEY WAS FUNNY AS HE WANTED TO BE. I MEAN, JUST EVERY TIME YOU SAW HIM, HE HAD A SMILE ON HIS FACE. JAMES CHANEY WAS A NATIVE OF MERIDIAN. I CALLED HIM J.E., JAMES EARL, SO WE CALLED HIM J.E. HE WAS ALWAYS ANXIOUS TO DO SOMETHING AND WAS REALLY, REALLY ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT TRYING TO ORGANIZE PEOPLE IN DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES. AND I MET ANDY GOODMAN UP IN OXFORD, AND HE WAS EXCITED ABOUT COMING HERE. I SAW HIM WHEN HE WAS GETTING IN HIS CAR, AND HE WAS JUST LIKE A LITTLE KID AT A CARNIVAL. I MET WITH MICKEY SCHWERNER THE DAY BEFORE HE LEFT THE TRAINING SESSION IN OHIO, AND HE ASKED MY OPINION. "GUYOT, SHOULD WE GO BACK"-- I SAID, "OF COURSE." I SAID, "THERE'S TOO MUCH PUBLICITY NATIONALLY. "THEY WOULD BE--THIS WOULD BE THE MOST IDIOTIC THING THEY COULD POSSIBLY DO." I WAS WRONG. CHANEY, GOODMAN, AND SCHWERNER WENT TO INVESTIGATE THE BURNING OF A CHURCH, FIRE BOMBING OF A CHURCH. SO THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION WAS CLEARLY RESPONSIBLE FOR FUNNELING INFORMATION ABOUT THE WHEREABOUTS OF GOODMAN, SCHWERNER, AND CHANEY THAT DAY THAT THEY WERE INVESTIGATING THE CHURCH BURNING TO LOCAL OFFICIALS IN NESHOBA COUNTY IN PHILADELPHIA, MISSISSIPPI. THOSE LOCAL OFFICIALS, THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE IN PARTICULAR, WOULD ARREST GOODMAN, SCHWERNER, AND CHANEY THAT DAY, TAKE THEM TO THE JAIL WHERE, THAT NIGHT, THEY WOULD BE TAKEN OUT OF THE JAIL AND WOULD DISAPPEAR. AND FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL WEEKS, THERE WAS A MASSIVE MANHUNT LOOKING FOR THESE DISAPPEARED CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS.

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B.L. BELL WROTE THE GOVERNOR A LETTER

WE KNOW THAT THREE YOUNG MEN DISAPPEARED SOMETIME AGO, AND WE KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO CIVIL RIGHTS WORKERS. WE KNOW WHAT HAPPENS TO NEGROES IN MISSISSIPPI WHEN THEY DISAPPEAR. SOMETIMES YOU FIND THEM IN THE RIVER, SOMETIMES YOU FIND THEM HANGING FROM TREES, AND SOMETIMES YOU DON'T FIND THEM. I HAVE NO REASON TO BELIEVE THAT THESE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED, AND WE DON'T HAVE ANY INFORMATION WITH THE STATE POLICE THAT WOULD JUSTIFY SUCH A CONJECTURE. SO YOU HAVE THE GOVERNOR OF MISSISSIPPI, SENATOR EASTLAND-- THEY'RE ALL COMING OUT PUBLICLY AND SAYING, "OH, THIS IS A HOAX. "THEY'RE PROBABLY DOWN THERE WITH CASTRO, SMOKING CIGARS IN CUBA," AND, YOU KNOW, ALL THIS KIND OF TALK.

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B.L. BELL WROTE THE GOVERNOR A LETTER

THE TIME THAT GOVERNOR JOHNSON SAID THAT, HE SAID THAT IN NESHOBA COUNTY, AND WHERE HE WAS STANDING WHEN HE CLAIMED IT WAS A HOAX, HE WAS STANDING LITERALLY, LIKE, LESS THAN A FEW MILES FROM WHERE THE BODIES WERE BURIED.

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B.L. BELL WROTE THE GOVERNOR A LETTER

44 DAYS LATER, THE FBI GETS TIPPED OFF, AND THEY--THEY DO FIND WHERE THE BODIES ARE BURIED, AND THEY DO DIG UP THE BODIES.

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B.L. BELL WROTE THE GOVERNOR A LETTER

THERE WAS A MAP THAT CAN BE FOUND IN THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION FILES TODAY THAT INDICATES THE DIRECT LOCATION OF THE BODIES. IT'S A HAND-DRAWN MAP THAT SHOWS THEM BURIED UNDERNEATH THIS EARTHEN DAM. IT IS CLEARLY MORE INFORMATION THAT INDICATES THAT, AGAIN, THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION KNEW EXACTLY WHAT HAD HAPPENED, KNEW WHERE THESE GUYS WERE, AND KNEW THAT THEY WERE DEAD LONG BEFORE THIS SEVERAL-WEEK, MULTI-MONTH SEARCH FOR THEIR BODIES HAD CONCLUDED. WHEN THOSE BODIES WERE DUG UP, THEN SUDDENLY, THERE WAS NO HIDING PLACE ANYMORE. THERE'S NO HIDING PLACE FOR THE KLAN ANYMORE. YOU KNOW, THE FBI WAS GETTING INVOLVED IN THE CASE. THEY WERE ALREADY INVOLVED IN THE CASE, BUT THEY WERE GONNA PURSUE THE CASE. THIS ONE WAS NOT GONNA BE IGNORED. THIS COUNTRY COULD NOT REALLY RECONCILE-- WHY DO THREE YOUNG PEOPLE GET KILLED FOR TRYING TO REGISTER BLACK PEOPLE TO VOTE EVEN IN MISSISSIPPI? Y'ALL KNOW WHAT MY CHILD HAS DONE? HE WAS TRYING, FOR US ALL, TO MAKE A BETTER LIVING, AND HE HAD TWO FELLAS FROM NEW YORK. HAD THEIR OWN HOME AND EVERYTHING. DIDN'T HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY. BUT THEY COME HERE TO HELP US. DID Y'ALL KNOW THEY COME HERE TO HELP US? THEY DIED FOR US. MRS. SCHWERNER AND I BOTH WANT TO THANK ALL OF YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS. DESPITE OUR OWN GRIEF, WE ARE FULL OF A GREAT PRIDE, A PRIDE THAT, ALTHOUGH HE VERY WELL KNEW ALL OF THE RISKS, NEVERTHELESS, HE LIVED FULLY BY HIS PRINCIPLES. AND MRS. SCHWERNER AND I SHALL CONTINUE TO DO WHATEVER WE CAN TO HELP ATTAIN THOSE GOALS FOR WHICH, TOGETHER WITH JAMES AND ANDY, OUR BELOVED SON GAVE HIS LIFE. IT IS SAD. THE FACT THAT TWO OF THE VICTIMS WERE WHITE AND FROM NEW YORK CITY AS WELL PROBABLY PLAYED A ROLE IN HOW MUCH ATTENTION THIS CASE GOT, I MEAN, NOT JUST-- EVEN UNITED STATES, BUT AROUND THE WORLD. WHEN AGENT "X" WAS WORKING OUT OF CANTON, MISSISSIPPI, HE REPORTED THE LICENSE PLATE OFF THE STATION WAGON THAT THE THREE CIVIL RIGHTS WORKERS WERE LATER DRIVING. WHILE THE IDENTITY OF AGENT "X" WAS NEVER OFFICIALLY REVEALED, A NUMBER OF ACTIVISTS WENT THROUGH THOSE FILES AND ASKED THE QUESTION, "WHO WAS AT THESE MEETINGS THAT WERE COMPROMISED? "WHO WAS THERE WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THESE THINGS "THAT ENDED UP IN A FILE OF THE MISSISSIPPI STATE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION?" AND THROUGH A PROCESS OF CONNECTING THE DOTS,

IT ALL LED TO ONE MAN

R.L. BOLDEN. I KNEW R.L. VERY WELL. HE WAS THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE STATE NAACP, AND HE WAS INTIMATELY INVOLVED WITH US, AND WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY SIGNS OR INDICATION THAT HE WAS TO THE CONTRARY. IT WAS ONLY THROUGH THE DILIGENCE OF LATE SENATOR HENRY KIRKSEY, WHO BEGAN TO PINPOINT THINGS, TO DETERMINE THAT HE WAS WORKING WITH THE STATE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION, AND THAT HAD TO DO WITH HIM DIGGING OFF INTO THE FILES AND LOOKING AT REPORTS AND SEEING REPORTS BEING GIVEN ABOUT CERTAIN SPECIFIC MEETINGS AND HIM RECOLLECTING WHO WAS AT THE MEETING. AND EVERYBODY'S-- EVERYBODY THAT ATTENDED THAT MEETING WERE MENTIONED EXCEPT ONE PERSON THAT HE KNEW WAS THERE, AND THAT'S WHEN HE CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT SINCE THIS IS A PATTERN, THAT ONE PERSON WHO WAS NOT MENTIONED AT THESE MEETINGS THAT I KNOW WAS THERE HAVE TO BE THE ONE THAT'S SUBMITTING THE REPORT. GOVERNOR JOHNSON REALIZES THAT THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION IS INDIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATH OF THE THREE CIVIL RIGHTS WORKERS IN THE SUMMER OF 1964, AND HE STOPS REGULAR MEETINGS OF THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION. ONE MEMBER OF THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION, HORACE HARNED, WRITES TO THE GOVERNOR, AND THE FIRST LINE OF HIS LETTER-- "IS MISSISSIPPI GOING TO HAVE A SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION?" HE'S BASICALLY APPEALING TO THE GOVERNOR TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS COMMISSION REMAINS ACTIVE, BECAUSE WE STILL HAVE TO STOP THE FORCES THAT THESE OUTSIDERS ARE BRINGING INTO OUR STATE. AND AT THAT POINT, THEY DO REALIZE THAT IT'S CRUMBLING, AND THEY'RE TRYING TO DO WHATEVER THEY CAN TO PROP IT UP. AT TIMES, HISTORY AND FATE MEET AT A SINGLE TIME IN A SINGLE PLACE TO SHAPE A TURNING POINT IN MAN'S UNENDING SEARCH FOR FREEDOM. THE DEATH KNELL, I THINK, FOR THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION WASN'T UNTIL THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF '65, AND WHEN THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT FINALLY PASSED IN '65, THAT WAS IT. I MEAN, THEY SAW THE WRITING ON THE WALL. THEY COULDN'T DO ANYTHING FROM THAT POINT FORWARD TO INTERFERE WITH VOTING RIGHTS. IN FACT, THEY RECOGNIZED WHAT TROUBLE THEY WERE IN, BECAUSE THEY HAVE THESE MEMOS ABOUT-- "OKAY, LET'S GATHER UP ALL THE RECORDS "THAT HAVE TO DO WITH THWARTING VOTING RIGHTS AND DESTROY 'EM." IT WAS DECIDED THAT THE COMMISSION WOULD BE ELIMINATED, ITS BUDGET WOULD BE ELIMINATED, AND ITS FILES WOULD BE STORED IN A SECRET PLACE FOR 50 YEARS. THERE WERE SO MANY STATE LEGISLATORS, THERE WERE SO MANY POWERFUL PEOPLE IN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI WHO WERE IN THOSE FILES FOR SUPPORTING THE ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMISSION, SO THEY WERE SCARED TO DEATH THAT THAT WOULD BE KNOWN IN THEIR LIFETIME. A LOT OF WHAT WE DO AS REPORTERS IS TO JUST EXPOSE, AND IT'S REALLY UP TO SOCIETY TO DECIDE WHAT THEY'RE GONNA DO ABOUT IT. THE GOAL WITH REGARD TO THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION RECORDS WAS ESSENTIALLY EXPOSING WHAT THEY DID.

HERE'S THE THING YOU GOT TO REMEMBER

YOU'VE GOT ALL THESE KLAN GUYS THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION IS DIRECTLY SHARING INFORMATION WITH. THAT WAS ALL PART OF THAT MIX OF INFORMATION THAT DEFINITELY HELPED LEAD TO THE KILLING OF MICKEY SCHWERNER AND THE OTHER TWO CIVIL RIGHTS WORKERS. IN WORDS, YOU MIGHT BE KILLED JUST FOR BELONGING TO THE NAACP, AND OF COURSE, MEDGAR EVERS, WHO WAS THE HEAD OF THE NAACP IN MISSISSIPPI, WAS ASSASSINATED IN '63. IT'S NOT JUST THESE GUYS GOT AWAY WITH MURDER. IT'S THE FACT THAT EVERYBODY KNEW THEY WERE GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER. AND NATURALLY, IT'S AN INJUSTICE, BUT IT'S KIND OF AN INJUSTICE AT ITS HEIGHT, AND THAT'S WHAT ATTRACTED ME TO THE STORY. THAT ALL THOSE RECORDS ARE GONNA BE SEALED TILL, LIKE, 2027 MADE ME BELIEVE-- "WELL, THERE'S SOMETHING IN THOSE FILES, AND I WANT THOSE FILES." I DEVELOPED SOURCES THAT HAD ACCESS TO THE FILES, AND THEY BEGAN TO LEAK ME THOSE FILES. AND WHAT THOSE FILES SHOW WAS AT THE THE SAME TIME THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI WAS PROSECUTING BYRON DE LA BECKWITH FOR THE MURDER OF MEDGAR EVERS, THIS OTHER ARM OF THE STATE, THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION, WHICH, BY THE WAY, WAS HEADED BY THE GOVERNOR, WAS SECRETLY ASSISTING THE DEFENSE, TRYING TO GET HIM ACQUITTED, AND NOBODY KNEW THAT AT THE TIME. AND MY STORY RAN OCTOBER 1, 1989. ARE YOU GONNA CONTINUE TO FIGHT IT? THE AUTHORITIES REOPENED THE MEDGAR EVERS CASE AS A RESULT OF THE STORY, AND BYRON DE LA BECKWITH WAS REPROSECUTED AND CONVICTED IN 1994-- FEBRUARY 5, 1994. -

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HERE'S THE THING YOU GOT TO REMEMBER

WHEN THIS CASE GOT REOPENED, I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST LIKE CATCHING, YOU KNOW, MAGIC IN A BOTTLE ONE TIME, YOU KNOW, AND IT'S BEEN AMAZING. ALMOST ALL THESE CASES, WHICH HAD SUCH INCREDIBLY HIGH ODDS AGAINST REPROSECUTION, YOU KNOW, DID HAPPEN AND DID GET REPROSECUTED. TO DATE NOW, THERE HAVE BEEN 24 CONVICTIONS IN THESE CASES ACROSS--REALLY ACROSS THE ENTIRE UNIT SINCE. THE OPENING OF THOSE PAPERS WAS REALLY AN INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT DAY IN THE HISTORY OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, BECAUSE, FOR THE FIRST TIME, A DEEP LIGHT WAS SHINED ON THE ACTUAL OPERATIONS OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI IN MAINTAINING WHAT WAS A RACIST, WHITE SUPREMACIST POWER STRUCTURE AND ITS DEEPLY ENTRENCHED EFFORTS TO DO SO AT THE EXPENSE OF ITS BLACK CITIZENS, WHO ARE HALF THE POPULATION IN THIS STATE. PEOPLE COMPLAIN THAT, YOU KNOW, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING DIGGING UP THE PAST? "OH, WE HAVE GOOD RACE RELATIONS NOW. "WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO-- YOU'RE JUST GONNA HURT THAT." WHAT MYRLIE EVERS SAID ABOUT THIS I THOUGHT WAS REALLY, REALLY GOOD, AND WHAT SHE SAID WAS, "THIS IS LIKE A WOUND "THAT HASN'T HEALED, "SO IT REALLY HAS TO BE CLEANED OUT BEFORE IT CAN HEAL." IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE STUDY THE PAST, AND PARTICULARLY, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO MISSISSIPPI TO HAVE SOME KIND OF TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION, THAT THE WHITE SOUTH HAVE KIND OF TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION, A PROCESS WE LARGELY BYPASSED. WE CHANGED, BUT WE NEVER LOOKED BACK. WE NEVER TRIED TO UNDERSTAND THE ENORMITY OF OUR CRIMES AGAINST OUR OWN CITIZENS. WE DIDN'T HAVE THAT MOMENT OF REFLECTION THAT AT LEAST SOUTH AFRICA TRIED. THAT'S, I THINK, TO OUR ETERNAL SHAME. I GREW UP IN A STATE THAT UP UNTIL PROBABLY AFTER 9/11 HAD THE LARGEST DOMESTIC SPYING OPERATION THIS COUNTRY HAD EVER KNOWN. WHEN I READ ABOUT THE PATRIOT ACT BEING DEVELOPED AND ACTUALLY STARTED TO LOOK AT LIBRARY RECORDS, I FLASHED BACK TO THE SOVEREIGNTY COMMISSION FILES WHEN THEY WERE CHECKING TO SEE WHAT PEOPLE WERE ACTUALLY SUBSCRIBING TO, WHICH MEANT, "WHAT WERE THEY READING? WHAT WAS COMING INTO THEIR MAILBOXES?" WHENEVER SOMEONE'S CIVIL LIBERTIES ARE BEING INFRINGED UPON, NO ONE'S REALLY FREE. I HAVE HAD SOME UNIQUE EXPERIENCES HERE. I CHAIRED THE HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE FOR FOUR YEARS, SO I KNOW WHAT MY GOVERNMENT IS CAPABLE OF DOING. BUT I ALSO KNOW THAT REGARDLESS TO WHO YOU ARE, YOU HAVE TO HAVE BOUNDARIES, OR YOU START DOWN THAT SLIPPERY SLOPE. THERE'S ALWAYS A PLACE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES. I WANT MY GOVERNMENT TO BE STRONG, BUT I ALSO WANT CITIZENS OF THIS COUNTRY TO UNDERSTAND THAT OUR GOVERNMENT IS NOT ALL-KNOWING AND ALL-POWERFUL, THAT THEY EVEN HAVE TO OPERATE WITHIN RULES, AND SO PART OF MY RESPONSIBILITY HERE HAS BEEN TO KEEP AMERICAN CITIZENS SAFE BOTH FROM THE KNOWN AND THE UNKNOWN, FROM TERRORISTS BUT ALSO FROM OURSELVES. PBS, YOUR HOME FOR INDEPENDENT FILM.