Speak Now: Memories of the Civil Rights Era

On May 22-26, 2011, seventy-five men and women returned to Jackson, Mississippi, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the 1961 Freedom Rides. In conjunction with an exhibit to commemorate the rides, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History offered the Freedom Riders and the public an opportunity to "Speak Now" and record memories of the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi. Twenty-eight individuals responded, resulting in twenty-six audio recordings and corresponding transcripts and fifty-six digital color photographs. One interview in the collection was restricted by request of participants. The recordings are not traditional oral histories but are instead recordings of individuals recounting their own experiences during an era of cultural, political, and social change. Topics other than the Freedom Rides include African American veterans, Mississippi Freedom Schools, Medgar and Charles Evers, and the Mississippi State Penitentiary.

Speak Now was recorded by MDAH employees Leanna Welch-Dawson and Amanda Lyons, transcribed by Nell Pace and other volunteers, and photographed by MDAH staff, all under the direction of audiovisual curator Celia Tisdale. Partial funding for the project was provided by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.


2 Item(s) AU 997

Betty Anne Mounger Hays


2 Item(s) AU 995

Carol A. Blackmon


4 Item(s) AU 987

Charles Brenner


5 Item(s) AU 977

Claude Liggins


2 Item(s) AU 993

Dr. Edgar E. Smith


4 Item(s) AU 988

Dr. John Peoples


4 Item(s) AU 989

Ed Payne


2 Item(s) AU 999

Flonzie Brown Wright


2 Item(s) AU 998

Harold E. Hollman


4 Item(s) AU 980

James Dennis


6 Item(s) AU 974

John C. Taylor, Jr.


4 Item(s) AU 979

John Dolan


4 Item(s) AU 983

John Hardy & Barrett Hatches


2 Item(s) AU 994

Judge Mary Libby Payne


4 Item(s) AU 991

Mary Harrison Lee


4 Item(s) AU 981

Matthew Rinaldi


4 Item(s) AU 978

Max Pavesic


2 Item(s) AU 975

Pauline Knight-Ofosu


4 Item(s) AU 984

Paul M. Neville


4 Item(s) AU 982

Rev. (Dr.) Amos Brown


4 Item(s) AU 990

Rims Barber


4 Item(s) AU 985

Sister M. Paulinus Oakes


5 Item(s) AU 976

Thomas Armstrong


4 Item(s) AU 992

Wilson Floyd "Bill" Minor


4 Item(s) AU 986

W. J. Megginson