Freedom Rider Files, 1960-1966 Series 2985
This is a collection of records transferred from the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to the Department of Archives and History in March 2026. The files document Commissioner Thomas Butler (T. B.) Birdsong’s response to civil rights events in Mississippi during the early 1960s. Of primary interest are Birdsong’s files and correspondence related to the Freedom Rides during the summer of 1961. Individuals throughout the country sent letters expressing support for and opposition to Commissioner Birdsong’s statements regarding the Freedom Riders. There are also nine folders of Freedom Riders’ arrest records and mug shots, which appear to be duplicates of material found in the State Sovereignty Commission Records. A few memoranda also mention James Meredith’s March Against Fear in 1966. The bulk of the material is newspaper clippings related to the Civil Rights Movement, and also general articles of interest to DPS at the time. All pages were scanned and can be accessed here. The original documents can be viewed in the William F. Winter Archives and History Building. Ku Klux Klan related documents transferred by DPS are also available for research.
Read MoreThis is a collection of records transferred from the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to the Department of Archives and History in March 2026. The files document Commissioner Thomas Butler (T. B.) Birdsong’s response to civil rights events in Mississippi during the early 1960s. Of primary interest are Birdsong’s files and correspondence related to the Freedom Rides during the summer of 1961. Individuals throughout the country sent letters expressing support for and opposition to Commissioner Birdsong’s statements regarding the Freedom Riders. There are also nine folders of Freedom Riders’ arrest records and mug shots, which appear to be duplicates of material found in the State Sovereignty Commission Records. A few memoranda also mention James Meredith’s March Against Fear in 1966. The bulk of the material is newspaper clippings related to the Civil Rights Movement, and also general articles of interest to DPS at the time. All pages were scanned and can be accessed here. The original documents can be viewed in the William F. Winter Archives and History Building. Ku Klux Klan related documents transferred by DPS are also available for research.
| File Name | Folder Title | Description | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 173108-11-005.pdf | Commissioner Birdsong's Correspondence | Letter regarding Freedom Riders, with envelope, from Norbert F. Gariety, Coral Gables, Florida, to Commissioner T. B. Birdsong. | 1961-07-04 |
| 173108-11-006.pdf | Commissioner Birdsong's Correspondence | Letter regarding Freedom Riders, with envelope and newspaper clippings, from Bertha Deer Levey, St. Paul, Minnesota, to Commissioner T. B. Birdsong. The clippings are from The Wanderer: "Student to Describe Experiences: Freedom Rider to Speak at U" and "A Reader Reports What She Heard at Local 'Fair Play for Cuba' Meeting." | 1961-06-30 |
| 173108-11-008.pdf | Commissioner Birdsong's Correspondence | Notes taken by Minnie Sims, Public Relations secretary, on a phone call from Sam K. Cook, Jr., of the Western Nationalist Crusade of Oakland, California. | 1961-06-30 |
| 173108-11-009.pdf | Commissioner Birdsong's Correspondence | A note containing the address of Sam K. Cook, Jr., of the Western Nationalist Crusade of Oakland, California. | 196x |
| 173108-11-010.pdf | Commissioner Birdsong's Correspondence | Letter regarding Freedom Riders, with envelope, from Bill Jerry, Overland, Missouri, to Commissioner T. B. Birdsong. | 1961-06-30 |
| 173108-11-011.pdf | Commissioner Birdsong's Correspondence | Telegram regarding Freedom Riders from G. N. Armstrong, DeLand, Florida, to Commissioner T. B. Birdsong. | 1961-07-01 |
| 173108-11-012.pdf | Commissioner Birdsong's Correspondence | Letter regarding Freedom Riders, with envelope and a newspaper clipping, from Cleve Allen, Jr., Gulfport, Mississippi, to Commissioner T. B. Birdsong. The clipping is from The Independent American and includes the article "Communist Affiliations Of C.O.R.E. Leaders" by Phoebe Courtney. | 1961-07-01 |
| 173108-11-013.pdf | Commissioner Birdsong's Correspondence | Letter regarding Freedom Riders, with envelope, from Stanwood N. Osgood, Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Commissioner T. B. Birdsong. | 1961-06-30 |
| 173108-11-014.pdf | Commissioner Birdsong's Correspondence | Letter regarding Communism, with envelope, from Clay Bernard, Avondale, Arizona, to Commissioner T. B. Birdsong. | 1961-06-30 |
| 173108-11-015.pdf | Clippings Attached to Birdsong Correspondence | Envelope from the Evening Star, Washington D.C., to Commissioner T. B. Birdsong, with a newspaper clipping, "Officials Dispute Link of Riders to Red Cuba" by Associated Press. | 1961-05-30 |
| 173108-11-016.pdf | Commissioner Birdsong's Correspondence | Greeting card sent by an unknown person from Albany, New York, to Commissioner T. B. Birdsong. | 1961-06-30 |
| 173108-11-017.pdf | Commissioner Birdsong's Correspondence | Letter, with envelope, from Arthur George Smith, Norwalk, Ohio, to Commissioner T. B. Birdsong. | 1961-07-01 |
| 173108-11-018.pdf | Commissioner Birdsong's Correspondence | Letter regarding Freedom Riders, with envelope, from Mrs. G. O. Sullivan, Woodville, Texas, to Commissioner T. B. Birdsong. | 1961-07-01 |
| 173108-11-019.pdf | Commissioner Birdsong's Correspondence | Letter regarding Freedom Riders from an unknown person in Phoenix, Arizona, to Commissioner T. B. Birdsong. | 1961-06-30 |
| 173108-11-020.pdf | Commissioner Birdsong's Correspondence | Letter regarding Freedom Riders, with envelope, from Thomas W. Johnston, Mt. Airy, North Carolina, to Commissioner T. B. Birdsong. | 1961-07-01 |
| 173108-11-021.pdf | Commissioner Birdsong's Correspondence | Letter regarding Freedom Riders, with envelope, from Frank M. Lynch, Miami, Florida, to Commissioner T. B. Birdsong. | 1961-06-30 |
| 173108-11-022.pdf | Commissioner Birdsong's Correspondence | Letter regarding Freedom Riders, with envelope and a newspaper clipping, from W. A. Cosgrove, Flomaton, Alabama, to Commissioner T. B. Birdsong. The clipping is the front page of Common Sense, Issue No. 352, November 1, 1960. | 1961-06-30 |
| 173108-11-023.pdf | Commissioner Birdsong's Correspondence | Note regarding Freedom Riders, with a newspaper clipping, from an unknown person in Richmond, Indiana, to Commissioner T. B. Birdsong. The clipping is titled, "Threaten Rights - Unions, Not The KKK, Behind South's Trouble" by Westbrook Pegler. | 1961-06-30 |
| 173108-11-024.pdf | Commissioner Birdsong's Correspondence | Letter regarding Freedom Riders, with envelope, from Hugh H. Duncan, Evansville, Indiana, to Commissioner T. B. Birdsong. | 1961-06-30 |
| 173108-11-025.pdf | Commissioner Birdsong's Correspondence | Mass mailing letter, "The Truth About Integration," with envelope, from Ben F. Bloodworth, Macon, Georgia, to Commissioner T. B. Birdsong. | 1961-06-30 |
| 173108-11-026.pdf | Commissioner Birdsong's Correspondence | Letter regarding Freedom Riders, with envelope, from Mrs. Henry J. Morkovsky, San Antonio, Texas, to Commissioner T. B. Birdsong. | 1961-06-30 |
| 173108-11-027.pdf | Commissioner Birdsong's Correspondence | Letter regarding Freedom Riders, with envelope, from Robert H. Garrison, Louisville, Kentucky, to Commissioner T. B. Birdsong. | 1961-06-30 |
| 173108-13-001.pdf | Meredith March Memoranda | Memorandum regarding media coverage of Mississippi Highway Patrol response to James Meredith's March Against Fear from Grady Gilmore, Public Information Office, to Commissioner T. B. Birdsong. Shorthand dictation attached. | 1966-06-08 |
| 173108-13-002.pdf | Meredith March Memoranda | Memoranda between Grady Gilmore, Public Information Office, and Deputy Commissioner A. D. Morgan discussing the Meredith March Against Fear with notes and shorthand dictation attached. | 1966-06-15 |
| 173108-14-001.pdf | Civil Rights Clippings | Newspaper clippings from The Clarion-Ledger, "Clayton Suspends Grenada Classes" by James Bonney. | 1966-09-15 |
| 173108-14-002.pdf | Civil Rights Clippings | Newspaper clipping from Jackson Daily News, "Below Olympus" cartoon regarding Grenada, Mississippi schools by Frank Interlandi. | 1966-09-20 |
| 173108-14-003.pdf | Civil Rights Clippings | Newspaper clipping from The Clarion-Ledger, "AWPR Wants Charges Dropped Against Whites," by Americans for Preservation of the White Race. | 1966-09-22 |
| 173108-14-004.pdf | Civil Rights Clippings | Newspaper clipping from The Clarion-Ledger, "Mississippi Notebook: Behind The Headlines, Off The Cuff" by Tom Ethridge. | 1966-10-12 |
| 173108-14-005.pdf | Civil Rights Clippings | Newspaper clipping from an unknown newspaper, "The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave" cartoon by L. D. Warren. | 196x |
| 173108-14-006.pdf | Civil Rights Clippings | Newspaper clipping, "Maintain Is Big Job: Mississippi Finds Law, Order Easier To Proclaim" by James Saggus. | 1966-09 |