You tell anybody rigidly controlled society in which it was quite legal, and I say that tongue in cheek by Mississippi folkways and mores to do anything you wanted to do to keep blacks in in line.

Let me talk about my community.

Pass Christian, Mississippi.

Very Catholic Labor union organizing People returning at a couple of years have returned a couple of years now from the army where they've been exposed, the fight to make democracy safe for the world.

Now they want to make democracy safe for themselves.

In order to understand this, we have to look at a society that was entirely based on race that was making a lot of economic sacrifices on education, both for black and white Children, $135 per year was spent for the education of whites.

I think the number was $33 for the education of blacks, a totally separate school system.

So but there was there were people who were able to work within that system, but at the same time constantly fight to get into the mainstream of American specifically if you wanted to register the vote in that time and with less than 3% of blacks were registered to vote Mississippi at that time, you have to agree publicly that you supported the platform of the Democratic Party, which was opposed to Fair Employment Practices Commission which, as you know, was brought about to create economic opportunity and equality.

For so you admit, the Democratic Party made it impossible for blacks to legitimately and with out of feeling the contradiction vote in the Democratic primary.

Then later we had, of course, the the classic case of Smith versus All right, which opened up the Democratic primary, which had previously been open only two white males.

So but there was.

There were there were forces that were fighting for integration.

Even at that time, the Catholic Church was on interracial open progressive body, the only one in the state of Mississippi.

I have historically identified the church with politics, and I find it very interesting that there's such a fight to separate it, and I think in the white community throughout this country there's a real separation.

But there's never been a the same kind of separation in the black community.

I think the classic example was the election of John Kennedy because of his coal to corretta King and how the black Church organized throughout the country and made the difference.

Without the church, they would have been no civil rights movement.

Once you get out of the sphere of the church, you then into the grim world of reality which said, Okay, there is no don't assume that there's police protection for you if you to be protected.

You have to protect yourself.

And you have to understand that all Juries at this time of a white Uh huh, In order to be served on the jury, you had to be registered to vote well.

In order to be registered to vote, you have to interpret any of the 285 sections of the Mississippi Constitution to the satisfaction of the registrar, some of whom were totally illiterate.

But nevertheless, that was the the lock and later on to make sure that even those who could read and write there was a good moral character Long, which said that even if you complete it, if you interpret it to the satisfaction of the Registrar all of the 285 sections of the Mississippi Constitution.

Any white person to question your character, of course.

Your name and address were posted in the newspaper when you registered to vote.

So if you own any white person money, you could be that long could be called in immediately.

Or if you were employed, your employer would know and you would be fired where possible?

Seems like a ridiculous is ridiculous.

Well, it was ridiculous.

Except when you look when you understand the logic behind it, the logic was, how do you control unidentifiable group that you could, on which you could become multi millionaires providing they were They could be employed cheap.

They could be totally control, and they would not be allowed to fight for equity in any court or anywhere else.

So the painted system was a reality.

And that was the justification for that.

You know, we we're gonna take good care of these people.