Greenville, Mississippi
With a population of 30,000, Greenville was one of the largest cities in the Mississippi Delta. Famous for its bevy of nationally prominent authors, the river city was considerably more liberal than the rest of the Delta. Its leading citizens cultivated the city’s genteel reputation but that didn’t disguise the fact that racial discrimination was a daily reality for Greenville’s Black population. In the summer of 1963, SNCC’s Charlie Cobb established a project in Greenville, working with local youths to form the Greenville Student Movement. The project engaged in direct action as well as voter registration.
