McComb, Mississippi

Located halfway between New Orleans and Jackson, McComb was the economic hub of Southwest Mississippi, a region marred with racial violence. In the 1960s, McComb’s mayor was chairman of the Citizen’s Council and its police chief headed up the local chapter of Americans for the Preservation of the White Race. Black people composed nearly 30 percent of the city’s 12,000 residents, yet very few were registered voters. But the local NAACP was strong. In 1961, leader C.C. Bryant invited SNCC’s Bob Moses to town to organize a voter registration campaign, which shaped the organization’s work in the coming years.

People


Events

Bob Moses, Chuck McDew, Curtis Hayes, and other young McComb activists on trial in 1961, crmvet.org Bob Moses, Chuck McDew, Curtis Hayes, and other young McComb activists on trial in 1961, crmvet.org

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“Students Face Violence for You!” SNCC fundraising flyer from McComb, Mississippi, 1961, crmvet.org