What was the day-to-day of organizing in the Deep South? Knocking on doors, going to church, helping in the field, having conversations, and working toward the change the people wanted to see.
Stokely Carmichael canvassing for voter registration in Lowndes County, Alabama, undated, crmvet.org
The Work
There was always this aura of violence hanging over us. – Jennifer Lawson
Mechanisms in Your Head That Would Allow You to Function
Local people like Lillian McGill were essential partners in SNCC’s efforts, first encouraging people to register to vote and later helping to build independent political party in Lowndes County. Out canvassing, McGill could explain to her fellow Lowndes citizens in concrete terms how electing Black people to office would impact their daily lives.
Residents looking over brochure of political candidates before election day in Lowndes County, 1966, Jim Peppler Southern Courier Photograph Collection, ADAH
Ms. Lillian McGill
If you elect the person and this is a person of your community in a sense, the lines of accountability will be there. – Jennifer Lawson
Accountability or You’re Outta Here
Part 4: Political Education
