Archival Newspapers

Westbrook Pegler: ‘The Miserable Fraud Called Freedom Riders’

In Archival Newspapers on 11 September 2008 tagged Community Organizers with 4 comments

Westbrook Pegler (1894-1969) is back in the news. A major syndicated newspaper columnist from 1933 until 1962, he’s currently enjoying a micro-moment, thanks to being quoted anonymously by Sarah Palin in her convention speech (Thomas Frank has the details in this WSJ column.) Although early on Pegler supported President Franklin Roosevelt, he soon moved rightward […]

Keeping Score

In Archival Newspapers on 7 July 2008 with Comments Off on Keeping Score

During the Freedom Rides, Jackson’s afternoon paper, the Daily News, regularly ran a box score showing the total number of Riders who had been arrested, bailed out, transferred to Parchman, and so on. The instance above is from the July 3, 1961, edition.

Nazi-Trained German Shepherds Provide ‘Law, Order’

In Archival Newspapers on 27 April 2008 tagged sit-ins, Tougaloo with 1 comment

On March 27, 1961, nine black college students from Tougaloo College walked into the whites-only main branch of the Jackson public library, sat down and began reading books. The Tougaloo Nine — four women and five men, all members of a NAACP youth council — were arrested and charged with breach of peace, just as […]