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Marching in Tupelo: Standing Up For Freedom In Mississippi

By VVAW

On Labor Day, in Tupelo, Mississippi, veterans, workers, students and youth from many cities joined with members of the community to take a stand against the city bureaucrats, the white owners and their hired gun thugs of the police and the KKK. VVAW went to Tupelo as part of a coalition which joined with the United League of Northern Mississippi to demand Justice For All. We witnessed the strength and unity of people who have taken a stand and are fighting back on many fronts. The people of Tupelo and the surrounding area opened their arms and welcomed us as brothers and sisters.

We began the day with a picket line where vets from Milwaukee and Chicago marched in front of Fred's Hardware ( other groups were picketing other stores in the downtown area as part of the United League's boycott of businesses which refuse to hire Black workers.) We could see for ourselves the power of the League's boycott of lily-white businesses who only want the bucks and cheap labor of the Black community—a boycott which is 90% effective. People would come to the store and, after seeing our picket line, drive away; others drove by shouting their support. One man who crossed the picket line tried to intimidate the vets with a baseball bat, but his wife kept him from harm—we later saw him marching with the KKK.

Joining with other picketers, we marched past a parking lot where, under the Confederate flag, the Klan was putting on their dresses and gowns, and past the police station where local cops operate their own form of racist harassment.

The afternoon march was 800 strong and ready to move out through the streets chanting "We're fired up, ain't taking no more," when the "The Invisible Empire" appeared with about 40 of its members trucked in from around the South for the occasion. As the Klan marched by, people saw what real Klan terror was—the racist dogs were reaching under their skirts to clutch their guns with terror in their eyes from the anger vented on them by people of all colors. But instead of scaring people away, the march stepped off with more strength and unity than it had before the KKK appeared.

The present struggle in Tupelo is a continuation of the fight led by the United League throughout the spring and summer. It was touched off by two cases of police terror: James Garrett, a 25-year old unemployed Black was found with hands and feet bound, hanging in his jail cell. Two days later two Tupelo cops were found guilty by a federal court of beating a Black man into a confession. The United League demanded that city officials fire the cops. Tupelo bosses, through their own "legal" system, found the cops innocent and kept them on the force, knowing the value of the racist scum when it comes to enforcing discrimination and oppression.

In response the League organized a boycott against local businesses; as the struggle progressed, they added to their demands. In addition to firing the cops, the demanded that the city enact an affirmative action program that would raise the percentage of Blacks on the workforce to a percentage reflecting their percentage of the population. Demands included that Tupelo schools hire Black teachers and administrators, that the police and fire department by fully integrated at all levels, and that businesses hire Blacks for superintendent and managerial positions. In short, the United League was and is demanding economic equality along with justice and dignity.

The United League, under is leader Skip Robinson hit the streets and built support for the struggle. Thousands of people have come out to take a stand against racism and to fight for integration and justice for all. The struggle could no longer be held inside Tupelo, but has spread to the surrounding counties and towns in Northern Mississippi.

The unity of the struggle has triggered new forms of attack, trying to return Tupelo and its people to the "good ol' days." One attempt came from the city administration which slapped together a bi-racial committee to fill a void left by a city council which had never in the past had to worry about treating Blacks as equals. The boycott forced businessmen to try anything to salvage their stores—but Robinson refused to deal with the committee because, as he points out, every system is designed for a few Blacks to make it as long as they sell out. While the bi-racial committee meets, the city officials have been busy drawing up ordinances to keep the "radical leaders of the United League" out of Tupelo. Both efforts have failed miserably, leaving the system to resort to other tactics.

The KKK is one of them. They crawled out of their holes to help the city "put Blacks back in their place." The Klan has used Tupelo as a focus for protecting "white rights" and to oppose the United League by holding counter marches and terrorizing anyone who calls their bluff. The Klan made the news when they burned a 25- foot cross at one outing, and beat a white minister who exposed their racism and hatred at another demonstration. When they are out dragging their hems on the streets, they're busy sniping at local Black leaders ( a couple of them got shot for their trouble in one such attempt) throwing rocks through windows, or working their eight-hour shift as cops. In fact when several KKK members unsheeted themselves on local TV, a couple of Tupelo cops and a deputy sherrif emerged. The Klan has enjoyed the company for the mayor and his cronies at their rallies, protected by city police.

While the struggle exposes the racist power structure of elected officials in the state, it is also uncovering some of the interest of big industry and the unions. Tupelo is characterized by a low-wage, non-union labor force, making it perfect for the runaway shop from the north. Multinationals like Rockwell International, Ford, and ITT have set up shop to reap still greater profits. But few of them go to Blacks. Official Black unemployment is twice that of whites, and their median family income is some $2500 less. Meanwhile, the AFL-CIO has made Tupelo the headquarters of its deep South organizing drive. So far the major accomplishment of union official is to get employees of one packing house $2 an hour less than its union brothers and sisters in the North, claiming it as a mystical "southern differential."

Lines are clearly drawn in Tupelo but the battlefield stretches far beyond Mississippi to the many other places where people are fighting oppression and fighting the class of people who live off their sweat and blood. The determination of Tupelo is expressed by Robinson himself: "I'll be in Tupelo until justice comes down like rain, and if someone should take my life or the life of other leaders. Let blood rain." The fight in Tupelo is an inspiration to all people who are tired of being ground down and beaten back.