About this episode

This episode discusses the formation of Citizens' Councils in Mississippi and Byron de la Beckwith's involvement following the Supreme Court's ruling against racial segregation in public schools.

In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. Segregated schools didn't react right away, but segregationists did. Within months, the Citizens' Councils began to form in counties across Mississippi. And Byron de la Beckwith was one of the group's earliest and most enthusiastic members. Sources & Further Reading: Massengill, Reed (2024). Portrait of a racist: Byron De La Beckwith and the Assassination of Medgar Evers. Univ. of Tennessee Press. Rolph, Stephanie (2018). Resisting Equality: The Citizens' Council, 1954-1989. Louisiana State University Press Silver, James W (1963). Mississippi: The Closed Society. Harcourt Brace & World Inc. Vollers, Maryanne (1995). Ghosts of Mississippi. Little Brown & Company. Williams, Michael Vinson (2011). Medgar Evers: Mississippi Martyr. The University of Arkansas Press Cook, James Graham (1962). The Segregationists. Appleton Century Crofts McMillen, Neil (1971). The Citizens’ Council: Organized Resistance to the Second Reconstruction, 1954-1964. University of Illinois Press Mendelsohn, Jack (1966). The Martyrs. Harper & Row…

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