McComb, Mississippi:

McComb Legacies

The journey will not be easy but must be grounded in a sincere search for truth.


As with many communities in Mississippi, McComb experienced great upheaval during the civil rights period. Local activists worked with young people from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) to expose the racist practices in the community. Young people were especially in the vanguard of efforts in McComb, participating in direct action campaigns and voter registration drives and even protesting in a school walk-out.

In 2004, the current mayor of McComb, Tommy Walman, initiated a racial reconciliation initiative in partnership with the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation at the University of Mississippi. A community-wide dialogue process began, as well as an oral history project.

The McComb City School system joined the effort and began a curriculum development initiative around the civil rights movement. Partnering with Teaching for Change and the People's Institute, the school system began a series of workshops for administrators. The workshops included curriculum development preparation and anti-racism training. Similar efforts continued in the larger community. The school system and the city have committed to a multi-year curriculum development initiative and hope to reach out to the surrounding counties for a widespread, effective exploration of the past.



1.17.05McComb
MLK Day commemoration
On January 17, 2005, the McComb community held a commemoration of its civil rights history. This short video gives a brief overview of some of the civil rights events, including the student walkout in October 1961.
9.24.04McComb
Excerpt from an oral history interview with Joe Martin, on the climate of segregation, police brutality and harassment, and the atmosphere leading up to the 1961 student walkout.
9.24.04McComb
Excerpt from an oral history interview with Shirley Martin Bates, on the student walkout, attending Freedom School, and her family's civil rights activism.
9.24.04McComb
Excerpt from an oral history interview with Judge Spencer Nash, on growing up under segregation, early voter registration efforts, Freedom Summer, and local leadership during the Civil Rights Movement.
9.24.04McComb
Excerpt from an oral history interview with Bobby Talbert, on growing up in segregated schools and participating in Freedom Summer of 1964.
9.24.04McComb
Excerpt from an oral history interview with former McComb mayor John M. Thompson, on the bombings in McComb and the "statement of principles."
07.27.04McComb
Excerpt from an oral history interview with Jessie Devins Nicholas, on Freedom Summer of 1964 and her activism as a young teenager.
07.27.04McComb
Excerpt from an oral history interview with Izeal Bennett, on SNCC leader Robert "Bob" Moses and voter registration.