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Biography/History:
In June 1963, President John F. Kennedy called a group of attorneys to the White House to ask their support in helping in the civil liberties crisis in the South. The American Bar Association responded to Kennedy’s call for help by urging attorneys to go South voluntarily to defend those persons who could not afford an attorney. The group of attorneys that volunteered were dubbed the “President’s Committee,” to reflect its origin, but the American Bar Association chose to name the group the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (the Lawyers’ Committee or the Committee).
On June 2, 1965, The Lawyers’ Committee opened a permanent office at 233 North Farish Street, Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi. The Lawyers’ Constitutional Defense Committee (LCDC) joined them and from 1965-1971 undertook the defense of many throughout the state who were accused of “criminal” activity. The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund established permanent offices on Farish Street as well and began a struggle to desegregate schools throughout the state. These three organizations were basically funded through grants of national foundations and soon came to be known as the “Farish street crowd.”
The Lawyers’ Committee handled different types of cases. There were those typical civil rights cases where the rights and liberties of citizens had been abridged: such as Myrtle Green Burton, et al., Plaintiffs vs. John Bell Williams, et al., Defendants (Burton vs. Williams), a case that grew out of the Jackson State University shooting in 1970; or Anderson vs. Nosser, a case of imprisonment for peaceful demonstration. The Committee was known to serve as the champion of the poor, Some of these cases were pro bono or handled by legal aid. Lacaze vs. United States was an example of such a case. Willie Stroud vs. State of Mississippi was another.
Several well-known civil rights lawyers served on the Committee during its history. In 1968, Frank Parker, a Pennsylvania native and a graduate of Harvard law school, joined the Lawyers’ Committee. He served briefly as a staff attorney, then as assistant chief counsel and finally as the chief counsel for the Committee. Parker helped black plaintiffs win the redistricting battle in the Mississippi State Legislature; he integrated the Mississippi Highway Patrol; and won a federal court suit against the state textbook purchasing board for refusing to adopt Mississippi: Conflict and Change, a multi-ethnic ninth grade textbook. In 1981, Parker left Mississippi to become the director of the Voting Rights Project of the Lawyers’ Committee in Washington. In 1990 he published Black Votes Count: Political Empowerment in Mississippi After 1965. Other African American lawyers began their careers with the Committee, including Constance Slaughter Harvey and Victor McTeer.
The full time operation of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law ended in June 1985. Lack of funding was given as the principal reason for ending its effort.
Scope and Content:
This collection consists of correspondence, legal briefs, and legal documents illustrating the work of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law from 1968-1974.
Series Identification:
This series contains case files, correspondence, and depositions of the case that resulted from the fatal shooting at Jackson State University in Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi, in May 1970.
Box 1
This series contains briefs, correspondence, documents, newspaper releases, and other materials that relate to cases involving election disputes throughout Mississippi. Many of the cases involve voter registration and the denial of the right to vote. Two cases, Jefferson vs. Cook and Holmes vs. Rackley, are concerned with the denial of college students’ rights to vote because of “improper registration.”
Box 2, folders 1-11
This series contains, briefs, correspondence, and other relevant documents for cases handled by the Lawyers’ Committee dealing with the deprivation of civil rights of ordinary citizens. One case, Anderson, et al. vs. Nosser, et al., involved the unreasonable imprisonment in Parchman penitentiary of persons participating in a demonstration in Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi.
Box 2, folders 12-20
This series contains briefs and correspondence related to cases involving discriminatory practices. These practices extended from discrimination in employment to abuse of police powers by local authorities.
Box 2, folders 21-27
This series contains briefs, correspondence, documents, and newsclippings of three major cases handled by the Lawyers’ Committee. The cases are: Simpson and Simpson vs. Wells Lamont Corporation, et al.; Gerald Davis vs. Star Incorporated, et al.; and Jimmy Smith and Dr. William Truly, M. D. vs. Medgar Evers Comprehensive Health Center, et al. These cases are unique in that they raise the question of the abuse of power in personnel practices by organizations created by civil rights laws.
Box 2, folders 28-34
This series contains briefs, correspondence and documents of cases on appeal for persons confined in prisons. The cases were handled as pro bono cases by the Lawyers Committee.
Box 3, folders 1-4
This series contains reports and other documents used by attorneys in handling situations throughout the state. Of particular interest are reports and findings regarding the Federal involvement during Hurricane Camille.
Box 3, folders 5-7