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Biography/History:
Annie James, the daughter of Bessie Newman and William James, was born in Gulfport, Harrison County, Mississippi, on March 1, 1933. She was adopted at an early age by Willie and Elizabeth Mims of Lorman, Jefferson County, Mississippi. The family lived in Lorman prior to moving to Fayette, Jefferson County, Mississippi. Annie James Mims attended elementary school in Fayette, but there is no record of her completing her formal education. In 1967, she took the high-school-equivalency examination but failed to obtain a certificate.
Annie James Mims entered into a long-term relationship with Judge Rankin of Fayette in February 1952. Together they had seven children: Earnestine Rankin Fitzgerald, Elizabeth Rankin Thomas, Willie Rankin, Shirley Rankin McBride, Ivory Rankin, Melvin Rankin, and Marilyn Rankin Felton. They settled as a family unit in Fayette.
In the 1960s, Annie Rankin became actively involved in the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi. She first attempted to integrate a store in Natchez, Adams County, Mississippi, but was unsuccessful in that effort. She then registered to vote and was fired by the doctor for whom she was working. She joined the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, a pro-integration political group loyal to the National Democratic Party. In 1964, Rankin supported the Freedom Democratic Party in its efforts to unseat the delegates of the regular Mississippi Democratic Party at the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey. On June 14, 1965, Rankin was among many persons arrested for participating in demonstrations in Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi. These demonstrations were organized by the Freedom Democratic Party to protest the inequalities of voting opportunities in the state.
During this period of political and social activism, Annie Rankin formed a close relationship with Frank and Caroline Stewart of Providence, Rhode Island. In 1966, Dr. Frank Stewart had come to Mississippi to teach mathematics at Tougaloo College, Tougaloo, Madison County, Mississippi. They were anxious to learn about the political and social conditions of the state. Rankin was invited to the college to meet the Stewarts and share her views about conditions in Mississippi. The bond that was formed between Rankin and the Stewarts proved valuable for both parties. In Rhode Island, Frank and Caroline Stewart organized a support group to help the Rankin family in their struggle against poverty. Rankin provided the Stewarts with a written account of her struggle for freedom and dignity for the poor in Mississippi.
After the demise of the Freedom Democratic Party in 1968, Rankin became affiliated with the Loyalist Party and began to campaign for its candidates throughout the state. As a result of the efforts of the Loyalist Party and its allies, Charles Evers, brother of slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers, was elected mayor of Fayette, Mississippi, in 1969. In addition to Evers’s victory, black candidates also won all of the alderman seats in the town. Although she felt that some of these candidates were not concerned with the problems of the rural poor, Rankin had worked hard for their election and was happy to see them win. She continued her activities in local and state politics and supported black candidates and others who maintained that they were concerned about the problems of the poor.
Annie Rankin had focused on the problems of the poor in Mississippi throughout her political involvement. In May 1968, she participated in the Poor People’s March on Washington, D.C. One of the prominent features of the march was a mule train, which included covered wagons. The train began in Marks, Quitman County, Mississippi, and was slated to travel to Washington. Rankin participated fully in the march, at times driving a mule wagon through parts of Mississippi and Alabama. The actual mule train was abandoned in Atlanta, Georgia, and its participants arrived in Washington by train, bus, or automobile. Once Rankin reached Washington, she was actively involved in carrying the message of the poor to many governmental agencies throughout the capital. She was arrested and jailed for five days in Washington because of her activism.
During the 1970s, Rankin’s health began to fail, yet she continued to devote her time and energy to solving the social problems that the poor faced in Mississippi. She was particularly concerned about the plight of welfare recipients and those in need of programs like Head Start, she was anxious about the plight of the senior citizen and the need to improve education, and on a local level, she was concerned over Charles Evers’s control of the Medgar Evers health facility in Fayette, Mississippi. Rankin also spoke out against the use of national resources for the Vietnam War while the poor went without basic necessities.
Annie Rankin died at her home in Fayette, Mississippi, on March 5, 1998.
Scope and Content:
This collection consists of correspondence of Annie Rankin that describes her activities during the Civil Rights Movement; announcements and letters in support of Rankin from Frank and Caroline Stewart; an autobiography, a speech, and an essay of Rankin; and other items that reflect on life in Mississippi from the 1960s to 1980s.
The collection is divided into four series. Series one contains the letters written to Frank and Caroline Stewart by Annie Rankin. Series two contains announcements and letters from the Stewarts to friends and supporters of Annie Rankin. Series three contains original writings of Annie Rankin in addition to a speech delivered by her. Series four contains letters and news accounts reflecting on conditions in Mississippi in the 1960s and 1970s.
Series Identification:
This series contains the letters written by Annie Rankin to Frank and Caroline Stewart and others. Many of the handwritten letters are accompanied by copies made on ditto master stencils. These ditto copies were probably distributed to her supporters throughout the Rhode Island area. The Stewarts would sometimes attach a note at the bottom of the copies to explain Rankin’s situation.
The letters in folders one through five cover the years 1966 to 1971, and describe Rankin’s involvement in some of the social and political changes taking place in Mississippi and in Jefferson County, in particular, with the election of blacks to public office.
A smaller group of letters in folders six through nine covers the years 1972 to 1980. Rankin had less active involvement in political activities, and her health began to fail. Many of the letters in this group are concerned with her personal problems, yet she continues to reflect on conditions in Jefferson County and her opposition to Charles Evers, mayor of Fayette, Mississippi.
This series contains nine letters of Caroline Stewart and Grant Dugdale that were probably sent to Annie Rankin’s supporters. Two earlier letters sent in 1967 concern civil rights progress made in Copiah County, Mississippi, and problems in Grenada, Grenada County, Mississippi. The letters sent from 1975 to 1977 are appeals to Rankin’s supporters for financial assistance.
This series contains two versions of original writings of Annie Rankin. The autobiography is in her handwriting, and two copies are on ditto masters. The “Trip on the Mule Train,” a story of her experience with the Poor People’s March held in 1968, and a speech on the Vietnam War delivered by Rankin are handwritten. There is no indication of when or where this speech was given. There is one written page in this series that is untitled and undated. This appears to describe Rankin’s experiences in a Jackson jail.
This series contains items that do not refer to Annie Rankin directly but reflect on some issues of her concern. The first is a report of discrimination at LeFlore Hospital in Greenwood, LeFlore County, Mississippi. The second is an account of a disturbance at Jackson State College in Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi, in 1971. The third is two volumes of a newsletter that provides an account of problems that developed between Charles Evers and the general public at the Medgar Evers Comprehensive Health Clinic in Fayette, Mississippi. The fourth is a mimeographed copy of a letter from Charles Evers to the director of the Medgar Evers Comprehensive Health Clinic concerning personnel problems. The letter includes a rebuttal to Evers’s statements on the back.