1957: Picking cotton mechanically now cheaper than by hand
1957: Civil Rights Act of 1957
The Civil Rights Act called for the creation of a Civil Rights Commission and sought to secure voting rights for blacks in the south.
1957: Martin Luther King becomes founding president of Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Martin Luther King, Jr., speaking at SCLC 6th annual conference
Image: From the files of the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission.
Link to the catalog1957: Pontotoc author Borden Deal publishes Dunbar’s Cove
The book Dunbar’s Cove was the inspiration for the 1960 movie Wild River starring Montgomery Clift.
May 7, 1957: Sovereignty Commission authorizes films and speaker’s bureau
Text of speech prepared by Sovereignty Commission
The resulting series of half-hour films and speeches, promoting segregation as wholesome and good, were distributed to schools and other states.
Image: From the files of the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission.
Link to the catalogAugust 29, 1957: Congress passes Voting Rights Act of 1957
The Voting Rights Act was the first major civil rights legislation since Reconstruction.
September 24-25, 1957: President Dwight D. Eisenhower orders federal troops into Little Rock
Troops were sent to enforce federally ordered desegregation. Nine black students began attending Central High School.
June 30, 1958: U.S. Supreme Court halts fine by Alabama judge against NAACP
The $100,000 fine for contempt was imposed after the organization refused to turn over membership lists.