OXFORD,
Miss. – Every day, Barack Obama and Sarah Palin chart new political
territory along racial and gender lines, but the first steps toward
this historic presidential election actually began more than 40 years
ago.
On Wednesday, historians and academicians at the University
of Mississippi pointed to Aaron Henry and Fannie Lou Hamer as
trailblazers in this respect. Representing the newly-formed Mississippi
Freedom Democratic Party, the two late civil rights activists – both
African-American – successfully challenged the 1964 National Democratic
Convention to change the demographics of its then-all-white-male
composition. Four years later, the McGovern Rules mandated that party
representation come from both genders and all age groups, ethnicities
and geographic locations.
“Much like today, it was an absolutely exhilarating period in both Mississippi and American politics,” said Leslie McLemore, a founding MFDP member and 1964 convention delegate. “The impact these individuals had on the political scene of that time attests to the truth that progressive people can transform a nation.”
The director of the Hamer National Institute on Citizenship and Democracy at Jackson State University was one of the featured panelists during the “Mississippi Politics Symposium” held at UM’s Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Politics. The event was co-sponsored by the Overby Center and UM’s Trent Lott Leadership Institute and William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation.
McLemore’s observations were echoed by Curtis Wilkie, Overby Center Fellow and associate professor of journalism at UM.
“The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party forced the National Democratic Party to change its rules, opening the doors to women, African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans and Asian-Americans,” Wilkie said. “This courageous group defied President Johnson and the national political machine. The results were revolutionary.”
Former Gov. William Winter and Clark Reed, former longtime chairman of the Mississippi Republican Party, were also on the afternoon panel, which focused on the realignment of political parties in the region.
“While we have made some progress, it’s most disappointing to me that we have a primarily black Democratic Party and a primarily white Republican Party,” Winter said. “Together, we could do so much more than we have done by being divided along racial lines.”
The symposium began with a mid-morning panel discussion of the MFDP’s pivotal role in the 1964 National Democratic Convention. Panelists included former MFDP chairman Lawrence Guyot, DePauw University professor John Dittmer, former Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee member Charles E. Cobb Jr., and Freedom Summer organizer Rita Schwerner Bender.
“Mississippi continues to lead the rest of the country in dealing with racial reconciliation,” Guyot said. “And if Mississippi is doing it, empowerment in America is something everyone can do.”
Bender, widow of Mickey Schwerner, a victim of the 1964 Neshoba County murders, cautioned against racism masquerading as states’ rights.
“We do not yet live in a post-racial nation,” she said. “Race-baiting is yet being used by some to avoid focusing on crucial issues.”
The third and final discussion of the day focused on the present and future of Southern politics. Panelists included Jackson State University scholar Mary Coleman, who offered continued hope in the nation’s ongoing struggle with racial reconciliation.
“Racism is still alive in big and little ways, and it makes people and institutions sick,” Coleman said. “But the illness can be cured. It doesn’t have to be terminal. The progress made at the University of Mississippi between the 1960s and today is proof of that.”
State Reps. Philip Gunn (R-Clinton) and Gray Tollison (D-Oxford) were also on the panel.
For more information on the presidential debate or related events, go to http://debate.olemiss.edu/ .