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Page 21 Vol. 68, No. 1, Spring 2004 Mississippi LibrariesAbout BooksMary Stanton. Freedom Walk: Mississippior Bust. Jackson, MS: UniversityPress of Mississippi, 2003. 254 pp.$28.00 hardcover.Mary Stanton’sFreedom Walk isa well-researchedand well-writtenbook that bringsheroic and almostforgotten events inthe early part ofCivil Rights Movementback to ourmemory. Thebook consists of two parts. The first part,The Postman’s Walk, is about BillMoore, a white postman, who set outfrom Chattanooga, Tennessee on April21, 1963, and intended to walk alongUS Highway 11 through Georgia, Alabama,and on to Jackson, Mississippi, todeliver a letter appealing for racial toleranceto Governor Ross Barnett. Threedays into his walk, he was shot dead onHighway 11 outside Attala, Alabama.Floyd Simpson, a white Alabama grocerand a Klansman, was charged withMoore’s murder. Simpson was eventuallyacquitted. The second part of thebook, The Freedom Walk, is about awhite college student, Sam Shirah, whoupon hearing the news of Moore’s murder,led five black and four white activistsfrom the Student Nonviolent CoordinatingCommittee and Congress of RacialEquality into Alabama to finish Moore’swalk. They were badly beaten and jailedoutside Gadsden, Alabama. Four subsequentattempts to complete the postman’smarch were unsuccessful.The book is more than a plain storyabout these events. Through the journalthat Bill Moore kept during the Walk,along with interviews and extensive newspaperand newsreel reports, Mary Stantonhas documents this overlooked civil rightsfreedom walk as seen through the eyes ofMoore, Shirah, and Simpson. She examinesthe complicated life of Moore as “aneconomic failure, a loner, and an atheistin a society which distrusted all three.”She traces his mental trips that led him toventure into a freedom walk in the dayswhen white activism was not only unfashionablebut outright dangerous. Throughthe experience of Shirah, she explores theironic impact of white activism and thestruggle within the movement itself. Thisbook helps to clarify some distortions andoversimplifications that can obscure ourunderstanding of this turbulent time.This well-documented historicalaccount is a fine addition to the history ofthe Civil Rights Movement and to the historyof the South. It is highly recommendedto all readers who are interestedin the Civil Rights Movement and Southernhistory.Daisy ChengCatalog LibrarianUniversity of MississippiKatagiri, Yasuhiro. The MississippiState Sovereignty Commission: CivilRights and States’ Rights. Jackson: UniversityPress of Mississippi, 2001. 348pp. $42.00.Yasuhiro Katagiri’swork is aninformation-richaccount of theyears following the1954 Brown v.the Board of Educationdecisionthat precipitatedthe establishmentof the MississippiSovereignty Commission in 1956 until itsdissolution in 1973. The SovereigntyCommission’s roles as watchdog agencyand promoter of segregation are carefullydocumented by Katagiri. By using theonly existing records of such a state agency(similar agency records from otherSouthern states were destroyed), Katagiriprovides an accurate recount of Mississippi’sdarkest historical period. Spanninggubernatorial reigns from Coleman toBarnett to Waller, the changes in theSovereignty Commission’s activities andfocus under Director Erle K. Johnstonprovide insight into the Civil RightsMovement.This work is an important referencetool for Mississippi history, and its footnotesand index are extensive. The MississippiState Sovereignty Commissionbrings life to what could have otherwisebeen dry historical documentation, butKatagiri’s descriptions are not sensationalized.The Commission’s operationaldetails provide the perspective of the CivilRights Movement from an angle seldomseen. For example, on the subject ofblack informants, the focus is on theiractivities rather than the information theygathered. This approach keeps the readerfocused on the historical context andsignificance of the Commission and howit operated.Recommended for all public librariesand academic libraries as an importantchronicle of Mississippi’s history. Anothertitle covering some of this era is Neil R.McMillen’s The Citizens’ Council: OrganizedResistance to the Second Reconstruction,1954-1964.Kay L. WallUniversity LibrarianThe University of Southern MississippiLee, Joe. On the Record. Mississippi:Dogwood Press, 2002. 271 pp. $19.95.hardcoverAt the age of34, Maureen Lewishas worked herway up throughthe ranks tobecome the ConsumerProtectionDirector for theMississippi AttorneyGeneral’sOffice. When herConsumer Protection Act is signed intolaw, allowing her department to take
Mississippi Libraries Vol. 68, No. 1, Spring 2004 Page 22stronger actions toward fighting conartists and deceptive business practiceswithin the state, she investigates a largecar dealership as her first target.Unknown to Maureen, the operator ofthis particular dealership is involved in anembezzling scheme with members of theAttorney General’s office.Pulled off the dealership case, Maureenbecomes angry and suspiciousenough to begin a secret investigation ofher own. This however, leads to herremoval from the position of ConsumerProtection Director to a position of lesserimportance and power. Suspecting thatshe has been set up, she resigns herposition and takes her case to the mediathrough her friend Janine May, JacksonTimes staff writer. Her actions start theball rolling toward the ending of careersin many high offices, including that of herprevious employer, Attorney GeneralFrank Cash. Maureen also finds herselfand two of her dear friends in danger.Lee’s development of the character ofMaureen Lewis, an honest, hard-workingyoung woman, creates a very likeableheroine. On the Record is Joe Lee’s firstnovel, and readers will agree it should notbe his last. Lee develops well thoughtoutplots and circumstances for his characters,and pits good against evil withexcellent results.This book is highly recommended forall Mississippi libraries, especially thosewith a large demand for a good mystery.Donna P. FitePurvis Branch ManagerLamar County Library System— ❖ —Editors’ Correction: The reviewof Christmas Stories from Mississippiwhich appeared in theWinter 2003 issue was writtenby Donna Phelps Fite, PurvisBranch Manager, Lamar CountyLibrary System, not TracyEnglert.2004 MLA ConferenceCommitteesEnjoy this year’s conference by working with colleagues from around thestate on a conference committee. It’s not too late to volunteer, just send an E-mailwith your contact information to MLA Vice President Susan S. Cassagne atscassagne@naw.lib.ms.us.EXHIBITS■ Kaylene Behm*USM/Hattiesburg■ Jerrie Hall*USM/Gulf Coast■ Carol GreenUSM/Hattiesburg■ Molly SignsMillsaps College■ Barton SpenserUSM/Hattiesburg■ Laura SimpsonUSM/Hattiesburg■ Miao JinUSM/Hattiesburg■ Allisa BeckUSM/Gulf CoastGENERAL VOLUNTEER■ Daisy ChengUniversity of MS■ Lynn ShurdenMS Library Commission■ Missie CraigCarnegie Pub. Lib. of Clarksdale■ Molly SignsMillsaps College■ Yvonne StanfordCoahoma Community Coll.HOSPITALITY■ Molly Signs*Millsaps College■ Chuck McClureQuitman Upper Elem. SchoolLOCAL ARRANGEMENTS■ Nancy McLemore*Copiah Lincoln Comm. Coll.■ Casey HughesNatchez Adams Wilk. Cty. Lib.■ Jennifer SmithWarren Cty. Vicksburg Public■ Kathy BuntinMS Library CommissionLOCAL ARRANGEMENTS (cont.)■ Molly SignsMillsaps College■ Beth RogersNatchez Convention &Visitors■ Stratton HallNatchez Convention & Visitors■ Wendy CartwrightPOSTER SESSIONS■ Carol Green*USM/Hattiesburg■ Daisy ChengUniversity of MS■ Lona HooverMS State University■ Margaret Jane StaubleHinds Community Coll.■ Sheila CorkHancock Cty. Lib. System■ Robert FowlerMS State UniversityREGISTRATION■ Kaileen Thieling*Central MS Regional Lib. Sys.■ Carol GreenUSM/Hattiesburg■ Chuck McClureQuitman Upper Elem. School■ Daisy ChengUniversity of MS■ Jacqueline QuinnHinds Community Coll.■ June GarnerMS State■ Kathleen WellsUSM/Hattiesburg■ Margaret Jane StaubleHinds Community Coll.■ Missie CraigCarnegie Pub. Lib., Clarksdale■ Molly SignsMillsaps College
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