JACKSON

By John R. Salter, Jr. [Hunter Gray] MY BOOK IS THE ONLY FULLY DETAILED ACCOUNT OF THE HISTORIC AND MASSIVE JACKSON MOVEMENT OF 1962-63. IN FACT, IT'S THE MOST DETAILED ACCOUNT OF ANY MAJOR CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT OF THE '60s. IT HAS NOW BEEN PUBLISHED AND ISSUED IN ITS ENLARGED AND UPDATED VERSION BY THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA PRESS. PLEASE SEE DETAILS BELOW.

SCROLL DOWN FOR INFORMATION ON THE NEW BOOK AND SOME REVIEWS AND MORE ON THE WOOLWORTH SIT IN.

COMMENTS BY HUNTER BEAR: (10/25/2011)

This note does not call for a response from anyone. People are busy.

I've already received some fine comments about the the new version of my book, Jackson Mississippi. (Susan Klopfer, a Southern Movement writer, did a most positive review forthwith!) One comment came from Mary Ann, an old friend and former Tougaloo student of mine and a strong and committed worker on behalf of our Jackson Boycott Movement out of which we developed the mass, non-violent Jackson Movement. She writes:

Hi Mr. Salter, finally received your book in the mail yesterday. Was anxious to read the new introduction. Initially I was confused as to what this had to do with Jackson, Ms. but as I continued to read , I had an aha moment . It dawned on me. These experiences made you into the person we came to know , love and appreciate in Jackson/Tougaloo, Ms.

					WWW,

					MARY ANN

					 

					Those are very kind 
					words -- and it's certainly mutual.  (WWW, I should add, was 
					the slogan of our Jackson struggle:  WE WILL WIN.)  And Mary 
					Ann's apt comments have led me to write this:

I and my good family have been having an interesting life these past many decades. We'd do it all over again. And we're not at the end of the trail by a long stretch.

But, interesting and productive as I think it's been, I very much doubt that any autobiography I did -- as per the repeated suggestions and encouragement of good friend Bill Mandel -- would ever find its way into print. By the same token, I doubt that anyone would be interested in doing a biographical book on me. The just now out third version of my book, Jackson Mississippi: An American Chronicle of Struggle and Schism (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2011), is, as I indicate in its new and substantial Introduction, "an organizer's book."

http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/product/Jackson-Mississippi,674910.aspx

Growing up in Northern Arizona, in a setting replete with social justice issues and committed early on to grassroots and activist community organizing, I, personally, have always been especially interested in the lives of effective activists. Two of those, autobiographies, had a very significant and enduring impact on me back in 1955 when I was 21: Bill Haywood's Book: The Autobiography of William D. Haywood (New York: International Publishers, 1929 and subsequent editions) and Ralph Chaplin's Wobbly: The Rough and Tumble Story of an American Radical (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1948.) And there followed many other works, from social justice fighters of many ethnicities and cultures.

I, my family, and many friends have long felt there should be some sort of widely available account of who I and my family are, where we come from, what we stand for -- and what we've accomplished over many turbulent decades. While my book obviously focuses very basically and heavily on the carefully organized and ultimately massive Jackson Movement of 1962-63, its original epilogue, "Reflections on an Odyssey," covers a number of my subsequent campaigns into 1978. And now, the new Introduction -- about 9,500 words -- updates organizing and related matters to the present, has some Mississippi, provides personal and family background, motivational insight, and some of my key reflections as a life-long activist Organizer.

Taken in total, and standing alone, this book is my basic memoir. I expect it to be useful to a wide variety of social justice activists of all ages -- and very much younger and developing people of all backgrounds.

Hunter Gray (John R. Salter, Jr.) October 25 2011

HUNTER GRAY [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR] Mi'kmaq /St. Francis
Abenaki/St. Regis Mohawk
Protected by Na´shdo´i´ba´i´
and Ohkwari'

Prologue comments from Colia Liddell Lafayette Clark to her list of colleagues: 9/14/05
Hi Everyone:
I received this note from Hunter Gray Bear (John Salter). Hunter Bear was my
professor at Tougaloo College and one of the sharpest organizers in both the
southern civil rights movement and labor movement in the USA. He agreed to
serve as advisor to a the newly organized Jackson, Ms NAACP North Jackson
Youth Council in 1961. This was no small decision. Under his tutorledge and
guidance and with the oversight of Medgar Wylie Evers, the North Jackson
NAACP Youth Council would produce a mass movement and the most successful
boycott of a downtown district in the deep south. Only, Ida B Wells boycott
of Memphis in the 19th century can compare. Jackson. Ms' downtown folded and
has never reopened with its string of shops and department stores. This was
no easy work and like Medgar and so many others Hunter Bear was targeted for
death. He was seriously wounded by the southern racists in a freak car
accident (point of death), beaten a number of times in demonstrations but
refused to yield even from pressure within the struggle. Those years are
detailed in a book by Hunter Bear (John R Salter) entitled: Jackson,
Mississippi: An American Chronicle of Struggle and Schism. The book is out
of print, but should be in most college libraries. Today, Hunter Bear has
returned to his native land in the West and to his Native roots to continue
organizing and building grass roots struggle and a new generation of
youthful organizers.
Hear him for he worthy to be heard.
Colia L. Clark

MARTIN LUTHER KING AND FOUR NATIVE RIGHTS ACTIVISTS -- INCLUDING MYSELF -- HONORED BY NATIONAL INDIAN GAMING ASSOCIATION (INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY, JANUARY 16, 2012)

Thanks very much indeed to Ernest Stevens, Jr. and NIGA (National Indian Gaming Association) for honoring Dr King and the four Native civil rights activists and leaders. I'm greatly pleased to be included in this group, some of whom I've met and with whom I've worked at various points. Hunter Gray (John R Salter, Jr)

http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/01/16/ernie-stevens-jr-honor-mlk-and-native-civil-rights-leaders-72722

Or see NATIVE STRENGTH: http://nativestrength.com/tag/john-salter/

ANNOUNCEMENT NOTE BY HUNTER BEAR:

The new enlarged and updated edition of my book, JACKSON MISSISSIPPI: AN AMERICAN CHRONICLE OF STRUGGLE AND SCHISM, is now fully available for purchase. The publisher is Bison Books/University of Nebraska Press.

The initial Introduction in the two earlier editions has been replaced by one written by me: "On The River Of No Return." This is, in many ways, a large, additional chapter [about 9500 words] which up-dates Mississippi, discusses our family's always interesting experiences since the first edition of JM appeared in 1979, and contains supplemental autobiographical material. And, of course, it also contains something of my reflections as a life-long social justice organizer.

The dedication:

For Eldri and the Family -- truly a Golden Horde

And in memory of Doris and Ben Allison and Medgar Wiley Evers

Thus this will likely be my basic autobiographical memoir. As a corollary to that, however, I must say that my health is fine.

The University of Nebraska Press is one of the largest university presses in the country.

Here is their announcement of Jackson, Mississippi: (Click on the photo and it'll get bigger.)

http://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/product/Jackson-Mississippi,674910.aspx

In Solidarity,

Hunter Bear (Hunter Gray / John R. Salter, Jr.)

Depicted on the cover of this new and expanded edition of my book, is our Woolworth Sit-In, May 28 1963, at Jackson. This was the most violently attacked sit-in during the 1960s and is the most publicized. [Recently, many "end-of-the-Century" photo collections have carried large renditions of it.] A huge mob gathered, with open police support and, while the three of us sat there for three hours, I was attacked with fists, brass knuckles and the broken portions of glass sugar containers, and was burned with cigarettes. I'm covered with blood and we were all covered by salt, sugar, mustard, and various other things. Seated, left to right, are myself, Ms. Joan Trumpauer (now Mulholland), and Ms. Anne Moody. Other sit-ins -- some in a split-off section and some briefly with our heavily targeted part -- were Mr. Memphis Norman (himself brutally struck and kicked unconscious), Ms. Pearlena Lewis, Ms. Lois Chaffee, Mr. James Beard, Mr. George Raymond, and Mr. Walter Williams. Dr. A.D. Beittel, President of Tougaloo College, and himself a much older man, joined us at the conclusion of the affair.

I wrote this book -- my basic work on the Movement in Jackson -- with the greatest care, from my own very clear recollections re consistent and pervasive personal involvement at every step of the way. [And those recollections remain precisely and indelibly engraved in my mind to this moment.] I utilized a host of primary documents [some of which are in my "collected papers" and some of which remain with me personally.] I did a great deal of careful cross-checking on certain points with other people who were, in various ways, involved in our effort [e.g., Attorney William M. Kunstler]. I included nothing in the book that could not be backed up by documents and the confirmation of other knowledgeable persons. And the book, very well reviewed, has never been challenged in any factual or thematic sense. [Hunter Gray/Hunter Bear/John R. Salter, Jr.]

My book first appeared in 1979 and was later reissued as a slightly expanded paper edition in 1987. All told, it drew over three dozen very positive reviews. A few excerpts:

Jessica Mitford called it "An excellent book about Jackson...A thrilling first-hand account."

James W. Silver [author of Mississippi: The Closed Society]: "I was so impressed with his book, Jackson, Mississippi: An American Chronicle of Struggle and Schism, that I purchased copies for my three children born in Mississippi . . .Of course I knew about his courageous course at Tougaloo College long before that. . .He is unquestionably a rare find who combines dedication with an exceedingly purposeful life."

UMOJA: A SCHOLARLY JOURNAL OF BLACK STUDIES -- J.S. Himes: "Jackson, Mississippi is a gold-mine of raw data..."

Anne Braden in Southern Fight-Back (Southern Organizing Committee for Economic and Social Justice) termed it "...an invaluable study in how community movements are built and how they can be thwarted -- in this case, by, among other forces, the federal government."

Jim Woodward, Socialist Monthly Changes (International Socialists): "Salter explains how the Jackson movement was built. . .and how it was derailed. He blames the demise of the movement on the national office of the NAACP and the Kennedy administration. . . The point is not that no gains were made in Jackson in 1962-63. While the actual settlement with the city was meager, cracking the barrier of fear in the Black community was a substantial accomplishment. The point is that the Jackson movement was prevented from reaching its potential -- by people who were supposedly its friends and allies. Jackson, of course, was not the first place in history this has occurred -- and it won't be the last. But if we are to learn from the past, we had better understand what has happened. Salter's book is an excellent place to start in studying the civil rights movement, for it tells us not only what went wrong, but also what was right. That part of the story is as inspiring as it is fascinating."

". . .a fascinating account of the Jackson movement of 1962-63 by its chief strategist and organizer." John Dittmer in The Civil Rights Movement in America [Charles W. Eagles, editor, Jackson and London: The University Press of Mississippi, 1986.]

In Win Magazine, Clyde R. Appleton wrote: "This book should be read. It should be studied. There are lessons here for everyone who has been, is, or will be taking part in the people's struggle for peace and justice."

"Salter's Jackson, Mississippi: An American Chronicle of Struggle and Schism, is a peerless account of the Jackson movement and its inner workings." Reed Massengill in Portrait of a Racist: A Revelatory Biography of Byron de la Beckwith, Written By His Own Nephew [New York: St. Martin's Press, 1994.]

Perk Perkins in Sojourners said, "Salter's closeness to the struggle and his demythologizing impulse give the book its power and drama...paints a graphic picture of the struggle for freedom."

Neil McMillen (History, University of Southern Mississippi), said in The Journal of Mississippi History, "No other study yet in print so carefully details the inner life of a local protest movement...written by a thoughtful activist who recognizes the value of reasoned discourse."

Joseph R. Hacala, S.J., writing in Best Sellers said, "A moving and contemporary account...vivid, stirring."

Alene Jones [Texas Christian University] in Explorations in Sights and Sounds : "...fascinating book...excellent...written in a thorough and logical manner...this book will be profitable to students in a variety of professions...I strongly recommend that this book be read by people in general and by blacks in particular."

James Loewen, author of Lies My Teacher Told Me and Sundown Towns: "Your book is splendid."

Jay Weinstein, in Social Forces: "In Jackson, Mississippi, John Salter provides a sympathetic, carefully reasoned, and highly readable first-person sociological account of the events surrounding Evers' murder and its actual and symbolic connections with this transition in the Civil Rights Movement. Salter skillfully details the roles played by key actors and organizations -- including his own role as a participant and observer."

Sarah Cooper, in Wisconsin Magazine of History: "Activist and sociologist John R. Salter, Jr., has written a first-rate, firsthand account of one of the major grass-roots struggles of the southern Civil Rights Era: the Jackson movement of 1961-1963, which undertook to desegregate public facilities and win decent treatment for the city's black residents...Salter suggests, however, that it is not the vacillation of the Jackson moderates, but the insidious pressure of the national NAACP leadership in New York and the shadow of the Kennedy Administration that ultimately accounts for the dissolution of the movement after Evers' death...."

Vinton Prince, Jr. in The Journal of Southern History: "Scholars interested in the Civil Rights Movement during the early sixties will find John R. Salter, Jr.'s, Jackson, Mississippi esssential reading. He conveys the courage of the demonstrators, the fury of the mob, and the pervasive sense of hate in Jackson extremely well. Less exciting, but more valuable for historians, are his comments on the internal workings and strains of the Jackson movement."

In Southern Exposure, Frank Adams said, "Salter offers a blow-by-blow account of a movement and its destruction which will be difficult to refute. In the final analysis we learn that when the politics of civil rights took precedence over civil action, then Evers, Salter, King, and, tragically, Jackson's black community's struggle for freedom became expendable. As a book for organizers, Salter's book deserves a place beside Alinsky's more publicized Rules for Radicals or the lesser-known classics Tin Horns and Calico by Henry Christian, Heroes and Heretics by Barrows Dunham, or the recent novel by John Nichols, The Milagro Beanfield War..."

David Ranney, in Monthly Review: "Salter lets the story unfold for the reader in a distinctively low-keyed and insightful way. He lets us in on his thoughts and feelings concerning the hopeful/terrible events exploding around him...In many ways, Jackson, Mississippi offers us hope through its demonstration of the ever present potential of a blossoming of a movement of oppressed peoples. Nothing could be quite as dismal as the picture Salter paints of Jackson in the fall of 1961. "Mississippi," he says, "was functioning in the purest and most cold-blooded sense of the word as a garrison state that viewed itself not only as being prepared for war, but as already fighting a war." ...Salter's story suggests a path...The left today would do well to consider this path very carefully..."

And in Social Development Issues (University of Iowa), Gary Lowe: "Salter's book is not splashy. He quietly tells of the evolution of a very vital and dangerous effort to create social change. As a text/case book for community organization, Salter's book is of great value. . .After all is said and done, Salter emerges with hope, and so might we all."

AND FROM AMAZON: [Professor Samuel Friedman, author of Teamster Rank and File: Power, Bureaucracy, and Rebellion at Work and in a Union -- followed by David Fields, a union organizer.]

I hold, of course, the full U.S. Copyright to the book -- and all attendant dimensions of such.

I continue to receive positive affirmations of Jackson, Mississippi. Here, from a post I made this November 6th, is one such welcome missive:

NOTE BY HUNTER BEAR:

Scott Winter is an old friend -- who took several of my classes [including Honors courses] at the University of North Dakota. He is now on the Journalism/Mass Communications faculty at the University of Nebraska. He has kindly passed on some good words from Adam Nossiter, New York Times, and author of the excellent book, Of Long Memory: Mississippi And The Murder of Medgar Evers. [ Nice to see kind words on a rather cold and rainy Idaho morn -- with some snow coming.] My long website page on Medgar and our historic Jackson Movement is one of the most consistently visited pages on our Hunterbear website.

Hunterbear:

I forgot to send you a note earlier this semester. I had Adam Nossiter speak in my Journalism 101 class in September. Do you remember him? He researched and wrote a Medgar Evers book. He's with the New York Times again, working as a correspondent in New Orleans. He wrote great stuff during hurricane Katrina. I was really impressed by him. I mentioned your name to him in front of the class and he said "Sure, I know of John Salter. He's a great man who did great things in Jackson, and wrote an amazing book about it." He clearly used the book as a key resource, along with his interviews and courtdocuments. Anyway, 120 journalism freshmen got a dose of facts about poverty in the Deep South and it was empirically the best day of class all year.

Take care of yourself,
Scott

(photo of Adam in my class attached.)
-----
Scott Winter
Lecturer and Recruiter
College of Journalism and Mass Comm
University of Nebraska-Lincoln

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