Jackson, Mississippi during the Civil Rights Movement

Jackson was a focal point of Mississippi’s civil-rights struggle during the early 1960s. Freedom Riders were arrested after arriving in the city, local activists organised boycotts and voter-registration work, and the state government defended segregated institutions while national attention focused on the integration of the University of Mississippi.

Medgar Evers directed NAACP organising from Jackson until his assassination outside his home in June 1963. His death intensified national outrage and local fear, while the Civil Rights Act of 1964 challenged legal segregation.