Marks, Martin and the Mule Train: Marks, Mississippi Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Origin of the 1968 Poor People’S Campaign Mule Train

By Hilliard Lawrence Lackey

Marks, Martin and the Mule Train is a third person chronicle of Marks, Mississippi as the origin of the Mule Train component of the 1968 Poor People's Campaign. The book begins with the backdrop of living conditions in Marks, a small town in the Mississippi Delta, mired in abject poverty during the transition period when farm implements displaced field hands. More than half of area residents had left the cotton fields to work in factories up north. But those that stayed home were devoid of jobs and many were hungry.
It was this pervasive sense of hopelessness and widespread hunger that struck Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during his two visits to Marks in 1966. His first visit was made to preach the funeral of a marcher who had suffered a heart attack while engaged in the James Meredith March Against Fear from Memphis, TN to Jackson, MS. Allegedly, Dr. King asked some black junior youth what they were going to be when they grew up. Their responses drew tears from the Civil Rights leader when summarily they acknowledged no future because of their skin color. The second visit also aroused tears empathy when Dr. King and Dr. Ralph David Abernathy watched a teacher feed her students four apples and a box of crackers for lunch. Southern public schools declined to accept federal aid for free and reduced meals to sidestep integration. These observations in Marks convinced Dr. King to follow the suggestion of Marian Wright Edelman to lead a Poor Peoples Campaign for jobs and justice.
Dr. Abernathy writes in his book And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, that Dr. King wanted the Poor Peoples Campaign to begin at the end of the world, in Marks, Mississippi. And so it did. Even though Dr. King was assassinated on April 14, 1968, his inspired Mule Train left Marks on May 14, 1968. The 1, 000 mile journey took a month to complete but 28 wagons pulled by 56 mules paraded down Pennsylvania Avenue on Juneteenth (June 19)1968 as the centerpiece of the Poor Peoples Campaign. The Mule Train fulfilled one of Dr. Kings dreams.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 24, 2014
• ISBN: 9781493114979

Hilliard Lawrence Lackey

Hilliard L Lackey currently serves as Associate Professor of Urban Higher Education for Jackson State University. He earned degrees (B.A., History and Political Science, MS.Ed. in Educational Administration and Supervision, and the Ed.S. in Educational Administration) from Jackson State University. He earned PhD in Higher Education from the University of Mississippi. He has been an administrator/professor at JSU including; Director of Alumni Affairs, Director of Development and Alumni Affairs, Special Assistant to the Executive Vice President. Dr. Hilliard Lackey also served as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Director of Enrollment at Lemoyne-Owen (Memphis, TN). Dr. Lackey is a 2008 inductee into the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame, 2003 Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund HBCU Alumnus of the Year, 1997 NAFEO Distinguished alumni Award honoree, and in 2004 the McCormick Freedom Museum of Chicago placed his quotes on a monument. He was a Fullbright Fellow to North Africa (the Maghreb) and is an authority on the Historical Geography of the Mississippi Delta.

Book preview

Copyright © 2014 by Hilliard Lawrence Lackey.

Cover design by Ralph Bledsoe

Library of Congress Control Number:     2013920353

ISBN:                  Hardcover                        978-1-4931-1496-2

                            Softcover                          978-1-4931-1495-5

                            eBook                               978-1-4931-1497-9

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Word processing for second printing was by Dr. Rosella Houston. First printing in 1998 typesetting was by Rosella Houston, Bernice Dixon McGruder, Angela Gordon, Erica Ratliff and Brandy Smith.

Scripture taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Rev. date: 04/29/2014

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CONTENTS

DEDICATION

FOREWORD

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

PROLOGUE

THE PHYSICAL AND HISTORICAL SETTING

ACROSS THE TRACKS

PROFESSIONALS

THE HIGH SHERIFF

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

THE MULE TRAIN

WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 1968

THE INITIATORS

THE PRINCIPAL

THE TEACHERS

THE STUDENTS

THE RESIDENTS

THE FIRST MARCH

THE SHERIFF

THE MELEE

THE SECOND MARCH

THE ATTORNEYS

THURSDAY, MAY 2, 1968

THE THIRD MARCH

THE MEDIA

THE LOGISTICS

FRIDAY, MAY 3, 1968

SATURDAY, MAY 4, 1968

SUNDAY, MAY 5, 1968

MONDAY, MAY 6, 1968

TUESDAY, MAY 7, 1968

THE MULES

WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 1968

THE BUSES

THURSDAY, MAY 9, 1968

THE DELAY

FRIDAY, MAY 10, 1968

THE DELAY II

SATURDAY, MAY 11, 1968

THE WEATHER

THE WORRIED

SUNDAY, MAY 12, 1968

MONDAY, MAY 13, 1968

EASTWARD HO"

TUESDAY, MAY 14, 1968

WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 1968

THURSDAY, MAY 16, 1968

FRIDAY, MAY 17, 1968

SATURDAY, MAY 18, 1968

SUNDAY, MAY 19, 1968

MONDAY, MAY 20, 1968

TUESDAY, MAY 23, 1968

WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 1968

THURSDAY, MAY 23, 1968

FRIDAY, MAY 24, 1968

SATURDAY, MAY 25, 1968

SUNDAY, MAY 26, 1968

MONDAY, MAY 27, 1968

TUESDAY, MAY 28, 1968

WEDNESDAY, MAY 29, 1968

THURSDAY, MAY 30, 1968

FRIDAY, MAY 31, 1968

SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 1968

SUNDAY, JUNE 2, 1968

MONDAY, JUNE 3, 1968

TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 1968

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 1968

THURSDAY, JUNE 6, 1968

FRIDAY, JUNE 7, 1968

SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 1968

SUNDAY, JUNE 9, 1968

MONDAY, JUNE 10, 1968

TUESDAY, JUNE 11, 1968

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 1968

THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 1968

FRIDAY, JUNE 14, 1968

SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 1968

MONDAY, JUNE 17, 1968

TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 1968

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 1968

JUNETEENTH—SOLIDARITY DAY

THURSDAY, JUNE 20, 1968—MONDAY, JUNE 24, 1968

EPILOGUE

CHRONOLOGY OF BLACK ASCENDANCY TO POWER

Marks, Mississippi

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

And the

1968 Mule Train

From

Marks, Mississippi

To Washington, DC

As part of the

Poor People’s Campaign

DEDICATION

First and foremost, this book is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It was his vision that spawned the Mule Train and the Poor People’s Campaign. I will be eternally grateful to him for having identified my hometown as the starting point for the campaign.

My second dedication is to my wife, Lillian, and our four children: Katrina, Larry, Tahirih and Darryl. Having had the privilege of being Lillian’s husband and my children’s father is most gratifying. They inspire me to do things I once could only dream about, including writing this book.

My third dedication is to my parents. They gave me hope and support from day one. Every person ought to be so blessed as to have two parents like them to guide him or her. Added to my parents are surrogate parents and parent-figures particularly my paternal Uncle Lysanders Lackey of St. Louis who offered me the buoyancy and safety net I needed in life.

My fourth dedication is to the people of Quitman County. My dedication is more than tokenism. I have contractually donated the author’s proceeds from the sale of this book to the Hilliard L. Lackey Scholarship Fund at Jackson State University for an annual scholarship to the top graduating senior at the Madison S. Palmer (Quitman County) High School who doesn’t already have a full scholarship who elects to attend Jackson State University.

My fifth dedication is to the men and women, and at the time, boys and girls, who participated in the Mule Train and Poor People’s Campaign. Andrew Young, Willie Bolden, James Bevel, Ralph David Abernathy, Andrew Marrisette, James Taper, Johnny McGlown, and on and on.

Finally, I thank God for the privilege of living life itself and for the privilege of writing this book. Ultimately, I dedicate this book to my Creator, God Almighty!

FOREWORD

T HE MULE TRAIN and its parent organization, the Poor People’s Campaign, deserve a prominent place in American history certainly no less than Brown v the Board of Education or the Boston Tea Party. This was the acid test to ascertain whether America cared as much for its disadvantaged citizens as it did freedom in Southeast Asia. In 1968, American troops were deployed in South Viet Nam trying to halt the spread of communism and spread the ideals upon which this country was founded. Yet, hunger, deprivation, inequality and injustices were draining hope from a large segment of the citizenry. Not just black people, but Hispanics, Native Americans and hoards of poor whites from Appalachia to Alaska.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. took exception to the war in Viet Nam and to the lack of attention to the plight of the poor on the homefront. True to his nature and consistent with his life work, he wanted to mount a campaign that would turn the tide and once and for all render hunger obsolete in America. The fact that he crystallized his thinking and became totally committed to this movement in the Mississippi Delta town of Marks is very historic. Some of the best people in the world lived in that tiny area. They were like diamonds buried beneath mountains of rock and shale, they had to be mined and polished. The compassion of Dr. King started the process. The work of Reverend Ralph David Abernathy, Ambassador Andrew Young, James Bevel, Willie Bolden and the heroics of local citizens like James Taper, James Figgs, Azra Towner, Madison S. Palmer, Ned Gathwright, Lydia McKinnon, Manuel Killebrew, Jimmy Holman, and Johnny and Margaret McGlown extended it.

In intervening years since 1968 and the 39th anniversary celebration in 1998, I had the good pleasure of visiting Quitman County on numerous occasions. I personally witnessed the transformation take place for exemplary interaction between black and white citizens in leadership positions. The most positive being the Planning Committee for the Reenactment of the Mule Train and the Museum and Cultural Center. The irony is, the Mule Train originally was seen by many whites as a black liberation symbol and adverse to white interests. Thirty years later, the Mule Train was viewed as the source of an economic opportunity for blacks and whites. That fact alone is a measure of the progress and the success Quitman County has experience in terms of biracial cooperation and togetherness.

I find it both heartwarming and gratifying that the main thoroughfare through Marks has been named Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive. More than anyone, Dr. King was the impetus for the new surge of togetherness for self-betterment albeit somewhat belated. The naming of housing units for James Taper, Carl Brown, and Ezra Towner gives testimony to their diligence and steadfastness. Most of all, the renaming of Quitman County High School for Madison S. Palmer, the principal during the poorest and demonstrations leading up to the Mule Train, is poetic justice. On three occasions, I have served as commencement speaker at that school. During each, I have heard nothing but great things about this great educator who served as the very first principal of the county-wide high school.

Finally, I applaud Dr. Hilliard L. Lackey for remembering his roots. This book is only a modicum of what he is doing for his home area. He annually extends an invitation for all Quitman County area graduating high school seniors to join him at Jackson State University. Once there, he mentors and supports them from freshmen through graduation. His vision of the Mule Train Reenactment, the Museum and Cultural Center, and his book, Marks, Martin and the Mule Train are truly reflective of his commitment to the collective uplift of his home folks. This book is long overdue. It pleases me that at last the story is being told of the very important role Mississippians played in the changing of the nation’s consciousness, from exclusion to inclusion with respect to those languishing in poverty and wallowing in hopelessness.

The opening of the Sovereignty Commissions files has made documents public that prove beyond any doubt that the State of Mississippi once engaged in activities to suppress integration, inhibit economic betterment for blacks and above all maintain the southern way of life for the privileged few. This book is a chronicle of events that took place in April, May and June, 1968 that ushered in a change including the demise of the Sovereignty Commission itself.

Congressman Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I AM DEEPLY indebted to reporters Vincent Lee and Curtis Wilkie of the Clarksdale Press Register for their coverage of the events leading up to the formation of the Mule Train. Likewise, I owe deep gratitude to the Associated Press. It was from these two news media sources that I found a frame upon which to build my research.

Thanks also to