- Collection:
- Sovereignty Commission Online
- Title:
- A.S.C.S. - Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service
- Creator:
- Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission
- Publisher:
- from A.S.C.S. - Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, Sovereignty Commission records, Mississippi Department of Archives and History
- Date of Original:
- 1964/1967
- Subject:
- United States. Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service
Council of Federated Organizations (U.S.)
Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
Farmers--Mississippi
African American farmers--Mississippi
Governmental investigations--Mississippi--Benton County
Mississippi--Economic conditions
African Americans--Mississippi--Economic conditions
Race relations
Mississippi--Race relations--History--20th century
Acreage allotments--Mississippi
Agricultural administration--Mississippi
Voting--Mississippi
African Americans--Suffrage--Mississippi
African Americans--Suffrage--Southern States
Legislators--United States
Politicians--New York (State) - People:
- Resnick, Joseph Y. (Joseph Yale), 1924-1969
- Location:
- United States, Mississippi, Benton County, 34.81729, -89.18848
United States, Southern States, 33.346678, -84.119434 - Medium:
- articles
fliers (printed matter)
reports
press releases
newsletters - Type:
- Text
- Format:
- image/jpeg
- Description:
- Records collected by the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission between 1964 and 1967 on the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS). The ASCS, an agency in the United States Department of Agriculture, administered farm programs and allocated federal crop quotas through a county committee system. Although all farmers and sharecroppers regardless of race were eligible to vote for ASCS committee members, until 1964 all committee members in the Deep South were white men. Before the 1964 election in Mississippi, the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) began organizing African Americans in twelve counties. At the request of Mississippi State Senator George Yarbrough, Sovereignty Commission investigator Tom Scarbrough led an investigation into COFO efforts to influence the ASCS election in Benton County. In 1965, African Americans in Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana ran for committee appointements, assisted by the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Although reports of voting irregularities and intimidation were widespread, 75 of the 142 African Americans in Mississippi who ran for committee appointments were elected. New York Democratic congressman Joseph Resnick, chair of the House Agriculture Commitee, observed the election in four Mississippi counties and spoke to the press about his experiences. The file contains publicity materials from the Mississippi Democratic Freedom Party describing the work of the ASCS and encouraging African American involvement in the election. It also contains newspaper reports about the election and Representative Resnick's visit to the state. Finally, the file contains a newspaper report from 1967 of an African American young man in Lawrence County, Mississippi, an employee of the local ASCS who was nearly eligible for a promotion who was convicted of "making nasty phone calls" to a white woman."
The Civil Rights Digital Library received support from a National Leadership Grant for Libraries awarded to the University of Georgia by the Institute of Museum and Library Services for the aggregation and enhancement of partner metadata. - Metadata URL:
- http://www.mdah.ms.gov/arrec/digital_archives/sovcom/imagelisting.php?foldercheckbox%5B%5D=616%7C6%7C61%7C%7C0
- Rights Holder:
- The Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission Records are state government records made available to the public pursuant to American Civil Liberties Union v. Fordice, 969 F.Supp. 403 (S.D.Miss.1994). The web-enabled version of the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission Records is intended for public use in research, teaching, and private study in accordance with the provisions of the Fair Use clause of the United States Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). MDAH makes no warranty or assurances that materials contained in this collection are free from U.S. copyright claims or other restrictions on free use and display. It is the user's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions when publishing or distributing materials found in this collection. MDAH requests that prior to publication of Sov. Com. images the user submit an MDAH Broadcast/Publication Permission form for approval by the Department. This form must be accompanied by documentation which proves that copyright requirements have been satisfied. Contact MDAH Reference Staff for details on how to obtain and complete the B/PP form: (601) 576 6876 or refdesk@mdah.state.ms.us. There are no MDAH Use Fees associated with use of Sov. Com. images. MDAH asks that each image used in a presentation, display, or publication be accompanied by a credit line, which at a minimum includes the name of this collection, the unique resource identifier for each image, the name of this institution, and URL. ; Cite images according to the following structure: Original Creator, "Title", Original creation date (if known), Unique Resource Identifier, Series Number and Title, Archival Repository, date of last web page revision, image location/URL, (image viewed on date).
- Contributing Institution:
- Mississippi. Department of Archives and History
- Rights:
-
