Roy Torkington Freedom Summer Collection
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of twelve letters to the donor’s fiancée, Anne, documenting in considerable detail the training, field work, and living conditions of a representative Freedom Summer volunteer. One of the letters in this collection appears in the book Letters From Mississippi.
Dates
- June 14-August 3, 1964
Creator
- Torkington, Roy Bernard, 1940- (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Noncirculating; available for research.
Conditions Governing Use
This collection may be protected from unauthorized copying by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code).
Biographical / Historical
Roy Torkington (b. 1940) attended the initial 1964 Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Mississippi Summer Project orientation session, and was assigned to voter registration efforts in Leflore County, Mississippi.
On June 25, 1964, three Itta Bena (Leflore County) men accosted Torkington and two other volunteers, threatening their lives. The subsequent arrest of those three Mississippians by the FBI and their prosecution under the 1960 Civil Rights Act was likely one of the first prosecutions under that law, and was certainly a very early example of determined federal action against voter discrimination in the South. Torkington’s account of the event is included in his correspondence.
Torkington later completed a BA in history and a master’s degree in library science. He has worked at the University of California at Berkeley’s Institute of Library Research and at the Library of Congress. Torkington currently lives in Berkeley, California.
Extent
1 Folder
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Photocopies of letters written by Freedom Summer volunteer, Roy Torkington, to his fiance, Anne. Mr. Torkington assisted with voter registration in Itta Bena , Mississippi (Leflore County), and the letters describe his surroundings, his thoughts, and events that took place during his sojourn in Mississippi.
Provenance
Materials in this collection were generated by Roy Torkington, who donated them to the USM archives on February 18, 2003.
Sources
Contents of the Collection.
Lichtman, Allan. “The Federal Assault Against Voting Discrimination in the Deep South, 1957-1967.” The Journal of Negro History 54 (October 1969): 346-67.
Martínez, Elizabeth, ed. Letters From Mississippi. Brookline, MA: Zephyr Press, 2002.
“FBI Arrests Three Itta Bena Men Under Civil Rights Act.” Greenwood Commonwealth. 27 June 1964, p.1.
“3 Whites Arrested in Delta.” Clarion Ledger (Jackson). 27 June 1964, p.1.
- Civil rights. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Leflore County (Miss.). Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Letter. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Librarians. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Mississippi Freedom Project. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Personal narratives. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Race relations. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (U.S.), Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Voting. Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Title
- Roy Torkington Freedom Summer Collection
- Status
- Completed
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Historical Manuscripts and Photographs Repository
118 College Drive - 5148
Hattiesburg MS 39406-0001
601.266.4345
