<I>M is for Mississippi and Murder</I>
date: label: Date
content: November 1955
name: label: Created by
content: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, American, founded 1909
label: Subject of
content: Rev. George W. Lee, American, 1903 - 1955
label: Subject of
content: Lamar "Ditney" Smith, American, 1892 - 1955
label: Subject of
content: Emmett Till, American, 1941 - 1955
notes: label: Caption
content: This flier, from a collection of documents related to the Boston chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), provides insight into the Northern reaction to the violence against African Americans in the American South.
label: Caption
content: On August 28, 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till was brutally lynched in Drew, Mississippi. The murder and subsequent acquittal of the perpetrators were catalysts for a new determination among African Americans in the fight for civil rights. Emmett’s mother, Mamie Till-Mobley said, "The murder of my son has shown me that what happens to any of us, anywhere in the world, had better be the business of us all!!!"
label: Caption
content: In the same year, Lamar Smith, a farmer and World War I veteran, was shot and killed on the courthouse steps of Brookhaven, Mississippi, and George W. Lee, a grocery store owner and director of the local NAACP branch, was murdered in Belzoni, Mississippi, both in retaliation for encouraging Blacks to register to vote. The violence shocked the nation and inspired new action in the Civil Rights Movement across the country.
label: Description
content: Printed and illustrated seven-page pamphlet created by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to bring attention to the violence and murder erupting in Mississippi starting in 1954 to the fall of 1955. The front cover of the pamphlet has the title featuring three large, upper case M's formatted vertically with the center M in red while the top and bottom M's are grey. There are eight (8) pages total. The interior pages have text titled "Backdrop for Murder" and accented with three bright red checkmarks in front of sections on pages 4 and 5 that list the murder victims Rev. George W. Lee, Lamar Smith, and Emmett Till. The back of the pamphlet has a line drawn map of the delta region of Mississippi. Red dots mark locations where violent events have occurred in the state. There is a stamp in black ink for the Boston branch of the NAACP.
place: label: Place depicted
content: Mississippi, United States, North and Central America
label: Place printed
content: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
label: Place used
content: Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, North and Central America
title: label: Title
content: NAACP pamphlet highlighting the violence in Mississippi
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Civil Rights
label: Topic
content: Violence
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Memorabilia and Ephemera - Political and Activist Ephemera
label: Movement
content: Civil Rights Movement
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2012.46.34.26
objectType: label: Type
content: pamphlets
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: No known copyright restrictions
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: ink on paper (fiber product)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 in. (21.6 x 14 cm)