George W. Lee
Encyclopedia
George W. Lee was an African American
civil rights
leader, minister
, and entrepreneur
. He was a vice president of the Regional Council of Negro Leadership
and head of the Belzoni, Mississippi
branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
. He was assassinated in 1955.
. His mother was an illiterate plantation woman who was married to an abusive stepfather. After she died, her sister took the boy in. Somehow, Lee was able to graduate from high school, a rarity for blacks living in his circumstances. While eking out a rough living on the banana docks in New Orleans, Louisiana
, he studied a correspondence course in typesetting.
During the 1930s, Lee accepted a call to become a preacher in Belzoni, Mississippi
. The town was located in the heart of the Delta, where most blacks in the state lived, the majority in extreme poverty. Eager to improve himself at every opportunity, Lee rose to the front ranks of local black business and community leaders. He had pastored four churches and had opened a grocery store. In a back room of his house, he and his wife, Rosebud, set up a small printing business. They did a brisk business giving Lee enough resources to enter the battle for civil rights.
(where blacks were a majority of the population). In 1953, Lee and Gus Courts, another black grocer, co-founded the Belzoni branch of the NAACP. When the sheriff refused to accept their poll tax
es, they took him to court. Between them, Lee and Courts registered nearly all of the county’s ninety black voters in 1955. Still enraged by the U.S. Supreme Court's 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, however, members of the White Citizens Councils were aggressively purging blacks from the voting rolls through intimidation and economic pressure. While many backed down, Lee and Courts stood firm.
Lee was a vice president of the Regional Council of Negro Leadership
, a leading black organization in the state. The Council weaved together a message of self-help, business, and civil rights. It pressed for voting rights and organized a successful boycott of gas stations that refused to install restrooms for blacks. The head of the Council was Dr. T.R.M. Howard, one of the wealthiest blacks in the state. Medgar Evers
worked as an organizer.
In April, Lee was one of the speakers at the Council’s annual meeting, which drew a crowd of more than 7000 to the all-black town of Mound Bayou, Mississippi
. Simeon Booker
of Jet (magazine)
, observed how Lee’s "down-home dialogue and his sense of political timing" had "electrified" the crowd. "Pray not for your mom and pop," Lee suggested. "They've gone to heaven. Pray you can make it through this hell."
A few years earlier, these events might have ended then and there, but Howard, Evers, and others had different ideas. They demanded a thorough investigation. The sheriff and governor spurned them but the U.S. Attorney General ordered the Justice Department
to look into the matter.
Lee's funeral in Belzoni was a media event for black newspapers. A key factor in building interest was the decision of his wife, Rosebud, to hold an open-coffin ceremony (thus anticipating a similar decision by Emmett Till's mother). Readers of the Chicago Defender
could share her outrage by viewing a photo of her husband’s mutilated corpse. A subsequent NAACP-organized memorial service in Belzoni drew more than one thousand. This was a revolutionary event for the small rural Delta town, where whites had traditionally expected, and generally received, strict deference from the black majority. Howard and Roy Wilkins
, the president of the National NAACP, shared the speakers' platform. Howard said that some blacks "would sell their grandmas for half a dollar, but Reverend Lee was not one of them."
Civil rights activists searched the Delta looking for evidence to find the killers. Medgar Evers, as someone later said, "cut his teeth" on the Lee case. He continually fed information to the press. Despite this, interest began to wane and the FBI investigation ran out of steam. In the meantime, agents had identified credible white suspects, and agents had opined that potential witnesses were afraid to talk. No charges were ever brought.
in August 1955, the consequences were genuinely important. The effect was not only to expose a national audience to the oppressive nature of Mississippi Jim Crow
but to give much-needed momentum to the civil rights movement. Lee deserves to be remembered for other reasons as well. He exemplified an earlier generation of activists who used business success into a launching pad into civil rights. His life also provided an illustration of the philosophy of Booker T. Washington
that an economic foundation provided the necessary precondition to build a movement for political rights.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
leader, minister
Minister of religion
In Christian churches, a minister is someone who is authorized by a church or religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidance to the community...
, and entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
. He was a vice president of the Regional Council of Negro Leadership
Regional Council of Negro Leadership
The Regional Council of Negro Leadership was a society in Mississippi founded by T. R. M. Howard in 1951 to promote a program of civil rights, self-help, and business ownership...
and head of the Belzoni, Mississippi
Belzoni, Mississippi
Belzoni is a city in Humphreys County, Mississippi, in the Mississippi Delta region, on the Yazoo River. The population was 2,663 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Humphreys County...
branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
. He was assassinated in 1955.
Biography
Lee was typical of an earlier generation of activists who came to civil rights after they had made a success in business. Like so many in this category, he came up the hard way through backbreaking work, thrift, and determination. Born in 1903, Lee grew up in poverty in Edwards, MississippiEdwards, Mississippi
Edwards is a town in Hinds County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,347 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
. His mother was an illiterate plantation woman who was married to an abusive stepfather. After she died, her sister took the boy in. Somehow, Lee was able to graduate from high school, a rarity for blacks living in his circumstances. While eking out a rough living on the banana docks in New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, he studied a correspondence course in typesetting.
During the 1930s, Lee accepted a call to become a preacher in Belzoni, Mississippi
Belzoni, Mississippi
Belzoni is a city in Humphreys County, Mississippi, in the Mississippi Delta region, on the Yazoo River. The population was 2,663 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Humphreys County...
. The town was located in the heart of the Delta, where most blacks in the state lived, the majority in extreme poverty. Eager to improve himself at every opportunity, Lee rose to the front ranks of local black business and community leaders. He had pastored four churches and had opened a grocery store. In a back room of his house, he and his wife, Rosebud, set up a small printing business. They did a brisk business giving Lee enough resources to enter the battle for civil rights.
Activism
Lee proved just as determined to succeed in that arena as he had in business and religion. He was the first black in memory to register to vote in Humphreys County, MississippiHumphreys County, Mississippi
-Demographics:At the 2000 census, there were 11,206 people, 3,765 households and 2,695 families residing in the county. The population density was 27 per square mile . There were 4,138 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile...
(where blacks were a majority of the population). In 1953, Lee and Gus Courts, another black grocer, co-founded the Belzoni branch of the NAACP. When the sheriff refused to accept their poll tax
Poll tax
A poll tax is a tax of a portioned, fixed amount per individual in accordance with the census . When a corvée is commuted for cash payment, in effect it becomes a poll tax...
es, they took him to court. Between them, Lee and Courts registered nearly all of the county’s ninety black voters in 1955. Still enraged by the U.S. Supreme Court's 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, however, members of the White Citizens Councils were aggressively purging blacks from the voting rolls through intimidation and economic pressure. While many backed down, Lee and Courts stood firm.
Lee was a vice president of the Regional Council of Negro Leadership
Regional Council of Negro Leadership
The Regional Council of Negro Leadership was a society in Mississippi founded by T. R. M. Howard in 1951 to promote a program of civil rights, self-help, and business ownership...
, a leading black organization in the state. The Council weaved together a message of self-help, business, and civil rights. It pressed for voting rights and organized a successful boycott of gas stations that refused to install restrooms for blacks. The head of the Council was Dr. T.R.M. Howard, one of the wealthiest blacks in the state. Medgar Evers
Medgar Evers
Medgar Wiley Evers was an African American civil rights activist from Mississippi involved in efforts to overturn segregation at the University of Mississippi...
worked as an organizer.
In April, Lee was one of the speakers at the Council’s annual meeting, which drew a crowd of more than 7000 to the all-black town of Mound Bayou, Mississippi
Mound Bayou, Mississippi
Mound Bayou is a city in Bolivar County, Mississippi. The population was 2,102 at the 2000 census. It is notable for having been founded as an independent black community in 1887 by former slaves led by Isaiah Montgomery. By percentage, its 98.4 percent African-American majority population is one...
. Simeon Booker
Simeon Booker
Simeon Booker is an award-winning African-American journalist whose work appeared in leading news publications for more than 50 years.- Early years :...
of Jet (magazine)
Jet (magazine)
Jet is an American weekly marketed toward African-American readers, founded in 1951 by John H. Johnson of Johnson Publishing Company in Chicago, Illinois...
, observed how Lee’s "down-home dialogue and his sense of political timing" had "electrified" the crowd. "Pray not for your mom and pop," Lee suggested. "They've gone to heaven. Pray you can make it through this hell."
Death and investigation
Less than a month after this speech, a convertible pulled alongside Lee's car just before midnight. An unidentified assailant fired three shot-gun blasts, shattering his jaw and driving him off the road. Lee died before he could make it to the hospital. The attack came days after he had received a threatening note demanding that he drop his name from the voting rolls. An autopsy extracted lead pellets from his face that were consistent with buckshot. The sheriff, who wanted to call it a traffic accident and close the case, claimed that they were dental fillings torn loose by the impact of the crash.A few years earlier, these events might have ended then and there, but Howard, Evers, and others had different ideas. They demanded a thorough investigation. The sheriff and governor spurned them but the U.S. Attorney General ordered the Justice Department
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
to look into the matter.
Lee's funeral in Belzoni was a media event for black newspapers. A key factor in building interest was the decision of his wife, Rosebud, to hold an open-coffin ceremony (thus anticipating a similar decision by Emmett Till's mother). Readers of the Chicago Defender
Chicago Defender
The Chicago Defender is a Chicago based newspaper founded in 1905 by an African American for primarily African American readers.In just three years from 1919–1922 the Defender also attracted the writing talents of Langston Hughes and Gwendolyn Brooks....
could share her outrage by viewing a photo of her husband’s mutilated corpse. A subsequent NAACP-organized memorial service in Belzoni drew more than one thousand. This was a revolutionary event for the small rural Delta town, where whites had traditionally expected, and generally received, strict deference from the black majority. Howard and Roy Wilkins
Roy Wilkins
Roy Wilkins was a prominent civil rights activist in the United States from the 1930s to the 1970s. Wilkins' most notable role was in his leadership of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ....
, the president of the National NAACP, shared the speakers' platform. Howard said that some blacks "would sell their grandmas for half a dollar, but Reverend Lee was not one of them."
Civil rights activists searched the Delta looking for evidence to find the killers. Medgar Evers, as someone later said, "cut his teeth" on the Lee case. He continually fed information to the press. Despite this, interest began to wane and the FBI investigation ran out of steam. In the meantime, agents had identified credible white suspects, and agents had opined that potential witnesses were afraid to talk. No charges were ever brought.
Legacy
While the death of George W. Lee never generated the same outrage as the murder of Emmett TillEmmett Till
Emmett Louis "Bobo" Till was an African-American boy who was murdered in Mississippi at the age of 14 after reportedly flirting with a white woman. Till was from Chicago, Illinois visiting his relatives in the Mississippi Delta region when he spoke to 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant, the married...
in August 1955, the consequences were genuinely important. The effect was not only to expose a national audience to the oppressive nature of Mississippi Jim Crow
Jim Crow laws
The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965. They mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities, with a supposedly "separate but equal" status for black Americans...
but to give much-needed momentum to the civil rights movement. Lee deserves to be remembered for other reasons as well. He exemplified an earlier generation of activists who used business success into a launching pad into civil rights. His life also provided an illustration of the philosophy of Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
that an economic foundation provided the necessary precondition to build a movement for political rights.