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Essay / Mississippi Spies Discussion Paper
The narrative film “Mississippi Spies” may be a dire update of the depths that Mississippi scholars plumbed in their efforts to sabotage the civil rights movement. The film chronicles the work of the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission, a mysterious state-funded agency created by the Mississippi Board of Governors in 1956. Using a series of espionage strategies, the Commission sought to preserve racial isolation, protect Jim Crow laws, and anticipate "governmental violations" in Mississippi. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The film draws on the Commission's records, which are accessible and searchable online, largely thanks to a 1994 court filing in a lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Mississippi. It turns out that the Commission did nothing tedious, archiving all of its abuses for the benefit of white supremacy. At first it was to track the activities of human rights organizations in Mississippi, but within a few years it evolved into a large-scale spy bureau, using a group of examiners and operators who monitored respectful rights activists and tapped their phones. , audited their rallies, stole sensitive records, and undermined voter rights efforts. The Commission was heartless, pursuing an all-out war against tampering. Perhaps most distressing, he assembled numerous African-American sources, some of whom were considered figures in the respectful rights community, who detailed to the Commission the strategy and plans the emerging development of rights; and sowed fear and doubt among human rights pioneers. It destroyed the lives of individuals like Clyde Kennard, a black Korean War veteran who attempted to enlist at what was then Mississippi Southern College. The Commission organized the planting of evidence used to convict Mr Kennard of eating chicken feed. He spent seven long years in prison. Commission operators also funneled data to local law enforcement (which was teeming with KKK members) on student activists fleeing to Mississippi, including James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, who were later killed by Klan members. confining these events to the past and downplaying what happened in the Deep South. That would be an error of judgment. For African Americans, the legacy of segregation and Jim Crow remains a live issue. And while separation based on race is not the law of the land and nothing like the Commission seems to work these days. Government and state licensing offices still struggle with racial profiling. That's largely since the Justice Department's denial of racial profiling by government regulatory offices does not extend to national security and border integrity reviews, two huge exemptions that essentially swallow the rule. Additionally, the Attorney General's rules for FBI domestic operations allow specialists to investigate anyone, without any real premise of doubt, in the event that operators claim they are seeking to anticipate wrongdoing, to ensure national security or gather external information. Government legal authorizations and intelligence agencies took full advantage of the license granted to them. THE.