PART III: THE CONCLUSION TO: HE WAS THE FIRST MARTYR OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT: REV. GEORGE W. LEE While the death of George W. Lee never generated the same outrage as the murder of Emmett Till 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 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. Lee paved the way for great leaders to be born out of the African American community, he provided them with an opportunity that was second to none, because of his passion to have African Americans voice their opinion through the voting process. Lee will forever be a Civil Rights hero. 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. Less than a month after this speech, a convertible pulled alongside Lees 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, Ike Shelton, 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 to look into the matter. Lees 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 (mimicking a similar decision by Emmett Tills 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. Legacy While the death of George W. Lee never generated the same outrage as the murder of Emmett Till 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 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. Lee paved the way for great leaders to be born out of the African American community, he provided them with an opportunity that was second to none, because of his passion to have African Americans voice their opinion through the voting process. Lee will forever be a Civil Rights hero. 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. PHOTOS: Photo #1.Rev. Damea Lee; Considered to be the first person to die in the fight for civil rights for Blacks in America, George Lees name is the first one of 40 names listed on the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama. Photo #2. Rev. Lee; George W Lee Marker 526 Beale St Memphis.
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 21:12:35 +0000
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