Americana #6
Mississippi 1966
The 'March Against Fear' took place in June 1966 when James Meredith decided to walk from Memphis TN, to Jackson MS, to raise awareness about ongoing racism and encourage Black people to register to vote. The march was 270 miles long and was supposed to last 21 days. However, two days into the march, Meredith was shot and injured by a white man. Even though he couldn’t continue, other civil rights leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., took over and kept the march going.
As the march went on, more and more people joined in. By the time they reached Jackson, there were about 15,000 marchers. It became the largest civil rights march in Mississippi's history, showing the strength and unity of the Black community in their fight for equality.
This '66 MS plate is one of my favorites. I love the wide expanse, low number issue, and the rust-colored, landscape-like outline along the bottom. It’s truly a piece of time-worn art.
