Creator: Dept. of Public Safety (RG 53).

Collection Summary:  A collection of records transferred from the Mississippi Department of Public Safety to MDAH in March 2026. The files document Commissioner T.B. Birdsong’s response to Civil Rights events in Mississippi during the early 1960s. Of primary interest are Birdsong’s files and correspondence related to the Freedom Rides during the summer of 1961. Individuals throughout the country sent letters expressing support for and against Commissioner Birdsong’s statements regarding the Freedom Riders. There are also nine folders of Freedom Riders’ arrest records and mugshots, which appear to be duplicates of material found in the State Sovereignty Commission Records. A few memoranda also mention James Meredith’s march in 1966. The bulk of the material is newspaper clippings related to Civil Rights events, and also general articles of interest to the Department of Public Safety at the time. An itemized inventory of the collection is also available.

Access Restrictions: None.

Date(s): 1960-1966.

Volume: 0.25 Cubic Feet.

Finding Aid Created By: Shaun Stalzer in March 2026.

Related Materials: Ku Klux Klan Manuscripts Collection (Z/2432); Series 2515: Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission Records, 1994-2006. 

Collection Inventory:
Box Content 

Box Number

Freedom Rider Files:55892
Folder 1: Commissioner Birdsong's Files 
Folders 2-10: Freedom Riders' Arrest Files 
Folder 11: Commissioner Birdsong's Correspondence 
Folder 12: Clippings Attached to Birdsong Correspondence 
Folder 13: Meredith March Memoranda 
Folder 14: Civil Rights Clippings 
Folder 15: Traffic Safety and General DPS Clippings, Part 1 of 2 
Folder 16: Traffic Safety and General DPS Clippings, Part 2 of 2