Series 2297.000 Warner (John R., Jr.) Mississippi Freedom Summer Project Papers

Biography/History:

John R. Warner, Jr., was born in Topeka, Kansas, in 1936. He received his bachelor’s degree from Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas, in 1958. Warner and his wife, Judy, had a son, Peter Michael (b. ca. 1962). Warner attended seminary at Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Sacred Theology in 1962.

While in seminary, Warner was roommates with Ed King, a civil rights activist from Vicksburg, Warren County, Mississippi. King exposed Warner to the Civil Rights Movement and encouraged his interest in volunteerism. Warner picketed Woolworth’s in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was a field worker for the interfaith peace organization Fellowship of Reconciliation from 1962 to 1964. In 1964, while Warner was the minister of the Livermore Falls (Maine) Methodist Church, the National Council of Churches called for volunteers among its ministers to join with the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) to go to Mississippi for the Freedom Summer activities. Warner attended NCC orientation in Jackson, Hinds County, Mississippi, and was sent to Laurel, Jones County, Mississippi. For two weeks, Warner was a minister and driver for the twenty-one people assigned to work on voter registration and at the local Freedom School.

After Freedom Summer, Warner returned to Boston University to continue his studies. He earned a doctorate in Sociology in 1968. Warner began teaching at West Virginia Wesleyan College in Buckhannon, West Virginia, in 1970. During the 1977 session, Warner was a visiting scholar at Cambridge University in Cambridge, England. As of March 2009, Warner was professor emeritus at West Virginia Wesleyan College.

Scope and Content:

The John R. Warner, Jr., Mississippi Freedom Summer Project Papers are composed of several scrapbooks containing articles, newsclippings, pamphlets, photocopies, photographs, and correspondence about Warner’s participation in the Mississippi Summer Project of 1964. Warner, a minister and an academic, wrote a play, several articles, and papers about his Mississippi experiences. The collection contains several of these works, which span from Warner’s immediate reactions to his time in Mississippi to his reflections on the twenty-fifth anniversary of Freedom Summer. Of particular interest is Warner’s detailed account of his work in Laurel and the circumstances that led to his participation in the Civil Rights Movement.

Series Identification:

1. Scrapbook 1: “Civil Rts. J. Warner Mississippi,” [1964], 1982-1986; n.d.

   This scrapbook contains incoming and outgoing correspondence of John Warner and James Findley, a professor at the University of Rhode Island. Findley was studying the National Council of Churches’ involvement with the Civil Rights Movement and requested information from Warner. Also included are two essays written by John Warner, photocopies of a 1964 Topeka Daily Capital article about Warner, and a copy of the (West Virginia) Record Delta with an article about Warner’s academic work.

   Box 1, folder 1

2. Scrapbook 2: 1960-1965; n.d.

   This scrapbook contains correspondence, a speech script, newsletters, pamphlets, flyers, photographs, newsclippings and photocopies that Warner received during his participation in the Freedom Summer Project. The correspondence includes letters and photographs from members of the Mississippi Summer Project in Laurel. The pamphlets and flyers, distributed by COFO, cover topics such as the Hattiesburg, Forrest County, Mississippi, Freedom Day and Summer Project. Also included is a script entitled “Civil Rights Slides.” The script describes various photographs of people and buildings in Alabama and Mississippi, as well as the involvement of Warner and the National Council of Churches in the COFO Summer Project, and a plea for financial support. Accompanying the script is a photograph of the Freedom School in Gluckstadt, Madison County, Mississippi, which was burned down less than a month after the photograph was taken.

   Box 1, folders 2-6

3. Scrapbook 3: “Mississippi,” ca. 1964.

   The contents of this scrapbook include photocopies of several articles and newsclippings relating to the Mississippi Summer Project. Of interest is the “Mississippi Summer Project Running Summary of Incidents”, listing by date and location of occurrences of arson, intimidation, unlawful imprisonment and other civil rights abuses that occurred throughout the state from mid-June to late August 1964.

   Box 1, folder 7

4. Scrapbook 4: “Mississippi 64,” 1964; 1988; n.d.

   This scrapbook contains an essay, printed material, pamphlets, newsclippings, photocopies, a roadmap, and article reprints from national publications such as Newsweek and The Nation. The essay “Report from a trip to the South,” written by Warner, describes his travels with Ed King during his first trip to the South. Warner joined King on the journey to observe the trial of Ed King in Montgomery, Alabama, on charges of attempted integration and disturbing the peace. Also included are newsletters from COFO about its programs and platforms as well as the July 25, 1964, edition of the Mississippi Free Press and a June 1988 copy of Christian Century. The COFO newsletters covered topics such as the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and the push for voting rights, Freedom School data, and requests for donations.

   Box 1, folder 8
   Box 2, folders 1-5

Box List:

• Box 1, folder 1: Scrapbook 1: “Civil Rts. J. Warner Mississippi,” [1964], 1982-1986; n.d.
  
• Box 1, folder 2-6: Scrapbook 2: 1960-1965; n.d.
  
• Box 1, folder 7: Scrapbook 3: “Mississippi,” ca. 1964
  
• Box 1, folder 8: Scrapbook 4: “Mississippi 64,” 1964; n.d.
  
• Box 2, folders 1-5: Scrapbook 4: “Mississippi 64,” 1964; 1988; n.d.