Collection Details:

Collection Name and Number: Richard and Noel Batdorff Letters (Z/2405).
Creator/Collector: Richard and Noel Batdorff.
Date(s): June 7 & 19, 1965.
Size: 0.30 cubic feet.
Language(s): English.
Processed by: MDAH intern Anastasia Taylor, 2024.
Provenance: Gift of Joan Trumpauer Mulholland of Arlington, Virginia, on June 12, 2018; Z/U/2018.040.
Repository: Archives & Records Services Division, Mississippi Department of Archives & History.

 

Rights and Access:

Access restrictions: Collection is open for research.

Publication rights: Copyright assigned to the MDAH. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to Reference Services. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the MDAH as the owner of the physical items and as the owner of the copyright in items created by the donor. Although the copyright was transferred by the donor, the respective creator may still hold copyright in some items in the collection. For further information, contact Reference Services.

Copyright notice: This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code).

Preferred citation: Richard and Noel Batdorff Letters (Z/2405), Mississippi Department of Archives & History.

 

Biography/History:

Richard and Noel Batdorff

Richard and Noel Batdorff traveled from Laramie, Wyoming to Jackson, Mississippi, to participate in protest marches of the Civil Rights Movement. The couple lived may have been from England. Very little about the couple could be found with the available resources. Noel Batdorff was arrested on arrival at the protest for marching without a permit, while Richard Batdorff was arrested for the same reason a day later. The couple wrote letters to send to a subscriber base at home in England.

African American Voting Rights in Mississippi

African American people were not always guaranteed the right to vote in the United States and, even once voting was made legal,  voting rights were continually suppressed through legal and illegal means. In 1965, without mending the reality of Black voters in Mississippi, the then-newly elected Mississippi state legislature met. As a result, the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) called for a protest at the meeting due to the illegal election. Around five hundred people were arrested and booked with the charge of "demonstration without a permit" on the first day of the protest, including Noel Batdorff. Richard Batdorff was arrested the next day for the same charge. Federal Judge Cox gave the City of Jackson from June 19th to June 24th to prove that the anti-parade and anti-pamphleting laws were constitutional. 

As Capitol City Police continued to arrest protestors, organizers in Mississippi continued to call for help to pack the prisons and overwhelm their capacity, but also to send news and morale to the newly arrested. Many protestors were brought by law enforcement to the Jackson State Fairgrounds; the arena there functioned as a makeshift jail until the detainees were transferred. The second letter notes that the African American women of that group were left in suboptimal conditions. It continues to recount the violence and treatment faced by prisoners during their detainment.
 

Scope and Content Note:

This collection consists of two letters, written by Richard and Noel Batdorff, concerning Civil Rights Movement events in 1965. The couple was individually arrested for marching without a permit. One letter, a photocopy, was sent generically to “friends” and shared life updates and plans of the pair; these plans included work around Jackson and Mileston, Mississippi with the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO). The other letter, an original consisting of three pages, was sent to “Inger and Lee,” and describes their, primarily Noel’s, detainment in the Jackson City Jail. 

 

Series Identification:

Series 1: Letter from Richard and Noel Batdorff to "Friends," June 7, 1965.

This series consists of one letter sent by Richard and Noel Batdorff dated June 7, 1965, addressed to "Friends." This is a photocopy; the original was not donated. This letter records their activities in Mileston and Tchula, Mississippi, prior to their arrest later in the month.  At the bottom of the letter is information for subscribers to receive installments of copies of these letters, addressed to Brian Scheffer of Seattle, Washington. 

Box 1, folder 1

 

Series 2: Letter from Richard and Noel Batdorff to "Inger and Lee," June 19, 1965.

This series consists of one original letter, three pages typed, dated June 19, [1965], sent by Richard and Noel Batdorff to "Inger and Lee."  Letter identifies the Batdorffs in the "Negro Women Cell, City Jail, Jackson, Mississippi."  Noel writes the letter, and explains that she and Richard have been on hunger strike.  She also describes the events leading up to the arrest.

Box 1, folder 2

 
Box List:

Box 1
Folder 1: Letter from Richard and Noel Batdorff to "Friends," June 7, 1965. 
Folder 2: Letter from Richard and Noel Batdorff to "Inger and Lee," June 19, 1965.