Representative Lewis,

Throughout this section of the MARCH book we read about African American people in Mississippi trying to register to vote and being treated harshly and unfairly relative to white people who tried to register because blacks were given difficult literacy tests and essays to complete in a certain and unforgiving amount of time and if they were unable to complete a given task, sometimes something purely made up by the person at registrations, they were turned away and not given the right to vote. People then decided to organize a registration rally while you were in jail. Although few people were able to register at the rally it was a huge victory for the movement that the group was able to survive the day and became stronger as a result. Then you tell about how JFK was assassinated and how that as a huge blow to the movement, but the fact that LBJ stated his intention to pass the civil rights act was a relief to the cause despite the skepticism for him being a politician from Texas who used to deny black suffrage. Finally, we read about the missing students from the Mississippi Summer Project Training Camp. They were identified by a police officer, then went missing, and presumed dead by the movement.

This part of the story was more about the slow nature of making change. It felt like things weren’t getting done at some points but then I realized that it was more about the small victories and less so the big news breaking ones. I felt as though the unfairness of the situation was made worse because of the instances where the authorities such as the police, the governor, and the mayor, used their power and went out of their way to worsen the situation. Nowadays, I feel like there aren’t as many problems in terms of outright racism in government, so these problems have more or less been remedied in today’s day and age.

Sincerely,

David Guevara