Spies of Mississippi

Spies of Mississippi
By Rick Bowers
National Geographic, 2010. 120 pgs. Young Adult Nonfiction

During the Civil Rights Movement, the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission launched a campaign to prevent integration. Many white Mississippians desperately wanted to maintain segregation, and the Sovereignty Commission was a state-sanctioned organization that launched a widespread propaganda campaign, as well as investigated those that they suspected of being in favor of integration. They also paid off blacks and whites alike to spy on those involved in the Civil Rights Movement.

This book was highly informative, showing the desperate measures many Mississippians went through to try to maintain segregation. I thought the writing was a little on the dry side, and somewhat uneven, but the topic in and of itself is interesting and the research seems sound.

AE