Breach of Peace by Eric Etheridge (2008)

Breach of Peace: Portraits of the 1961 Mississippi Freedom Riders by Eric Etheridge was published by Atlas & Co. in 2008. It has a preface by Roger Wilkins and a foreword by Diane McWhorter.

First a few words about the contributors:

** Eric Etheridge, who was born in 1957, grew up in Carthage and Jackson, Mississippi. A graduate of Vanderbilt University, he has worked as an editor at a number of magazines, including Rolling Stone, 7 Days, the New York Observer, and Harper’s Magazine.

** Roger Wilkins is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and distinguished professor of history at George Mason University.

** Diane McWhorter is the author of the book Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama – the Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution (2001, 2013)

Now a few words about the book:

Breach of Peace is a hardcover book published in a large format. According to Amazon, the dimensions of the book are as follows: 2.3 x 0.3 x 3.1 cm. This is nonsense. The real dimensions of the book are as follows: 23 x 2.5 x 31 cm. As for the first and the last figures, it seems Amazon simply placed the dots in the wrong place. As for the middle figure, it seems something else went wrong. I do not know what. The book is not 3 cm thick, only 2.5 cm. I mentioned this flaw to Amazon some time ago, but so far the false figures have not been corrected.

PART ONE

The Freedom Riders are civil rights activists who travelled on interstate buses from the North to the South in 1961 in order to test and challenge the rules of segregation in the South. The Freedom Rides lasted for four months, from May to September 1961.

In his introduction, Eric explains that he was only four years old in 1961, so he has no personal recollection of what happened during the Freedom Rides. In 2004, when he saw the mugshots of the arrested Freedom Riders for the first time, he was inspired to study this case in great detail. This book is the result of his investigation.

In 2005 he began to locate former Freedom Riders. He continued until 2007. Whenever he was able to locate a former Freedom Rider, he would ask him or her for an interview. Most of them agreed. When he showed up at their place, he would do an interview and at the end of the interview he would take a photo (in black-and-white).

Breach of Peace is a giant photo album of the Freedom Riders. It has all the mugshots and, for the Freedom Riders Eric found, it also has information about what happened to them since 1961 and a new photo.

PART TWO

In his introduction, Eric offers some statistics. The number of Freedom Riders is 310. To this number must be added 18 others who were arrested for similar offenses at the same time. This gives a total of 328 mugshots.

How old were they? Most were young: 40 per cent were between 18 and 21; and 75 per cent were between 18 and 30. Where did they come from? From 39 US states and from 10 other countries, counting by their place of birth. What about colour? 50 per cent were black, while 50 per cent were white. What about gender? 75 per cent were male, while 25 per cent were female.

About 80 had passed away when Eric began looking for them. So far he has found and contacted more than one hundred. Most of them have been interviewed. A few did not want him to take their picture. This means there are about 140 who have not yet been found. He hopes the publication of this book will mean that some of them will try to get in touch with him, now when they know he is working on this case.

The mugshots and facts about later events are presented in chronological order, based on the time of arrest, going from May to September 1961. At the end of the book there is an index. There is no bibliography.

What about the title of the book? Why is it called Breach of Peace? The answer is that the activists were arrested for breaching the peace. The police were very careful when they chose this reason. They did not arrest them for violating the laws of segregation, because if they had done this, the Freedom Riders would be able to challenge their arrests on constitutional grounds. It seems the authorities knew they were skating on very thin ice when they made these arrests.

PART THREE

Segregation on interstate buses had been outlawed by a Supreme Court ruling of 1946, but many southern states simply ignored this ruling. Later, another ruling declared that this ruling covered all facilities connected with interstate travelling, i.e. the bus station including restaurant, cafeteria, waiting room, and bathroom.

The Freedom Riders wanted to test these rulings. When they arrived at a bus station, they would enter the white waiting room. The police would ask the black riders to leave. When they refused, they were all arrested for breaching the peace.

Southern states responded to the Freedom Rides with a high level of violence. The policemen were often extremely aggressive. It was more than that. Some white vigilantes wanted to give the Freedom Riders a “personal” and “warm” welcome and the police often allowed them to do this for about 15 minutes before they stepped in, not (of course) to save the Freedom Riders from the thugs that were beating them up, but to arrest the Freedom Riders for breaching the peace.

The Southern authorities had hoped a harsh response to the first riders would stop the operation, but they were wrong. The Freedom Riders did not want to stop, because this would send the wrong message to the world. When one group was arrested, another group would soon be on its way. They kept coming.

In Mississippi, the authorities decided to send some of the Freedom Riders to Parchman Prison, which was known as one of the worst prisons in the US. It was a scary experience for the riders, but the operation was still not broken. In the end the Southern states had to give in when the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) issued a ruling that banned segregation in all facilities serving interstate passengers.

CONCLUSION

This book is a tribute to the people, who actually carried out this operation, who risked their lives in order to do the right thing, who suffered, who were beaten up, and who were imprisoned under miserable conditions. These people are, as Roger Wilkins says in his preface, “true American heroes.”

The 1961 Freedom Rides is an important chapter in the history of the US civil rights movement. In this book you can meet them, one by one, and you can find out what happened to some of them since the dramatic days of 1961 when they became part of this significant chapter of US history.

This beautiful book with fascinating photos and interesting text about the courageous Freedom Riders is highly recommended.

PS. For more information, see the following documentary films:

** Freedom Riders (2011). This film is an episode in the long-running program American Experience

** An Ordinary Hero (2013). This film is a portrait of Joan Mulholland, one of the Freedom Riders whose portrait and story appear in Eric’s book.

*****

Breach of Peace: 
Portraits of the1961 Mississippi Freedom Riders,
By Eric Etheridge,
Hardcover, large format, 240 pages,
Atlas & Co., New York, 2008

*****

Joan Mulholland: An Ordinary Hero (2013)

An Ordinary Hero is a documentary film about Joan Trumpauer Mulholland (born 1941), who was a civil rights activist in the 1960s. Here is some basic information about it:

** Written, produced and directed by Loki Mulholland

** Distribution: Taylor Street Films

** Run time: 90 minutes

** Released in 2013

In the beginning of the film, Loki explains that his mother never talked much about her past. He knew she had been a Civil Rights Activist, because he had seen some of her old pictures, but he did not know any details.

In 2011, however, things changed. In that year, he accompanied his mother and several other civil rights activists on a trip to Mississippi that was organised to commemorate the 50-year anniversary of the Freedom Rides of 1961. And during this trip he began to understand more about her life.

He decided that he wanted to make a film about her, so he established a team and did some interviews, not only with Joan but also with other witnesses who knew her at the time and with some scholars and experts. The result is this film which premiered in 2013.

PART ONE

When a son makes a film about his mother, you might worry that the product is unprofessional; too positive or perhaps too negative. You might also worry that the contents are boring, because we only see a mother and her son talking to each other. In this case, this fear is completely unfounded. 

Loki and his team have created a very professional product and when you see the long list of witnesses, you will understand that this is not just Loki talking to or about his mother. There are many witnesses here and they all offer some useful insight into the time of the Civil Rights Movement and Joan’s role in it.

Here are the names of the witnesses in alphabetical order. Most of them (including Joan) are Civil Rights Activists. If they have another background, this is noted:

** Reuben Anderson, former Mississippi Supreme Court Justice

** Luvagh Brown

** Dion Diamond

** Eric Etheridge, author (see the PS below)

** Reverend Reginald Green

** Reverend Ed King

** Hamid Kizilbash

** Dorie Ladner

** Joyce Ladner

** Jerry Mitchell, investigative reporter, the Clarion Ledger (see the PS below)

** Michael J. O’Brien, author (see the PS below)

** Joan Trumpauer Mulholland

** John R. Salter, Jr., sociologist at Tougaloo College, author (see the PS below)

** Hank Thomas

** Congressman Bennie G. Thompson

** Sylvia D. Thompson

PART TWO

In this film, we hear about some of the episodes in which Joan was involved. The Freedom Rides of 1961 and sit-ins at several lunch-counters. Between the talking heads, contemporary evidence is shown, often old photos in black-and-white. During the film, we also follow Joan to different locations which are connected with the Civil Rights Movement and with her past:

** Tougaloo Southern Christian College. Joan was the first white student to enrol in this institution which was known as a black college.

** Parchman Penitentiary in Mississippi. Some of the Freedom Riders were arrested and sent to this place in order to break their spirits. At the time Parchman was known as one of the worst prisons in the US. When some of the former Freedom Riders visited the place in 2011, the reception was friendlier than when they arrived in 1961!

** Arlington National Cemetery. Joan visits the grave of Civil Rights Activist Medgar Evers who was killed outside his home in June 1963.

** The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial located in the West Potomac Park, not far from the National Mall in Washington, DC.

Joan was an unlikely member of the Civil Rights Movement for two reasons: (1) she was white and (2) she was from the South. Many southerners were shocked to find out that she was a part of the Civil Rights Movement. They thought she must have lost her mind. They thought she had a mental problem. This was the only way they could explain why “one of their own” could betray them like this.

But Joan had not lost her mind; and she did not have a mental problem. She saw something which she thought was wrong, and she decided that she had to do something about it – she must try to make it right - if she ever had a chance to do so. As it happened, she had several chances and she took them.

As Loki explains, his mother's decision to take this step has haunted and defined her life ever since. As Joan explains, once she had taken the first step, there was no way back, and in a way this was a good thing, because there was only one way to go from there and that was forward.

CONCLUSION

An Ordinary Hero is a wonderful and life-affirming film. The story of the Civil Rights Movement has been told many times before, but here the story becomes very personal, because we meet some of the people who were there and who made history with their actions.

Loki made this film as a tribute to his mother. He wanted the world to know the history of her life and her contribution to the movement. But he himself does not figure prominently in this film. In fact, we almost never see or hear him. He stays in the background. While Joan gets a chance to tell her story, even she does not appear that often, although she is the main character here. Most of the time is devoted to the other witnesses who give their testimonies about Joan. If you ask me, this is a good approach.

An Ordinary Hero cannot be described as an objective film. It does not offer the positive and the negative facts about Joan. But I still think it can be described as a true story.

The witnesses are positive. They praise Joan for what she has done in her life. There are no negative witnesses. But I am not going to complain about it. This is Loki’s portrait of his mother and he is allowed to paint it any way he wants.

Joan does not describe herself as a hero. But many people who know her well have used the word to describe her. When you have watched this film, I think you will say this is a case where this word is justified, where it is used with a good reason.

What do reviewers say about this film? On IMDb it has a rating of 82 per cent; and it has won several awards. If you ask me, the positive reviews and the prestigious awards are fully justified. I think this film deserves a rating of five stars.

PS # 1. For more information, see the following books, written by authors who are interviewed in the film:

** Breach of Peace: Portraits of the 1961 Mississippi Freedom Riders by Eric Etheridge (large format, hardcover, 2008)

** We Shall Not Be Moved: The Jackson Woolworth’s Sit-In and the Movement It Inspired by Michael J. O’Brien (2013, 2014)

** Jackson, Mississippi: An American Chronicle of Struggle and Schism by John R. Salter, Jr. (2011)

PS # 2. Civil Rights Activist Anne Moody (1940-2015) is mentioned several times in the film, but she is not interviewed. Her autobiography Coming of Age in Mississippi was first published in 1968. It was reprinted in 1992 and 2004.

PS # 3. Jerry Mitchell, investigative reporter at the Clarion Ledger, has a website that is called “Journey to Justice.” A story about Joan and the film about her life was posted here on 11 March 2013.

PS # 4. Freedom Riders is a documentary film that was shown on US television (PBS) and released on DVD in 2011 in order to commemorate the 50-year anniversary of the Freedom Rides. Joan Mulholland is one of several witnesses who are interviewed in this film (which is an episode of the long-running program American Experience).

*****