Overview

During a dramatic three-day period in March 1961, nine students from historically Black Tougaloo College staged sit-ins at the all-white Main Library in Jackson, Mississippi. The students conducted their protest, were arrested, held in jail overnight, and convicted of ""breach of peace""—the first time that charge had ever been brought in a Mississippi courtroom. Meanwhile, students at Jackson State College held sympathy protests, and the police responded harshly on both day one and day two. On day three, police attacked a peaceful crowd of observers awaiting the trial’s outcome, using attack dogs, billy clubs, and tear gas to disperse the crowd, the first known use of police dogs on a peaceful gathering during the civil rights era. The protests occurred while Mississippi was preparing to celebrate the one hundredth anniversary of the state’s secession from the Union and the commencement of the Civil War. The library sit-in preempted the state’s Confederate extravaganza which brought more than thirty thousand mostly white observers into the streets of Jackson while the students sat in jail, further inflaming passions on both sides. In The Tougaloo Nine, M. J. O'Brien delves into Tougaloo College’s culture of resistance, Mississippi’s determination to preserve segregation, and the early stirrings of the student movement in Jackson. Through numerous interviews and years of detailed research, O'Brien tells the stories of these courageous African American students. He also explores the personalities leading the charge on both sides, including Mississippi NAACP leader Medgar Evers, Tougaloo professors and administrators Ernst Borinski, Reverend John Mangram, and Adam Beittel; as well as Governor Ross Barnett, Citizens’ Council leader William Simmons, and Jackson Mayor Allen Thompson. Altogether, The Tougaloo Nine presents the stunning picture of those who risked their lives and future livelihoods to fight for full social and political equality.

Full Product Details

Author:   M. J. O'Brien ,  Bennie Thompson
Publisher:   University Press of Mississippi
Imprint:   University Press of Mississippi
ISBN:  

9781496856036

ISBN 10:   1496856031
Pages:   488
Publication Date:   15 December 2025
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Not yet available  
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release.

Table of Contents

Foreword Introduction Prologue Part I—The Setup Chapter 1—America’s Dilemma Chapter 2—Mississippi, USA Chapter 3—The Oasis Part II—Introducing the Tougaloo Nine Chapter 4—The Memphis Contingent Chapter 5—Children of the Delta and Riverside Chapter 6—Central and South Mississippi Offspring Part III—Culture Clash Chapter 7—Tougaloo’s Culture of Resistance Chapter 8—College-Bound Chapter 9—Commemorating a Woe-Begotten War Part IV—Gettin’ Ready Chapter 10—Freedom’s Early Stirrings Chapter 11—A Change Is Gonna Come Chapter 12—Mississippi Prepares for a Raucous Celebration Chapter 13—""We’re Not Sitting Still"" Part V—Three Days of Conflict Chapter 14—Day 1: The Students Take Charge Chapter 15—Day 2: Secession Day Chapter 16—Day 3: The Trial, the Dogs, the Beat Down Part VI—Aftershocks Chapter 17—Reactions Pro and Con Chapter 18—Rise Up Chapter 19—History Marches On Part VII—Leaving the Nest Chapter 20—The First to Graduate Chapter 21—The Follow Ons Chapter 22—The Émigrés Part VIII—Where This Story Ends Chapter 23—The End of an Era Chapter 24—The Old Guard Dies but Never Surrenders Chapter 25—Coming Full Circle Epilogue—The Legacy of the Tougaloo Nine Acknowledgments Abbreviations Notes Selected Bibliography Index

Reviews

""I wasn’t sure that there was anything left to know about civil rights in Mississippi, but The Tougaloo Nine proved me wrong. M. J. O’Brien’s book is not just captivating; it adds texture and context to well-known stories and brings to light never heard or under-heralded stories, giving important nuance to narratives of the freedom struggle."" - Crystal R. Sanders, author of A Forgotten Migration: Black Southerners, Segregation Scholarships, and the Debt Owed to Public HBCUs  ""While history often acknowledges the significance of the 1960 Greensboro sit-ins and the subsequent founding of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, The Tougaloo Nine places a small, private Black college in the heart of Jim Crow Mississippi at the center of the era’s radicalism and social change. No scholar has previously provided such detailed analysis of what is arguably one of the most pivotal moments in Mississippi’s civil rights history."" - Daphne Chamberlain, chief program officer at the Emmett Till Interpretive Center

Author Information

M. J. O’Brien is a writer and researcher who served for twenty-five years as the chief communications and public relations officer for a national not-for-profit cooperative. He is author of the award-winning We Shall Not Be Moved: The Jackson Woolworth’s Sit-In and the Movement It Inspired, published by University Press of Mississippi.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Countries Available

All regions