The Williamston Freedom Movement: A North Carolina Town’s Struggle for Civil Rights, 1957-1970

Lacking the documentation found in civil rights movements that took place in larger towns, most people in Williamston are unaware of this history. In an effort to preserve local history and help the community face its past, this book contains nineteen oral interviews from members of the black and white community. During the summer of 1963 civil rights movements were taking place all over the south. In Northeastern North Carolina the struggle for freedom focused on Williamston, a small agricultural based town. The town’s legacy of voting rights advocacy and a history of violence caught the attention of Martin Luther King Jr. and his Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Williamston Freedom Movement was getting some coverage in the state papers, but its isolated location made the movement hard to cover. The Massachusetts Charter of the SCLC sent fifteen white ministers to Williamston in November in an attempt to increase media coverage. Just as the Williamston’s movement was beginning to gain traction, John F. Kennedy was assassinated and the nation lost interest in Williamston. So far the story of the Williamston Freedom Movement has been relegated to footnotes by historians. Studying local civil rights movements, historians will gain a better understanding of how ordinary people contributed to this extraordinary event.