Winson Hudson - Activism - NAACP

NAACP

With help from Medgar Evers an NAACP charter was formed in Leake County in 1961: Clara Dotson was president and Winson Hudson was Vice President. Some members of the Leake County community were skeptical about getting involved with the NAACP because they knew that it could lead to unwanted trouble with white Klan members In 1961, with assistance from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Derrick Bell, the Hudson sisters started a lawsuit to desegregate Leake County schools.The case received national attention and a lot of people in the black community were afraid. Times were hard during the lawsuit and Medgar was a lot of help. Medgar was assassinated in 1963 by white supremacist, Byron De La Beckwith on June 11.

The lawsuit was decided in the fall of 1964 with the judge ordering the Leake County schools be desegregated one grade at time starting with first grade. Dovie Hudson's daughter, Diane Hudson, named as plaintiff in the lawsuit, was in high school and not eligible to desegregate. Debra Lewis, daughter of A. J. and Minnie Lewis allowed their daughter, Debra Lewis (died February 4, 2001, aged forty-three) to be the first black to enroll in a Leake County public school. Debra's family suffered from her enrollment in a white school. Her father loss his job and was beaten up and someone tried to burn down their home. Debra went on to graduate from Leake Count High School. Teachers were fired for being associated with the NAACP. Hudson continued to be involved in lawsuits against Mississippi authorities in her fight to keep black schools open. As a result of her involvement with the civil rights movement, she and her family were often the target of white violence. Dovie, Winson's sister, house was bombed twice in three months in 1967 and there was an attempt to bomb Winson's house in November of the same year.

In 1964, Winson and other activist had students from Freedom Summer come to Harmony. With lots of help and donations, they built Harmony Community Center where the students could educate the black youth of the community. Winsons's husband Cleo also played a big role in the building of the community center. White community members expressed animosity towards the Freedom Summer students and those people trying to help them. Three students were murdered. In 1967, along with Mississippi State NAACP President Aaron Henry, Charles Evers and other NAACP members integrated the Holiday Inn in Clarksdale, Mississippi.