50: Murder at the Polls in Hazlehurst, MS
On this episode of Common Mystics a champion for equality is shot dead at the ballot box in 1883 Mississippi. John Prentiss "Print" Matthews seemed an unlikely hero for civil rights. Born to a wealthy slave holding family, he would go on to represent the political interests of both white and African American farmers in Copiah County during a divisive time. Reconstruction (1865-1877) had failed to secure equal rights for freedmen. By the 1880's, white supremacists had seized power and wielded it to intimidate those who would vote against their interests. But Print Matthews would not be…
The skinny
The skinny isn't ready yet — notes appear once the transcript is processed.