Today we lift up Herbert Lee and Louis Allen of Amite County, MS. Herbert Lee was born in 1912 and was a founding member of the NAACP chapter in Amite County. By 1961, he was working with the voting rights activist Bob Moses to register Black voters in the county. On September 25, 1961 a state representative named EH Hurst who lived in the area confronted Herbert Lee about his voting registration efforts. When Lee did not back down, Hurst shot and killed him in the presence of several witnesses including Louis Allen. Hurst falsely claimed self-defense and intimidated the witnesses to go along with his story. He was quickly aquitted by an all white jury.
By the next year, Louis Allen confides to friends and civil rights activists the truth about Herbert Lee’s murder and that he is willing to testify truthfully to federal authorities. Local white supremacists learn about Allen’s willingness to testify and initiate a campaign of death threats and intimidation against Allen. The local sheriff arrests him on phony charges and breaks Allen’s jaw while in custody. Louis Allen repeatedly asks for federal protection but is refused. He decides to leave the state but waits until his elderly mother passes away. By early 1964, he was finally prepared to leave Mississippi to live with his brother in Milwaukee. The night before he was scheduled to leave on January 31, 1964 Louis Allen was shot and murdered in his front yard. Despite evidence pointing to local white supremacists including the sheriff, no one was ever prosecuted for the murder of Louis Allen. The videos posted below are from a report done by 60 Minutes in 2012.
This year is already filled with news about upcoming elections in November. As we go through the election process, it is important to lift up the witness of people who faced intimidation, violence, and death to secure the right to vote. May the lives of Herbert Lee and Louis Allen challenge and inspire us to resist all forms of voter suppression and exercise the right for which they died.