Eye for an Eye: The Role of Armed Resistance ... - Freedom Archives

with its own identity in the state . Dennis felt Madison County, and its county seat
of Canton, had good potential as a CORE base . Blacks constituted nearly 75
percent of the county's population and owned 40 percent of the land in Madison .
At the same time, with a population of twenty-nine thousand Blacks, less than two
hundred persons ofAfrican descent were registered to vote . While Blacks con-
trolled a significant amount of the county's land, their economic independence
was very limited . Cotton was the primary crop in the county, as in the Delta
region . Cotton production was controlled by the federal government. State offi-
cials determined which farmers would receive federal allotments . Due to racial
discrimination, Black farmers rarely received allotments. Madison County's black
farmers also found themselves constantly in debt, often having to pledge their
crop in advance . Despite their large numerical majority and the percentage of
Black owned land, Madison County's Blacks found themselves in the status of
"second class citizens ." Another asset that Madison provided was that Tougaloo
College, a privately owned Black institution, was located in the southwest corner
of the county. Tougaloo was an important recruiting zone for the Mississippi
movement . 48
Another New Orleans CORE member, with experience in the Freedom
Rides, George Raymond came to Madison County in June of 1963 . Canton was
described by Dennis as "a hot bed area . . .Like the `old West . "'