Civil Rights Historian & Prof. John Dittmer Appears on CBS Sunday Morning

July 3, 1994

July 3, 1994, Greencastle, Ind. - John Dittmer, professor of history at DePauw University and author of the new book, Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi, was in the national spotlight today.  The professor appeared in a piece which aired on CBS Sunday Morning on the "Civil Rights Awakening."

The report notes that Mississippi, which had no blacks in the state legislature 30 years ago, today has more than 800 -- the largest number of any state. 

"On the other hand Mississippi remains the poorest state in the union," Dittmer tells CBS. "And blacks are the poorest segment of that population. "

Dr. Dittmer, whose book has just been published by University of Illinois Press, adds, "The basic political and economic decisions are still being made by the same people who made them 30 years ago.  The movement in Mississippi brought that state up to the level of the rest of the nation, and I think that's no small achievement.  It also tells us the distance we still have to travel."

A clip is embedded below. Learn more about the new book here.

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