House Resolution 15

A RESOLUTION COMMENDING MRS. WINSON HUDSON FOR HER MANY OUTSTANDING ACCOMPLISHMENTS DURING THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT.

WHEREAS, Mrs. Winson Hudson was born on November 17, 1916, in the all African-American community of Harmony, Mississippi, in Leake County; and

WHEREAS, Mrs. Hudson, along with her sister, Dovie, emerged as courageous leaders in the freedom struggle in the early 1960s and filed the first suit for school desegregation in a rural Mississippi county; and

WHEREAS, having been one of the first to register to vote, Mrs. Hudson became involved in the NAACP and was elected president of the county chapter and served for the next 38 years; and

WHEREAS, subjected to harassment and threats of violence, Mrs. Hudson appeared before the United States Commission on Civil Rights in February of 1965 to speak about the harassment of her fellow neighbors who were being harassed while attempting to register to vote; and

WHEREAS, Mrs. Hudson was instrumental in the establishment of the first Head Start program in Leake County, voter registration drives, the integration of the Holiday Inn in Clarksdale, and helped with the efforts to desegregate all public facilities in Carthage, Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, Mrs. Hudson has been recognized for her many outstanding accomplishments including serving as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1976 and was presented the Fannie Lou Hamer Award by the Mississippi Democratic Party in 1989; and

WHEREAS, in 1989, Mrs. Hudson attended the opening of Brian Lanker's photographic exhibition, "I Dream A World: Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America," at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C., which featured a photo of Mrs. Hudson and her sister; and

WHEREAS, Mrs. Hudson testified on behalf of Mississippi's poor citizens before President Bill Clinton's Health Reform Task Committee in Washington, D.C., in 1994; and

WHEREAS, in the fall of 2002, Mrs. Hudson fulfilled her life long dream and heart's desire with the publication of her book, "Mississippi Harmony"; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of the House of Representatives of the State of Mississippi to recognize and commend outstanding citizens such as Mrs. Hudson, who has dedicated her life to improve the quality of life for people everywhere:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby commend Mrs. Winson Hudson for her many outstanding contributions to the civil rights movement and express our heartfelt wishes for success in all her future endeavors.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to Mrs. Winson Hudson and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.