1966: 'The Green Book'

First published in 1936, "The Green Book" -- variously titled "The Negro Motorist Green Book" and "The Negro Travelers' Green Book" -- provided information on how blacks could travel more safely. The last edition was published in 1966; the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 had lessened the need for such a guide.

     -- Image from National Postal Museum: @

Note: Most of the editions can be viewed online at The New York Public Library's Digital Collections site: @ (Also see the NYPL's "Navigating The Green Book": @)

Summaries
* "The Green Book" (The Postal Record, 2013): @
* "An atlas of self-reliance: The Negro Motorist's Green Book" (National Museum of American History, 2015): @
* "The segregation-era travel guide that saved black Americans from having to sleep in their cars" (Vox, 2015): @ 

Similar guides
* "Directory of Negro Hotels and Guest Houses in the United States" (1939, National Park Service): @

* "Travel Guide of Negro Hotels and Guest Houses" (1942, David Rumsey Map Collection; search for title): @ 
* "Go: Guide to Pleasant Motoring" (1959, The Newberry, Chicago): @

Books
* "Technology and the African-American Experience: Needs and Opportunities for Study" (Bruce Sinclair, 2004): @
* "Republic of Drivers: A Cultural History of Automobility in America" (Cotten Seiler, 2008): @
* "Divided Highways: Building the Interstate Highways, Transforming American Life" (Tom Lewis, 2013): @

* "Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism" (James M. Loewen, 2013): @

Other resources
* Map of 1956 listings (University of South Carolina): @

* "Driving While Black: The Car and Race Relations in Modern America" (Thomas J. Sugrue, Automobile in American Life and Society): @

* "The Architecture of Racial Segregation: The Challenges of Preserving the Problematical Past" (Robert R. Weyeneth, 2005): @

* "Route 66 and the Historic Negro Motorist Green Book" (National Center for Preservation Technology and Training, National Park Service): @

* Mapping The Green Book: @

* The Green Book Chronicles: @

* The Green Book Project: @

* " 'Green Book' Helped African Americans Travel Safely" (NPR, 2010): @

* "The Green Book" (podcast): @ 

---

January 1966: Indira Gandhi

Wednesday, January 19

     Mrs. Indira Gandhi, daughter of the late Jawaharlal Nehru, was elected today to be India's next prime minister, the first woman in modern times to head the government of a major nation. India's ruling Congress party automatically elevated Mrs. Gandhi to prime minister by electing her leader of its majority faction in parliament. Thus to the shoulders of this 48-year-old widow fell India's immense problems -- problems which her father wresteled with for 17 years until his death in 1964 and which his successor, Lal Bahadur Shastri, attacked vigorously until a heart attack killed him Jan. 11. Although she gave no hint of what policies she will follow, Mrs. Gandhi is expected to continue the previous government's pragmatic socialism at home and nonalignment in foreign affairs.

     -- Associated Press: @

Monday, January 24

     Indira Gandhi became India's third prime minister, taking office with a cabinet made up largely of holdovers from the regimes of her father, Jawaharlal Nehru, and his successor, Lal Bahadur Shastri. Taking the oath with Mrs. Gandhi were the cabinet ministers whose appointments she announced earlier. The key positions were left in the hands of men appointed by Nehru or Shastri. 

     -- Associated Press: @

-- Photo from Bettman/Corbis, February 1966

* "The Lady Who Now Leads India" (Life magazine, January 28, 1966): @

* "The Lady Who Leads 480 Million" (Life, March 25): @

* Summary from Prime Minister's Office of India: @

* Summary from "Heads of States and Governments" (Harris M. Lentz III, 2013): @

* "A Political and Economic Dictionary of South Asia" (2006): @
* "The Oxford Handbook of Indian Foreign Policy" (2015): @
* "The Making of India: A Political History" (Ranbir Vohra, 2015): @
* "Women of Power: Half a Century of Female Presidents and Prime Ministers Worldwide" (Torild Skard, 2015): @

* "A History of Modern South Asia" (Ian Talbot, 2016): @ 

---

Wednesday, January 12, 1966: 'Batman'

-- From Susan Sontag's "Notes on 'Camp'," September 1964: @

-- Dialogue from a first "Batman" episode, from Know It All Joe: @

January 12: Batman, "Hi Diddle Riddle." (Premiere) This show, which is part adventure for the kiddies and part satire-pop humor for the adults, will be shown on Wednesdays and Thursdays in two segment. Adam West stars as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin. In this episode, the Riddler (Frank Gorshin) lures our hero into a discotheque were he succumbs to Molly (Jill St. John). Robin is kidnapped and all ends in glorious chaos. -- McClure Newspaper Syndicate: @

January 13: Batman, "Smack in the Middle." More gimmicks, more wild puns and way-out humor in the second installment of the premiere of this new crazy show. The consensus seems to be that you either love the series with a dedicated fervor or it misses you completely. Tonight the Riddler (Frank Gorshin), who is holding Robin (Burt Ward) captive, decides to use him as bait for a horrible trap for Batman (Adam West). -- McClure Newspaper Syndicate: @

Programming note: "Batman" displaced "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" (which moved from Wednesdays to Saturdays). "Shindig!", which had been running on Thursdays and Saturdays, was canceled.

* Guide to Season 1 episodes (Comics Alliance): @

* Summary from Museum of Broadcast Communcations: @

* Interviews from Archive of American Television: @

* The Batcave Archives: @

* Bat-Mania: 1966 Batman Online: @

* The 1966 Batman Message Board: @

* To the Batpoles! (blog): @
* "Now, Batman Hits The Tube! Zowie!" (Joan Crosby, Newspaper Enterprise Association, January 16, 1966): @

* "Here Comes the Batman" (Daytona Beach Sunday News-Journal, January 16, 1966): @
* Life magazine, March 11, 1966: @ 
* Entry from "The Encyclopedia of Superheroes on Film and Television" (John Kenneth Muir, 2004): @
* "Batman Unmasked: Analyzing a Cultural Icon" (Will Brooker, 2013): @
* "Batman" (Matt Yockey, 2014): @

---

Monday, January 10, 1966: The death of Vernon Dahmer

     HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- A Negro civil rights leader died in a hospital Monday of burns suffered in a predawn firebomb attack that destroyed his home and tiny store.

     Vernon Dahmer, 58, was burned, along with his wife and 10-year-old daughter, while fleeing the fire that destroyed their four-bedroom frame home near here early Monday.

     The attack came one day after Dahmer was identified in a radio broadcast as the leader of a voter registration drive in this area. He had long been active in the civil rights movement. 

     Dahmer was a past president of the Hattiesburg chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

     His daughter, Betty, 10, was listed in fair condition at the hospital. Mrs. Dahmer was treated and released. The couple's two sons, Harold, 26, and Dennis, 12, escaped injury.

     Deputy Sheriff T.A. Woodward said the fire was started by some type of firebomb thrown into the house. Tests may establish the type of bomb, officers said.

     Dahmer, who had talked to a newsman from his hospital bed after the attack, said he was awakened by gunshots around 2:30 a.m. He said he grabbed a shotgun and fired several blasts at a rapidly disappearing car before fleeing with his family from the house. 

     -- Associated Press

Photo from Winfred Moncrief Photograph Collection, Mississippi Department of Archives and History: @

Timeline

July 4, 1964: Freedom Summer
     "The events of Freedom Summer were kicked off by a massive Independence Day party at Vernon Dahmer's farm in the Kelly Settlement, featuring a fish fry, band and opportunity for activists and hosts to get to know one another." -- from "Hattiesburg, Mississippi: A History of the Hub City" (Benjamin Morris, 2014): @
* Photos by Herbert Randall: @ (University of Southern Mississippi) and @ (Civil Rights Digital Library)
* Freedom Summer Collection, Wisconsin Historical Society: @
* Earlier blog post on Freedom Summer: @

January 10, 1966: Dahmer's death
* "Nightriders Kill Mississippi Negro" (United Press International, via New York Times): @

* "Rights Leader's Death Triggers Probe" (Associated Press): @

* "Negro Firebomb Victim Respected by Whites" (AP): @

February 1, 1966: Sam Bowers
     Ku Klux Klan leader Samuel Holloway Bowers Jr. of Laurel, Mississippi, testifies in Washington before the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
* "Klan Chief Pleads 5th on Mississippi Killing" (UPI): @

* "Ku Klux Klan Probe Completed" (CQ Alamanac, 1966): @
* "Activities of Ku Klux Klan Organizations in the United States" (HUAC, February 1-4 and 7-11, 1966): @

March 28, 1966: Arrests
* "13 Klansmen Arrested in Hattiesburg, Miss. and Charged With Civil Rights Violations" (AP): @
* "Klan Chief Sought, Is Termed Dangerous" (AP): @

March 31, 1966: Bowers 
* "Klan Leader Surrenders to Authorities" (AP): @

February 27, 1967: Federal indictments in Goodman-Chaney-Schwerner deaths

* "18 Arrested in Mississippi Rights Killings" (AP): @

February 27, 1967: Federal indictments in Dahmer's death

* "Alleged Klan Chief Charged in Slaying" (UPI): @

October 20, 1967: Convictions in Goodman-Chaney-Schwerner deaths
* "7 Convicted in Mississippi" (AP): @
* "Mississippi Jury Convicts 7 of 18 in Rights Killings" (New York Times): @

* "The Mississippi Burning Trial" (Douglas O. Linder, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law): @

* Earlier blog post on deaths: @

Booking photos of Sam Bowers (January 24, 1968) from Winfred Moncrief Photograph Collection, Mississippi Department of Archives and History: @

January 24, 1968: State indictments in Dahmer's death
* "10 Jailed in Firebomb Slaying" (AP): @

May 17, 1968: Bowers mistrial on arson charges
* "Mistrial Is Declared" (AP): @
* "Convicted Klan Chieftain Still Loose" (Los Angeles Times, August 1968): @
* "Klan Support Dwindling in Mississippi" (Los Angeles Times, August 1968): @

January 25, 1969: Bowers mistrial on murder charges
* "Bowers Awaits Jury's Verdict" (New Orleans Times-Picayune): @
* "Mistrial Ruled in Bowers Case" (Times-Picayune): @
* "Klan Chief's Case Ends Up In Mistrial" (Los Angeles Times): @

May 10, 1969: Mistrial for Bowers and others on conspiracy charges
* "Federal Jury Acquits Three of Conspiracy" (AP): @

July 25, 1969: Bowers mistrial on murder charges
* "Mistrial Ruled in Bowers Case" (AP): @
* "Bowers Gets His Fourth Mistrial" (AP): @

April 2, 1970: Bowers goes to prison for Goodman-Chaney-Schwerner deaths
* "Klansmen Begin Conspiracy Terms" (UPI): @

March 22, 1976: Bowers released from prison
* "Former Klan boss released" (AP): @

Photo of Civil Rights Memorial from Rainbow Studio: @

November 5, 1989: Civil Rights Memorial dedication in Montgomery, Alabama
* Memorial website: @

1991: Dahmer case reopened
* "3 cases: Justice delayed, justice pursued" (AP, 1991): @
* "Mississippi May Reopen Klan Killing" (New York Times, 1995): @

1992: Ellie Dahmer, widow of Vernon Dahmer, wins race for election commissioner in Forrest County 

March 17, 1998: Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission files made public
* "First look at secret files: Obsession with 'agitators' " (AP): @

May 28, 1998: Bowers charged with murder and arson
* "Murder charges revive the ghosts of a racist past" (New York Times): @

August 21, 1998: Bowers convicted
* "Jurors Convict Former Wizard in Klan Murder" (New York Times): @
* "Former Klan leader found guilty of ordering fatal firebombing in 1966" (AP): @
* "Ex-Klan Wizard Gets Life for 1966 Murder of Local Miss. NAACP Official" (Jet magazine): @

November 5, 2006: Bowers dies
* "Klan leader Bowers dies in prison" (AP): @
* "Samuel Bowers, 82, Klan Leader Convicted in Fatal Bombing, Dies" (New York Times): @

Vernon Dahmer gravesite, Shady Grove Baptist Church cemetery; words at bottom read "If you don't vote you don't count" (from Find a Grave: @)


Resources

Summaries

* Southern Poverty Law Center: @

* One Person, One Vote Project: @ (Vernon Dahmer) and @ (Kelly Settlement)

* Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement: @

* FBI: @

* "The Jim Crow Encylopedia" (2008): @

* "Historical Dictionary of the Civil Rights Movement" (2014): @

Archives / collections
* Vernon F. Dahmer Collection (University of Southern Mississippi): @

* Civil Rights Digital Library: @
* The Weisberg Archive: @

Books
* "Witness in Philadelphia" (Florence Mars, Lynn Eden, 1989): @
* "The Klan" (Patsy Sims, 1996): @
* "God's Long Summer: Stories of Faith and Civil Rights" (Charles Marsh, 1999): @
* "Dixie: A Personal Odyssey Through Events That Shaped the Modern South" (Curtis Wilkie, 2002): @
* "Divine Agitators: The Delta Ministry and Civil Rights in Mississippi" (Mark Newman, 2004): @
* "Backfire: How the Ku Klux Klan Helped the Civil Rights Movement" (David Mark Chalmers, 2005): @
* "The Legacy of a Freedom School" (Sandra Adickes, 2005): @ 
* "At Canaan's Edge: American in the King Years, 1965-68" (Taylor Branch, 2007): @
* "The Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi: A History" (Michael Newton, 2010): @
* "Count Them One by One: Black Mississippians Fighting for the Right to Vote" (Gordon A. Martin, 2011): @
* "After the Dream: Black and White Southerners Since 1965" (Timothy J. Minchin, John A. Salmond, 2011): @
* "Racial Reckoning: Prosecuting America's Civil Rights Murders" (Renee C. Romano, 2014): @
* "Right to Revolt: The Crusade for Racial Justice in Mississippi's Central Piney Woods" (Patricia Michelle Boyett, 2015): @

Newspapers / magazines

* "Death in Mississippi" (The Crisis, February 1966): @
* "Confronting a Dark Past" (ABA Journal, June 1998): @
* "From the Fires of Hate, an Ember of Hope" (Washington Post, July 1998): @
* "Another Ghost of Mississippi Laid to Rest" (The Crisis, November 1998): @
* "Journey to Justice" (Jerry Mitchell, Jackson Clarion-Ledger): @

Oral histories
* Ellie Dahmer (1974): @
* Sam Bowers (1983-1984): @
* Hollis Watkins (1996): @
* Sandra Adickes (1999): @

Other
* "The Family Origins of Vernon Dahmer, Civil Rights Activist" (Wilmer Watts Backstrom and Yvonne Bivins, 2009: @
* Historical marker: @
* Film clips (selection from eFootage): @
* Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission: @

---

Tuesday, January 4, 1966: Ronald Reagan runs for governor

Ronald Reagan's decision to run for the Republican nomination for governor provided California with a new style of politics today and touched off more bitterness in a heated Republican primary campaign.

     A half-hour film,  shown on 16 television stations, introduced Reagan to the voters Tuesday night -- a sharp contrast to the rallies, dinners and news conferences candidates have traditionally used to tell the people they will run.

     The viewers saw him standing in a relaxed manner in a comfortably furnished den -- it was a studio set -- talking calmly of state affairs. Gone were the placards and bands of years past.

     He conceded he was a political novice, aspiring to be chief executive of the nation's most populous state.

     "I am not a politician in the traditional sense of ever having held a public office, but I think I can lay claim to being a citizen politician," he said.

     -- Story from Associated Press: @

     -- Photo of Reagan filing nomination papers (March 9, 1966; Los Angeles Times photo from UCLA Library Digital Collections): @

     

* "Ronald Reagan and a Need for Action!" (announcement film): @

* Reagan's appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" (January 9, 1966): @

* "The Real Ronald Reagan Stands Up" (Life magazine, January 21, 1966): @ 
* Earlier post on Republicans' "11th Commandment" (September 25, 1965): @

---