Oral history with Mr. Hollis Watkins

              An Oral History with Mr. Hollis Watkins
This oral history is provided through a cooperative project of USM Libraries and USM's Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage It is presented here for reference purposes only. Interviews in this collection are protected by copyright and PERMISSION TO PUBLISH MUST BE REQUESTED from the Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage. Please call ( 601) 266- 4574 for more information.
Biography
Mr. Hollis Watkins was born on July 29, 1941, in Lincoln County near Summit, Mississippi. He is the youngest of twelve children of sharecroppers John and Lena Watkins. When he was about eight years old, his father was able to purchase his own land. Watkins first attended the McNulty School, a small community school, then was bussed to Lincoln County Training School, from which he graduated in 1960. During this period, he was not very politically active, though he attended several NAACP youth meetings where he met Medgar Evers.
Shortly after seeing the Freedom Riders on television, he attended a meeting in McComb, where he met Bob Moses of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee ( SNCC). After that meeting, he joined SNCC and began canvassing potential voters in the McComb area. One of his first direct actions was a sit- in at the Woolworth's lunch counter in McComb, for which he was arrested and jailed for thirty- four days. His participation in a walk- out at the high school in McComb got him another stint in jail, this time for thirty- nine days. On hearing of the work that was going on in the McComb area ( Pike, Amite, and Walthall counties), Vernon Dahmer, president of the Forrest County NAACP, requested assistance with voter registration. Watkins was transferred to Hattiesburg, where he lived on the Vernon Dahmer property and continued working on voter registration. He was next transferred to Holmes County, this time at the request of Amzie Moore. With John Ball, he started the Holmes County Project. He also became involved in the Citizenship Classes set up by Annell Ponder and ultimately run by the Reverend J. J. Russell.
Watkins is currently president of Southern Echo, a leadership development and education organization, that provides training and technical assistance to individuals and organizations throughout the South in the areas of politics, education, environmental programs, economic development, and law.
Topics Discussed
Family, childhood, schooling Awakening of Watkin's political and social awareness NAACP youth meetings and Medgar Evers First meeting with Robert Moses of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee ( SNCC) Canvassing potential voters in McComb mus- coh. watkinsh. doc Page 1 of 44