Oral history with the Honorable Harvey Ross - Page 1 |
Previous | 1 of 16 | Next |
|
small (250x250 max)
medium (500x500 max)
large ( > 500x500)
Full Resolution
All (PDF)
|
This page
All
Subset
|
An Oral History with the Honorable Harvey Ross
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
Judge Harvey T. Ross was born on October 13, 1920, in Clarksdale, Mississippi. His father, L. A. Ross, Sr., came to Clarksdale from Cascilla, Mississippi. He was city commissioner, sheriff, and two- time mayor of Clarksdale. His mother, Harvey Trotter Ross, was from Abbeville, Mississippi. She was a school teacher. Ross was educated in Clarksdale public schools. He earned a bachelor's degree and a law degree from the University of Mississippi. At the start of World War II, Ross interrupted his law studies and enlisted in the U. S. Navy, serving four and a half years. He was commissioned as lieutenant and was commanding officer of an LST in the southwest Pacific for two and a half years. At the end of the war, Ross completed law school and began to practice law in Clarksdale with his brother. Among its many clients, the firm represented a number of African Americans. In 1959 or 1960 Ross was one of a small group of whites and African Americans who began meeting to discuss ways to improve racial relations in Clarksdale. In the mid- 1960s, Ross was active in laying the groundwork for Coahoma Opportunities, Inc. ( COI), a community action agency designed to improve the economic position of the poor of Coahoma County Mississippi. He continued to serve on COI's board of directors for many years. Ross served from 1948 to 1956 in the Mississippi State Legislature. He was elected chancery judge of the Seventh Chancery District in Mississippi in 1975 and continues to serve in that capacity.
Topics Discussed
Family history Growing up in Clarksdale extent of segregation Military service segregation in U. S. Navy during World War II Impressions on race after hearing Earl " Fatha" Hines's band Law practice First meeting between selected African Americans and white to discuss improvement of race relations in Clarksdale ( 1959 or 1960) Martin Luther King's visit to Clarksdale ( 1963) White Citizens' Council Semmes Luckett
mus- coh. ross. doc Page 1 of 16
Object Description
| Title | Oral history with the Honorable Harvey Ross |
| Description | Oral history.; Interview conducted on December 1, 1994 with Judge Harvey T. Ross (born 1920). In the mid-1960s, Judge Ross was active in laying the groundwork for Coahoma Opportunities, Inc. (COI), a community action agency designed to improve the economic position of Coahoma County Mississippi. |
| Date of interview | 12 December 1994 |
| Interviewer | Hill, Homer. |
| Coverage (time period) | 1920-1994 (primarily 1940s, mid-1960s, 1970, and 1973) |
| Resource type | Text |
| Format | Digital reproduction of a 16-page document. |
| Language | English |
| Publisher |
University of Southern Mississippi. Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage. University of Southern Mississippi Libraries. (electronic version) |
| Contributors | Electronic version made available through a National Leadership Grant for Libraries from the Institute for Museum and Library Services to the University of Southern Mississippi. |
| Notes | This item is part of the Civil Rights in Mississippi Digital Archive. |
| Rights | Copyright protected. Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required. |
| Contributing institution | Mississippi Oral History Program of the University of Southern Mississippi. |
| Digital repository | University of Southern Mississippi Digital Collections. |
| Digital collection | Oral History. |
| File size | 217.571 KB |
| File extension | |
| Identifier | mus-coh.ross |
| File name | mus-coh.ross.pdf |
