Oral history with Mr. Lee Owens, Jr.

              Oral history with Mr. Lee Owens, Jr.
F341.5 . M57 vol. 747, pt. 2
Funding for this project provided by The Mississippi State Legislature, The Mississippi Humanities Council, The Mississippi Department of Archives and History, and the Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage at the University of Southern Mississippi.
This transcription of an oral history by the Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage of The University of Southern Mississippi may not be reproduced or published in any form except that quotation of short excerpts of unrestricted transcripts and the associated tape recordings is permissible providing written consent is obtained from the Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage. When literary rights have been retained by the interviewee, written permission to use the material must be obtained from both the interviewee and the Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage. Please call ( 601) 266- 4574 for more information.
Biography
Born on May 7, 1921, in Natchez, Mississippi, Mr. Lee Owens, Jr. is the son of Lee and Florence Owens. When he was seven years old, he was working in the cotton field for half a day and attending school for half a day, living on a Natchez plantation. Because his parents could not afford to send him to school, he stopped attending school in the second grade and continued working in the cotton fields full- time. In 1939, Mr. Owens left Natchez to work at Camp Shelby in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He was drafted into military service and spent some time at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi. Racism and the rule of Jim Crow were common during these times.
In the 1940s, Mr. Owens moved to Biloxi. He survived major hurricanes in 1947 and in 1969. In the 1960s, Mr. Owens participated in some of the beach wade- ins along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, helping to desegregate those public beaches. Before the legalization of gambling and the development of casinos on the Gulf Coast waterfront, Mr. Owens recalls that there was illegal gambling along Main Street where many nightclubs lined the street.
Mr. Owens and his wife currently reside in Biloxi.
Table of Contents
I. Childhood
II. Military service
III. Racism
IV. Jim Crow, Biloxi
V. Wade- in, Mississippi Gulf Coast
VI. Hurricane, 1947
VII. Hurricane Camille, 1969
VIII. Biloxi lynching
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