Oral history with Father Peter Oliver Quinn

              Oral history with Father Peter Oliver Quinn
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.
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Biography
Born on April 11, 1937, in the free state of Ireland, Father Peter Oliver Quinn was one of several siblings born to Laurence Quinn and Molly Martin Quinn. Around the time he was three and a half years old, Father Quinn started attending public school in Ireland; he went on to complete college and seminary, deciding early in his life to become a Catholic priest, rather than a farmer in Ireland. In his family of origin, deep spirituality was felt and practiced, including nightly prayers. He was ordained when he was twenty- five years old in Ireland, and he came to Mississippi in September, 1962. Prior to his coming to Mississippi, Father Quinn had two uncles who were in the priesthood who came to Mississippi.
Father Quinn's first assignment was at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, during the 1960s, some of the most active times in the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi. Father Quinn was an activist for the rights of African- Americans during that time, and he was, for a time, the priest for the all- black Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Hattiesburg, where he became, in his words, " pastor to the whole black community." Very involved with the youth in his community, Father Quinn became an advisor to the Youth NAACP on the local and state level, as well as sponsoring the Catholic Youth Organization, advising and sponsoring the young people on weekly dances, ball games, fund- raising, picketing, boycotts, and calling on community members for bail money when black youth were arrested for their civil rights activism. Additionally, Father Quinn and his youthful cadre attended conventions throughout the nation.
Father Quinn met with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on many occasions. After Dr. King's assassination, Father Quinn led a nonviolent protest march through Hattiesburg. Many times, Father Quinn's life was threatened by one racist group or another, and many times he was protected by the Deacons of Defense as well as his supportive superiors in the hierarchy of the Catholic Church.
Currently Father Quinn is in Biloxi, Mississippi.
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