On September 29th, Civil rights veteran Hollis Watkins will visit the Martin Luther King School. Mr. Watkins will share freedom songs and stories from his long and eventful life with the students. We would like to thank King parent Eric Leslie (kindergarten) for bringing Mr. Watkins in to spend time in our community. Mr. Watkins will be speaking as part of a panel on the evening of September 29th from 6-8PM at the Bruce Bolling Building in Roxbury (
see info).
From Natchez, Mississippi, Watkins is the son of John and Leona Watkins. He comes from a family with 5 sisters and 6 brothers. Watkins attended McNulty elementary school and Lincoln County Training school in Mississippi. He also attended Tugaloo College.
Growing up in the Deep South during segregation had a profound affect on Watkins’ viewpoint of the democratic process in America. He was nineteen when he became the first Mississippi student to join the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) as a voting rights organizer. Almost immediately, he learned of the danger to those who resist entrenched and unprincipled power. Watkins also played a role in keeping the music of the civil rights movement alive. Having been sustained by music when he was hanging from handcuffs in a cell in Parchman prison in the 60's, he includes the musical traditions of the civil rights movement into the struggle of the 21st century, making it part of his organizing and bringing its message to a new generation of activists. During the years that he worked for SNCC, he was repeatedly arrested and jailed. Later he served as the director of the Organic and Sustainable Agriculture Program of the Mississippi Association of Cooperatives before founding Southern Echo in 1990.
Southern Echo, Inc. is a leadership development, education, training, and technical assistance organization dedicated to empowering local residents throughout Mississippi and the Southern region to make political, economic, educational, and environmental systems accountable to the needs and interests of the African-American community. Southern Echo has organized and supported local redistricting efforts aimed at more effective black political representation, carried out voter education and registration, and monitored election practices. Southern Echo has also resisted efforts to change the Mississippi constitution to roll back the progress that has been made toward genuine democracy. Hollis was the lead plaintiff in a federal lawsuit challenging Mississippi's redistricting.
Watkins also addresses critical local issues. Southern Echo has enabled communities to create environmental safety zones that will protect communities from harmful land use. Successful community organizing has blocked the placement of toxic waste facilities and stopped agricultural practices with adverse public health consequences in black communities. Southern Echo works with community leaders to develop an African-American education agenda and to play an effective role in shaping public policy on education in Mississippi. Hollis played a pivotal role in the establishment of such innovative educational programs as the Indianola Math Games League. Watkins is the father of eight children.