User:Metsvikingsfan5/Herbert Lee (activist)

Eugene Hurst approached Herbert Lee when he was in the driver's seat of his truck and had a heated exchange at the driver's side door. Eyewitnesses stated that the shooting occurred when Lee got out of the truck's passenger side and the suspect rushed around the front of the vehicle to confront Lee. When testifying in court, Hurst coerced many individuals to lie about the interaction, such as Louis Allen, in order to make it seem like Hurst was not one hundred percent at fault.

Article Draft (Copied; changes in bold)
Herbert Lee (January 1, 1912 – September 25, 1961) was an American civil rights activist in Mississippi remembered as a proponent of voting rights for African Americans in that state, who had been disenfranchised since 1890. He was a charter member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Amite County and sought to enfranchise African-Americans by encouraging voter registration. '''He played a significant role in the civil rights movement. Despite limited education, he was instrumental in voter registration efforts, leveraging his rare asset—a personal car—to aid activists.'''

In 1961, Lee assisted Bob Moses in his efforts to persuade locals to register. His activities w ere met with threats of reprisal by the white community, and Lee became one of the movement's earliest victims to white violence. He was murdered by Mississippi state representative E. H. Hurst in broad daylight at a cotton gin while delivering cotton near Liberty.

Early Life (Copied; changes in bold)
Herbert Lee was born in Liberty, Mississippi on January 1, 1912, to Albert Lee, a farmer, and his wife Elvira Turner. Lee lacked a formal education, but his wife, Prince Estella Melson of Helena, Louisiana, taught him how to sign his name. The couple had nine children together. '''Lee was involved in the civil rights movement. His commitment was from his regular attendance at NAACP meetings, despite facing threats and harassment.''' By the 1950s, Lee built his dairy and cotton farms into successful businesses, profitable enough to support his large family.

Career (Copied; changes in bold)
In 1952, E. W. Steptoe, a fellow farmer and friend of Lee's, organized the Amite County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for the purpose of registering black Americans to vote; Lee became a charter member and attended meetings in a neighboring farmhouse. Mississippi's constitution of 1890 had politically disfranchised black Americans, creating barriers to voter registration such as poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses to exclude them from voting. '''Black Americans were also prevented from voting through threats of violence and intimidation from the white community. Civil rights organizations in the state had been warning about the increasing violence in specific counties across Mississippi, including in Amite County in response to movements to increase voter registration. Due to the danger and legal barriers,''' only one black person was registered in all of Amite County, and he never voted.

When Bob Moses of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) arrived in Amite County in 1961 to organize a voter registration movement, Lee served as a driver for him and other SNCC activists. Upon Moses's arrival in Mississippi, and amid increasing civil rights activity, the white community attempted to deter blacks with threats of reprisal, harassment, and intimidation. In his reports to John Doar of the United States Department of Justice, Moses expressed dire concern for Lee's life. Moses continued to express these concerns during a meeting with Doar shortly before Lee's murder. Steptoe mentioned during this meeting that E.W. Hurst was likely to be perpetrator of violence and intimidation, with Lee at risk of being subject to Hurst's violence.

Murder

In the trial of Lee's murder, Hurst claimed self-defense to a coroner's jury—saying that, in an argument over debts, Lee had attacked him with a tire iron, and his gun had fired in the ensuing skirmish. The witnesses to the scene corroborated Hurst's testimony. Louis Allen was among those forced to confirm his story in a courtroom filled with armed white men. Allen, due to threats from a former sheriff and juror during the trial, confirmed the false testimony of the other witnesses. An all-white jury ruled that the killing was a justifiable homicide and Hurst was justified in self-defense. In 1964, Allen was killed after informing federal investigators of his forced testimony. The story that was told during the trial was false in reality Eugene Hurst approached Herbert Lee when he was in the driver's seat of his truck and they had a heated exchange at the driver's side door. Eyewitnesses stated that the shooting occurred when Lee got out of the truck's passenger side and Hurst rushed around the front of the vehicle to confront him.