Counterculture
in
Mississippi
1960s to the 1970s
The Kudzu, "Ole Miss is Happening." March 18, 1969. From Mitchell Memorial Library Special Collections, Mississippi State University
In the 1960s the United States underwent significant social and political changes. Historians argue that many factors led to the creation of a counterculture by the late 1960s, including political upheaval, generational differences, and atomic fatigue. Protests ensued nationwide during the 1960s as prominent figures who advocated liberalism and equality, such as John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated. With the loss of these influential and progressive leaders, the nation lost faith in their government as the Democratic Party crumbled and the civil rights movement lost its most prominent speaker.
The conservative history of Mississippi would suggest that there was no counterculture amongst the youth, but increasingly historians argue that even in the Deep South students rebelled. Because of its Southern setting, Mississippi’s counterculture developed a unique flair, being immersed in the civil rights movement. It has been argued that "southern history [was] unique in the United States and [made] some southern whites potentially more radical than their northern counterparts.”[1]
[1]“SSOC disbands,” The Kudzu, June 24, 1969. From Mitchell Memorial Library Special Collections, Mississippi State University.
The Kudzu, Cover. May 13, 1969. From Mitchell Memorial Library Special Collections, Mississippi State University