A Vote Made Possible by Martyrs
Illustration by Octavia Anderson
On May 7, 1955, a middle-aged Black preacher was shot and killed in his car in Mississippi.
George W. Lee was an African-American born into extreme poverty in Edwards, Mississippi. The child of an abusive father and a plantation worker mother, Lee was likely destined for the same future as many young Black men in his region as a poor agricultural worker.
From the time he was a young child, Lee sought to unify his local Black community. Despite the odds, he was able to graduate high school. As a teenager, he worked with local community organizers and small businesses. In the 1930s, Lee became a preacher, working in four churches, and eventually saved enough to open a small grocery store in his town. He was already much more successful than most from his western Mississippi community, but his desire to unify and overcome obstacles never wavered.
In the back room of his home, George established a small printing business with his wife, Rosebud. Together, they accumulated a small following, and eventually used their resources to join the ongoing American civil rights battle. He would soon become the first Black voter registered in his county, and in conjunction with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Lee became an increasingly influential voice calling for the registration of African-American voters around the state.
When the sheriff of Humphreys County, Mississippi refused to accept the poll taxes of Black residents, Lee, along with another activist, took him to court, and eventually registered nearly every African-American in the region.
Lee became the vice president of the Regional Council of Negro Leadership, which advocated for equality, business, and community organization. Notably, the coalition organized a successful gas station boycott of those that refused to install Black restrooms.
Throughout his journey as a proponent of civil justice, Lee continued to use his backroom printing company to promote Black voter registration around the state. He relentlessly sought to ensure that every African-American was able to voice their political opinion.
As a public voice in favor of equality, Lee became subject to threats and attacks. White officials from his county offered to protect him, so long as he stopped using his printing press to promote voter registration. Lee refused.
In early May, as he sat in the driver's seat of his car at an intersection, Lee was shot in the jaw from a convertible next to him. The white sheriff attempted to protect the killers by filing the incident as a fatal automobile accident. Upon investigation demanded by the United States District Attorney, it was discovered that a threatening letter was sent to the Lee household days before his death. The letter foreshadowed his murder should the black voting flyer production not be halted. Needless to say, he upheld production.
Unless you are a white, landowning male older than 21, somebody has fought for your right to vote. The endearing image of the United States is painted by men and women like George Lee, who fought to the end for the rights of their countrymen. The notion that somebody has likely died for your vote is not cliché or innuendo; it is an unfortunate fact. Heroes like George Lee, Emily Davison, Martin Luther King Jr., Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and others on the endless list of those who fought for equality, would be insulted by the negative generational voter participation trend present in modern American politics.
Now more than ever, the global role of the United States, the nation's dedication to its future, and its foundational values are being called into question.
People have died so you can help decide the future of the country, and the gravity of the situation could not be greater. There is no better time to start a personal tradition of civic service.
