Moving out of Shacks and into Tents
Evicted sharecroppers started moving into Tent City as soon as 1959. When these families were being forced out of their homes on landowner properties, civil rights obstructionists were striking at the core of individual and family life: the basic human need for protection from the elements, a place in the community that contributes a family's identity and place in society, and perhaps worst, the physical stability of family life, a sense of belonging.
Mary Williams Describes Being Evicted and Her First Nights in the Tents
2002 documentary project on Fayette County, TN: Special Collections, University of Memphis Libraries
"There are 11 families in Village Number One and three in the second settlement, near Moscow, Tennessee."—James Forman, 1961, p. 139
"...we got a group together to visit one of the factories—and no one wanted to go into the employment office to see what would happen. There is still fear in their hearts. Much more needs to be done at the tents; a teacher could be busy full time. I can't meet the needs." —J. Forman, 1961 p. 142.
James Frazier, the last person who moved into the tents said,
"This problem is a worldwide problem, as I understand it. You know, this tent is much better than the house where I used to live. I had a tin tub, dish pans, and two buckets hanging over the beds to catch water. Here I haven't had to catch any water at all." —fr. "Diary of Fayette," by J. Forman, p. 143.
Early B. Williams Describes Living in the Tents
2002 documentary project on Fayette County, TN: Special Collections, University of Memphis Libraries
As discouraging as the erratic food supplies and lack of work were on residents of Tent City, occasional moments of hope came from odd quarters: On July 13, 1961, as a white sedan drove by Tent City, shots rang out towards the embankment. Early B. Williams' wife, Mary, noted the car make and license plate and a call to the sheriff brought him out to investigate. After getting the information he needed from Mrs. Williams, he assured them they would not be bothered again by the perpetrators. One bemused observer was struck by the novelty of the situation: The sheriff now recognized the black population as his constituents and as citizens of the county.