The man behind a play set in Mississippi during the civil rights movement is coming to Greenwood searching for stories and photographs.
Garret Mathews will meet with Greenwood residents who lived during that time from 2-5 p.m. Saturday at the Elks Lodge, 106 E. Scott St.
Mathews, 63, of Evansville, Ind., wants to hear residents stories. He also wants them to bring their photographs, which he will scan in during his visit.
Mathews has been working with Sen. David Jordan, D- Miss., to find people to talk with. Jordan said said he has lined up several people for Mathews to talk with. Both men said others are welcome.
Jordan said he will also show Mathews around Greenwood this weekend.
Mathews is a retired metro columnist for the Evansville Courier & Press. He is the writer and producer of “Jubilee in the Rear View Mirror.”
Mathews’ two-act play will premiere Nov. 10 in Evansville. Mathews said there are no plans for performances in Mississippi but “I would love to do it.”
The play is set in the fictional town of Jubilee, Miss., during the Freedom Summer of 1964. That summer, more than 1,000 out-of-state volunteers — most of them white and from the North, came to Mississippi to help black residents to register to vote.
At least seven people died as a result of that summer’s activities. There were also beatings, bombings and burnings of at least 30 black churches and more than 1,000 arrests.
Mathews grew up in Abingdon, Va. He said he attended segregated schools until his junior and senior years of high school. He said his town didn’t experience any violence, but the treatment of African-Americans he witnessed left a mark.
“I saw how ugly that was,” Mathews said. “You were ashamed that you didn’t do anything to help.”
He said becoming a playwright has “been a new experience. I’ve never done anything like this. To see the words you’ve written come to life is something really new.”
Mathews he is filming a documentary and gathering photos to be shown before performances of the play.
“The whole plan of this is to try to educate people,” he said. “There are a lot who don’t know about what happened.”
Jordan said that’s true in the Delta, too, especially among young black people.
“The younger generation doesn’t have any idea of what we’re talking about,” he said. “They weren’t around and they certainly didn’t participate.”
Jordan said there are fewer and fewer black residents around who can talk about the civil rights era. “We’re talking about 50 or 60 years ago,” he said.
And, Jordan said, “There are some people who are reluctant to talk about it. ...
“We welcome anybody who wants to come to our city to learn about history — good, bad or other.”
• Contact Charles Corder at 581-7241 or ccorder@ gwcommonwealth.com.
