Collection Title: Glass (Jinny) Mississippi Freedom Summer Diary Collection Number: M 257 Dates: August 7 - 25, 1964 Volume: 2 items Provenance: Donated by Mrs. Joanne Glass Keith. Copyright: This collection may be protected from unauthorized copying by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code).

Biographical/Historical Sketch:

Virginia Katharine (Jinny) Glass was born in 1943 in Los Angeles, California, the younger of two daughters born to Kay (Katharine) and Clem Glass. She grew up in La Canada, California, where her family was a prominent leader in the community and participated in various charitable and religious organizations. Jinny excelled both academically and socially at John Muir High School in Pasadena, and Pomona College in Claremont, California.

In 1964, the summer before her senior year at Pomona, Jinny served as a volunteer in the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project. She was assigned to work at the Palmer's Crossing Community Center south of Hattiesburg as a recreation worker. While in Hattiesburg, she lived with the McCullim family in Palmer's Crossing, and attended meetings and church services that were important to the local civil rights struggle.

Jinny returned to California in late August of 1964, and was to have graduated from Pomona College in June 1965. Sadly, she was killed in an automobile accident in February of 1965. Memorial services were held at Pomona College and at the Church of the Recessional in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, where she is buried.

Scope and Content:

This collection contains a typed copy of a diary kept by Jinny Glass from August 7 through August 25, 1964. The diary recounts her experiences as a volunteer during Mississippi Freedom Summer in Hattiesburg. The account begins with her August 7 departure from her sister's home in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and concludes with her departure from Mississippi on August 25. Included are the details of her daily life, such as food and living conditions, as well as her personal reflections of the movement and her experiences.

Jinny's daily routine usually centered around providing recreational activities for the children of Palmer's Crossing at the local community center. The activities included sewing, typing, and art lessons. She also participated in several events outside of the Hattiesburg area. For example, she traveled to nearby towns to volunteer her services, and attended a memorial service for slain civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, James Chaney, and Andrew Goodman.

In the diary, Jinny expresses her frustration at the state's political and economic conditions, and her admiration for the local residents and volunteers involved in the movement. Several notable people involved in the struggle for civil rights are mentioned including Sandra Adickes, Victoria Gray, Bob Moses, and Zoya Zeman. A transcript of this item is available online.

Included in the collection is an article written by Bernard Butcher on Stanford University students' participation in Mississippi Freedom Summer. The article, "Freedom Summer," appeared in the July/August 1996 issue of Stanford magazine, and includes substantial information on the events that occurred in and around Hattiesburg in 1964. The collection also contains a copy of Jinny's obituary which appeared in her hometown newspaper, LaCanada Valley Sun, on February 11, 1965.

This collection should be of value to researchers interested in the day-to-day activities of a Mississippi Freedom Summer Volunteer.

Related Collections:

Zoya Zeman Freedom Summer Collection, M 320
Sandra E. Adickes Papers, M 322
Victoria Gray Adams Papers
Herbert Randall Freedom Summer Photographs

Created by: Danielle L. Bishop
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Revised: September 10, 2004