Changes

In Meadville in Franklin County, Phillips remarked, "I was born a segregationist, I am for segregation now, and I will be for segregation when I die."<ref>''The Memphis Commercial Appeal,'' October 17, 1963; ''The Jackson Clarion-Ledger,'' October 22, 1963.</ref> Phillips said that opponents who branded him a "closet integrationist" were deceptive: "noting could be further from the truth."<ref>''The Memphis Commercial Appeal,'' October 22, 1963.</ref> Phillips said "the one-party system ... gave us John and Bobby Kennedy and the integration of our state's university."<ref>''Biloxi-Gulfport Daily Herald'' (since ''The Sun Herald''), September 3, 1963; ''The Hattiesburg American,'' October 4, 1963.</ref>​

In Meadville in Franklin County, Phillips remarked, "I was born a segregationist, I am for segregation now, and I will be for segregation when I die."<ref>''The Memphis Commercial Appeal,'' October 17, 1963; ''The Jackson Clarion-Ledger,'' October 22, 1963.</ref> Phillips said that opponents who branded him a "closet integrationist" were deceptive: "noting could be further from the truth."<ref>''The Memphis Commercial Appeal,'' October 22, 1963.</ref> Phillips said "the one-party system ... gave us John and Bobby Kennedy and the integration of our state's university."<ref>''Biloxi-Gulfport Daily Herald'' (since ''The Sun Herald''), September 3, 1963; ''The Hattiesburg American,'' October 4, 1963.</ref>​

Phillips accused outgoing Governor Barnett and Democratic opponent Paul Johnson of "rooster fighting with U.S. marshals" in the 1962 desegregation crisis, which ended in the enrollment of [[James Meredith]] as the first African American student and subsequent Ole Miss graduate. Phillips said that Barnett and Johnson had merely tricked voters by staging their opposition to desegregation and that Johnson was the "Kennedy candidate" in the race.<ref>'The 'Memphis Commercial Appeal,'' September 7, 1963.</ref>

Phillips accused outgoing Governor Barnett and Democratic opponent Paul Johnson of "rooster fighting with U.S. marshals" in the 1962 desegregation crisis, which ended in the enrollment of James Howard Meredith as the first African American student and subsequent Ole Miss graduate. Phillips said that Barnett and Johnson had merely tricked voters by staging their opposition to desegregation and that Johnson was the "Kennedy candidate" in the race.<ref>'The 'Memphis Commercial Appeal,'' September 7, 1963.</ref>

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Until the 1960s, Mississippians had known no alternative to segregation, and many linked the separation of the races to the Bible. Governor Barnett, like Phillips a Baptist Sunday school teacher, declared "The Good Lord was the original segregationist. He put the black man in [[Africa]]. ... He made us white because he wanted us white, and He intended that we should stay that way."<ref>''The Memphis Commercial Appeal,'' September 12, 1963.</ref> Barnett said that Mississippi had the largest percent of African Americans because "they love our way of life here, and that way is segregation."<ref>''The Jackson Clarion-Ledger,'' September 25, 1963.</ref><ref>Silver, ''The Closed Society,'' pp. 273-274.</ref>​

Until the 1960s, Mississippians had known no alternative to segregation, and many linked the separation of the races to the Bible. Governor Barnett, like Phillips a Baptist Sunday school teacher, declared "The Good Lord was the original segregationist. He put the black man in [[Africa]]. ... He made us white because he wanted us white, and He intended that we should stay that way."<ref>''The Memphis Commercial Appeal,'' September 12, 1963.</ref> Barnett said that Mississippi had the largest percent of African Americans because "they love our way of life here, and that way is segregation."<ref>''The Jackson Clarion-Ledger,'' September 25, 1963.</ref><ref>Silver, ''The Closed Society,'' pp. 273-274.</ref>​