Sanford R. Leigh facts for kids
Sanford Rose Leigh (born in 1934) was an important activist during the Civil Rights Movement. He was also known as Sandy Leigh. He led the biggest project in Mississippi Freedom Summer, which was called the Hattiesburg Project.
Early Life and Activism
Sanford Leigh was born in 1934 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. His parents, who were from the West Indies, passed away when he was a teenager. His older sister and her husband then took care of him.
After college, Sandy joined the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC). He was very good at languages and learned five of them! He went to Army Language School at Yale and became an officer, reaching the rank of captain. Later, he worked as a technical writer in Connecticut.
Sandy became an assistant to Bayard Rustin, who helped organize the famous 1963 March on Washington. After this big event, Sandy joined the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in Atlanta.
At SNCC, he sometimes worked with Julian Bond, who was in charge of communications. Sandy also managed the WATS-line. This was SNCC's main way to talk to activists in small towns across the South. The WATS-line saved money. It also helped avoid local telephone operators. These operators often listened to calls and were friendly with the police and the Ku Klux Klan. Sandy could type very fast, 120 words a minute! His skills made him very valuable to SNCC.
Leading the Hattiesburg Project
In January 1964, Sandy went to Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He worked on Freedom Day there. This was a huge event to help people register to vote. It was part of the Voting Rights movement.
Soon after, a SNCC leader had to leave the Hattiesburg project. Sandy's calm nature, good people skills, and strong leadership made him the best choice to take over. He became like a son to Mrs. Lenon E. Woods. She supported the project by letting them use her building for their office. Her Woods Guest House was the only hotel for African-American travelers in all of Southern Mississippi.
Mrs. Woods owned much of the land in the African-American business area of Hattiesburg. She also secretly owned parts of the White downtown area. As a person of color, she could not own these publicly. The night before Freedom Day, Mrs. Woods bravely chased away police and city officials. They had come to arrest Sandy just before the big voter registration drive.
Under Sandy's leadership, the Hattiesburg Project grew a lot. It became the largest and most varied project in Mississippi Freedom Summer. It had seven Freedom Schools. These were special schools that taught kids and adults about their rights. The project also had two community centers and three libraries. At that time, people of color could not use the town library.
The Freedom Summer project also offered free legal help from lawyers. Doctors and specialists volunteered their time, usually during their summer vacations. Teams of ministers also came to help with voter registration. They worked under the direction of Rev. Bob Beech.
Sandy also helped manage the U.S. Senate campaign for Victoria Gray Adams. She was a candidate for the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. She wanted to run against John Stennis, who supported segregation. The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party helped African-American voters register. These voters were often stopped from voting in Mississippi. The party ran candidates against the main Democratic Party nominees. Their goal was to challenge the Mississippi Democratic Party at the 1964 convention. This was to show that people of color could be a strong voting group.
In 1965, the government started the Head Start program. This program helps young children from low-income families. Some newspapers and politicians called it a "Communist conspiracy." Sandy managed the Head Start program in Southeastern Mississippi. Head Start was a good follow-up to the Freedom Schools. Local governments controlled the funding. Many tried to stop the program by refusing money. They also tried to take control away from the local people who ran the program.
Later Life
Later, Sandy worked as an assistant for Stokeley Carmichael. He then became an assistant to Walter Washington. Walter Washington was the first Black Mayor of Washington, DC. Sandy later moved to New York. He worked as an administrative assistant for a company called Bechtel. He also served as an organist at the Abyssinian Baptist Church.
In 1972, police found Sandy in a subway in Harlem. He had been seriously injured. He lost his memory and developed amnesia. His friends searched for him for six months. He slowly began to regain some memory. In 1974, he was found injured again near his room at the YMCA. He had brain damage and never fully got his memory back. He then needed adult home care.
