LDF Receives Gift from Henry A. Dove, 330 Masonic Charitable Foundation President
Press Release
October 20, 1977

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Press Releases, Volume 6. Mississippi Negroes Want Equal Municipal Services, 1969. f548b35e-b992-ee11-be37-00224827e97b. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/b390cfd3-a95d-45cc-bae1-3aff18f6d1f8/mississippi-negroes-want-equal-municipal-services. Accessed June 01, 2025.
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(2 ae a ‘ President é Hon. Francis E. Rivers PRESS RELEASE Director-Counsel egal efense und Jack Greenberg NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND, INC. ee eve ae 10 Columbus Circle, New York, N.Y. 10019 * JUdson 6-8397 na NIGHT NUMBER 212-749-8487 FOR RELEASE: March 29, 1969 MISSISSIPPI NEGROES WANT EQUAL MUNICIPAL SERVICES LDF Attorneys Attack National Problem SHAW, MISS.---Black citizens went to trial this week in U.S. District Court, charging unequal municipal services--paved streets, street lights, fire hydrants and the like. The white side of town is provided with numerous municipal services. The black side of town does not have the same services. All citizens, according to NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) attorneys, pay taxes at the same rate. All municipal services are paid from the same tax source. The case is part of a new LDF drive attacking a problem common to the South and also found in varying degrees in northern cities. Similar suits have already been filed by LDF attorneys in Belzoni and Itta Bena, Mississippi. More suits are expected elsevhere. Black citizens in Shaw charge that town officials have: * paved and maintained the streets of white neighborhoods while refusing to pave and maintain streets in black neighborhoods; * refused to construct and maintain sufficient and adequate fire hydrants in black neighborhoods, which have fewer hydrants than do white neighborhoods; * refused to place sufficient and adequate street lighting in black neighborhoods while there is more and better street lighting in white neighborhoods; * refused to provide sewerage service to many residents of black neighborhoods while these facilities are provided all residents of white neighborhoods; * provided adequate water facilities for residents of white neighborhoods but refused to do so for residents of black neighborhoods where water pressure is substantially lower and inadequate, constituting an inconvenience and a danger to health, safety, and property. LDF attorneys participating in this new campaign include Reuben Anderson of Jackson, Miss., and Jonathan Shapiro of New York City. -30- NOTE: The LDF was established by the NAACP, but we are a completely separate and distinct organization, even though the initials are retained in our name. Our correct designation is NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., frequently shortened to LDF. S25