Mississippi Creates State Spy Agency to Suppress Civil Rights Movement

On March 29, 1956, Mississippi Governor James Coleman signs legislation creating the State Sovereignty Commission — a state spy agency with a budget to investigate, monitor, and sabotage civil rights organizations. The Commission pays informants in Black communities, provides information to the Klan, compiles dossiers on civil rights workers, and coordinates with the Citizens Council. It operates until 1977. Records sealed until 1998 reveal the Commission helped identify civil rights workers for violence, including possible involvement in the 1964 Mississippi Burning murders.