THE REFORM PARTY CANDIDATE
VOTE DILWORTH
STATE TREASURER
FOR REAL CHANGES

~ABOUT LEE DILWORTH~

Click Here to Contact Lee Dilworth

Born March 22, in Monroe County, Mississippi.

Graduated Shivers High School, Aberdeen, Mississippi.

Graduated Rust College, Holly Springs, Mississippi - B.A. Social Science, Minor in Economics.

United States Army European Forces - Guardsman of the 3rd 84th Artillery in Nackaslum, Germany. Mail Clerk, Company Basketball Player, Auto Mechanic.

Mary Holmes Junior College, West Point, Mississippi - Catfish Farmer Organizer.

Mississippi University Medical Center, Department of Gynecology, Jackson, Mississippi - Director of Public Relations for Infant Mortality.

Mississippi's Teachers Association, Emergency School Desegregation Project - Worked as a public relations consultant with teachers, principals, and superintendents.

Super D Drug Company/Eckerd Drug Company, Jackson, Mississippi - Assistant Manager
Mid-South Cosmetics/Corrie's Beauty Supply, Jackson, Mississippi - Distributor

Dilworth & Associates Public Relations Firm, Jackson, Mississippi - Political Campaigns, Development, and Product Marketing.

• Organized Cultural Enrichment Festival, Columbus, Mississippi

• Published The Grapevine, A newspaper for the Black Community

• Freelance Photographer/Videographer

James H. Meredith Publishing Company, Jackson, Mississippi - Sales Coordinator.

• Helped get 1000 signatures of voters in the Georgetown area of Jackson that put James H. Meredith on the ballot as a candidate for U.S. Congressman from Mississippi.

• Coordinated the 30th Anniversary of the 1996 Meredith March Against Fear from Memphis to Jackson (Theme: The Black Man's March to the Library) - worked with news media, government and community leaders in Jackson and Memphis, Tennessee.

• Organized the Dilworth Library Clubs of America, distributing books by James H. Meredith to schools and libraries.

•  Ran as an Independent Candidate for Jackson City Council in Ward 7, opposing the incumbent, Margaret Barrett. Received 20% of the vote.

• Helped set up James Meredith's "Black Man's March for Literacy" in 40 cities throughout Mississippi ending at the University of Mississippi in Oxford. This march marked the anniversary of Meredith's historic entry into "Ole Miss," making Meredith the first black to attend the previously segregated school.

• Helped set up a James H. Meredith reading program in 32 school districts throughout Mississippi.

• Organized a May Day program for "All My Children Day Care Center" on Northside Drive.

• Reform Party Candidate for Senate District 27 in Hinds County, Mississippi.

Member of several Civil Rights Organizations:

• NAACP

• SNCC Organizer

• Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP), organizer and member of the State Executive Committee. Attended the 1964 National Democratic Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey, challenging the Mississippi Regular Democratic Party Seating Rights.

• Chairperson for a conference organized by MFDP in Washington, D.C., challenging the Mississippi Congressional Delegation Seating Rights in 1965.

• Organized Voter Registration Campaigns in Holly Springs, Mississippi and throughout East Mississippi.

• Challenged Public Accommodation Laws in Aberdeen, Mississippi, in 1965 - jailed for sit in demonstration. Sued restaurant owner, resulting in a historic case (Dilworth vs. Rayon, 1964 Civil Rights Act), which went before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, Louisiana, knocking down Mississippi's and Southern States' Public Accommodation Laws.

First Black to run for public office in Monroe County, Mississippi, as Elections Commissioner. Pulled more votes than Democratic Presidential Nominee Hubert H. Humphrey in the county-wide elections (see Secretary of State 1968 Election Returns)

Published the Metro Observer, a weekly newspaper, circulating 20,000 free copies in black community households in Jackson, Mississippi.

Held a press conference with WJTV 12, WLBT 3, and WAPT 16 in Jackson, to expose the Mississippi Cultural Arts Coalition for limiting the involvement of the black community in the Farish Street Festival activities - five hundred citizens signed a petition criticizing the Coalition.

Founder and organizer of the Mississippi Musicians Association, Inc. (MMA), serving as President. The MMA is actively involved in improving the situation faced by black musicians in the Music Industry. This effort has received support from the National Endowment for the Arts and local arts organizations.

Cited in an article by Kevin Sack and Emily Yellin published in the New York Times (March 19, 1998) concerning opinions about the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission and the opening of the Sovereignty Commission Files.

Lee Dilworth at the 1966 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey - for the nomination of Lyndon B. Johnson for President of The U.S. I was there when Fannie L. Hammer made her famous speech" I am tired of being sick and tired" - we were freedom democrats.