FIRST EDITIONS OF TWO 1964 ISSUES OF THE STUDENT VOICE, THE PREMIER PUBLICATION FOR STUDENTS DURING THE CIVIL RIGHTS STRUGGLE

(SNCC). Student Voice, Volume 5, Numbers 1 and 8. Atlanta, Georgia: Student Voice, January 14 and March 3, 1964. Folio (8-1/2 by 11 inches), original printed self-wrappers; pp. 4 and 4. $450.

First editions of two important 1964 issues of the civil rights publication, The Student Voice, accompanied by a four-page solicitation flyer explaining the federal case against nine SNCC leaders from Albany, Georgia and requesting letter-writing and financial support.

These two issues of The Student Voice were written during the height of the civil rights struggle, when violence against Black protesters was approaching its height. Front-page news from the January 14, 1964 issue includes a drive-by shooting and the wounding of a young child by white "armed night riders" in Mississippi; the arrest of 13 people in Atlanta at a hotel sit-in; and a well-intended series of protests in Chapel Hill that resulted in violence by restaurant proprietors including the horrifying force-feeding of ammonia to a protester (picture on page 1). The March 3, 1964 issue includes news on Klan attacks in Mississippi; a large anti-segregation protest at Maryland State College attended by SNCC chairman and future congressman John Lewis, where dogs, fire hoses, and Billy clubs were used on protestors by the state police; and the release of a white college student sentenced to jail and hard labor for participating in an anti-segregation protest. These two issues are accompanied by an SNCC solicitation flyer asking for help overturning the convictions of nine SNCC leaders in Albany, Georgia followed a period of widespread violence against Black citizens.

Early minor creasing, possibly during printing and folding, to Student Voice issues. Fine condition.