We Aren’t Going to Close Up: The Early History of Head Start in Humphreys County, Mississippi

Drawing on the testimonies of Black women employed by Friends of Children of Mississippi between 1966 and 1968, this paper examines their grassroots organizing tradition as they operated Head Start centers without federal funding. It details the self-determination of poor and working-class Black women to have an educational program of their own. Founded in 1966 as an advocacy group, FCM adopted a model of organizing established by the Mississippi Movement and its predecessor, the Child Development Group of Mississippi. Transitioning to an educational program, the organization remained unfunded during its initial years due to attacks by state officials on Head Start. Yet even without federal support, FCM served nearly 2,000 children in six counties, including Humphreys, where FCM workers operated two volunteer centers.