Fred Beard

Civil Rights Era

Fred Beard was the station manager for Jackson, Mississippi's radio station WLBT during the Civil Rights Movement. The station was one of several Southern media outlets that openly espoused segregation. Beard himself was a member of the Citizens' Council, a hostile advocacy group for segregation. In the late 1950's, the Federal government took note of WLBT's unfavorable coverage of the Civil Right's Movement. Beard was particularly outraged, however, arguing against the "overloading of [media] circuits with Negro propaganda." After James Meredith became the first African American enrolled at the University of Mississippi, it was suggested that Beard and his station had contributed to creating a continuously resistant and violent atmosphere. Meredith's enrollment to the University of Mississippi sparked riots which left two people dead and dozens injured. In the late 1960's changes were being made across the country in how African Americans were addressed on air and presented in news coverage. In 1969, The Federal Communications Commission finally weakened the broadcasting capacities of WLBT by revoking its license. Beard had already resigned in 1965 after a series of legal proceedings.

Bibliography

Information for this biography was gathered from the following sources:

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