Percy Greene traveled across the country spreading awareness about the mistreatment of blacks endured at the trying to polls. He also founded the Jackson Advocate, Mississippi’s first and oldest black-owned newspaper. However, Greene did not take the opportunity to use the paper as a way to advocate, he was paid by the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission (For those who don’t know, the MSC was a white supremacist organization dedicated to stunting the aims of the Civil Rights Movement.to report on people who were advocating for Civil Rights.

Greene was born on September 7, 1897, in Jackson, Mississippi. He was one of twelve children born to George Washington Green and Sarah Stone. At the age of 17, Greene joined the army.  Greene later studied law under black attorney-physician Sidney D. Redmond and attended Jackson State University where he also played football.

Greene was denied a career as a lawyer because the State Bar refused to recognize his exam scores. His other early jobs included mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, magazine salesman with Tuskegee Institute, and the Civilian Conservation Corps. In 1938, Percy Greene started the Jackson Advocate newspaper, now Mississippi’s oldest black-owned newspaper.

Although Greene claimed he stood for equal rights, justice, and opportunities and talked about the Mississippi poll tax and the intimidation blacks suffered at the polls, he was a paid informant for the Sovereignty Commission. Many of the people informed upon were killed, including Medgar Evers. Information, including checks, were written to him by the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission was discovered long after his death.

Greene spoke all over Mississippi and was recognized in the Pittsburgh Courier for being on their “Top Ten Honor Roll” two years in a row. Percy Greene died on April 16, 1977, he was never held accountable for his treacherous acts.

source:

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