The Mule Train, An Untold Story
Winona, Mississippi is a sleepy little town nestled between I55 north and Highway 82 about 120 miles south of Memphis. No one would have ever imagined that beacons of equality lived among the roughly 5,000 black and white residents in the late 1960’s MS racial tensions were as hot as the relentless sun, when the Mule Train, or Poor People’s March, set out from Marks, MS bound for Washington DC in June, 1968. This was the brainchild of Robert Kennedy and put into action by Martin Luther King who had visited Marks earlier in the spring. Dr. King chose the town as the starting point for this historical march; famously stating “because it was the poorest town in the poorest state”, and symbolic of the Civil Rights struggle. The route was jam packed with the National Press and hundreds of law enforcement officers. At every town the marchers were met with angry whites and proud blacks. This was still the era of “White” only drinking fountains and public toil...