Spies of Mississippi: The Appumentary

Gr 7 Up—A stunning combination of the written word and the visual arts. The app, based on the book by Rick Bowers (National Geographic, 2010; also an iBook) and Dawn Porter's documentary film of the same title (Trilogy Films, 2014 ), takes viewers inside the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission's (MSSC) clandestine, "state-funded" campaign to maintain racial segregation in the state during the 1950s and '60s. As noted in the foreword of Bowers's book, the history of the MSSC is a story that involves "spies and counterspies, agents and double agents, informants and infiltrators…[along with] dedicated civil rights workers and fearless student activists, truth-telling journalists and justice-seeking lawyers who dared to challenge the status quo." This will be a shocking history lesson to most, and the app combines text; archival photos; police reports and other documents (some made public as recently as 1998); and film clips (introduced with music), to tell the story.The MSSC actively sought to thwart the work of civil rights activists before, during, and after the 1964 Freedom Summer, and the book, film, and app draw connections between it and the activities of the white supremacist organizations, including the deaths of Medgar Evers, James Chaney, Mickey Schwerner and Andrew Goodman. Interactive biographies of individuals that make appearances in Porter's film are provided as well as three film segments and a time line containing numerous resources.Extensive Common Core-aligned lesson plans with weblinks and discussion questions for grades 6–8 and 9–12 are offered along with an "all grades" resource list and suggestions for related enrichment activities. A first-rate production.—Joy Davis, Ouachita Parish Public Library, Monroe, LA