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Sovereignty Commission NPR's Debbie Elliott reports that Mississippi confronted a dark part of the state's past by releasing 132,000 long-sealed documents from its Sovereignty Commission. The commission, which functioned as a segregation agency, was set up in 1956 and worked in secret for almost 20 years. It used a network of spies to keep tabs on civil rights activists and funneled the information to employers, law enforcement agencies and the KKK.

All Things Considered

Sovereignty Commission

Heard on All Things Considered

Sovereignty Commission

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NPR's Debbie Elliott reports that Mississippi confronted a dark part of the state's past by releasing 132,000 long-sealed documents from its Sovereignty Commission. The commission, which functioned as a segregation agency, was set up in 1956 and worked in secret for almost 20 years. It used a network of spies to keep tabs on civil rights activists and funneled the information to employers, law enforcement agencies and the KKK.