George Lee was a hardworking, savvy businessman. He pastored four churches, opened a grocery store, and ran a printing business out of his house with his wife. But something besides money was driving his passion.
Lee had quietly made history in his small Mississippi town by using his money to help liberate other Black people. He helped them vote, stand up for their rights, and learn about other communities doing the same. But he didn’t stop there.
He cooperated with other prominent Black leaders to keep fighting in the early Civil Rights days. Of course, white terrorists saw this and got scared. They threatened him, but it didn’t work. So they upped the ante and offered him money to symbolically remove his name from voter rolls. Did he take it?
Hell no! He kept working, and finally when the racists realized they couldn’t do anything to stop him, they straight up murdered him! His wife gave him an open casket funeral to show their brutality, and this inspired even more Black people to fight.
Lee fought fearlessly for the rights of our people, and though he lost his life, he birthed a movement of not only voter registration but also community organizing for Black liberation. He refused payoffs and kept his integrity – even when it meant his death!