STAR, THE AFL-CIO, AND THE DIOCESE OF NATCHEZ-JACKSON

Abstract

This chapter traces the racial and legal changes that shaped the landscape of Mississippi by 1970. Into this context, the chapter places the story of the state-wide job training program Strategic Training and Redevelopment, sponsored by the Mississippi Catholic Church. It explores the way in which the diocese and Catholic staff by turn helped and hindered the operation of STAR, but often perpetuated a racial paternalism that characterised the program. The chapter also explores the relationship between the war on poverty and the state AFL-CIO, led by Claude Ramsay. Ultimately the story of STAR illustrates how class divisions and racial discrimination hampered the program, while the changes implemented by Nixon’s administration unravelled the foundations of the war on poverty.