Louis Allen

Louis Allen

Louis Allen (April 25, 1919 – January 31, 1964) was an African-American citizen and businessman in Liberty, Mississippi. He was shot and killed on his land during the civil rights era. He had previously tried to register to vote. In addition, he was suspected of talking to federal officials after witnessing the 1961 murder of Herbert Lee, an NAACP member, by E. H. Hurst, a white state legislator. Civil rights activists had come to Liberty that summer to organize for voter registration; as no African-American had been allowed to vote since 1890, when the state's disenfranchising constitution was passed. Allen was repeatedly harassed by the Amite County sheriff and jailed repeatedly. The day before he planned to move out of state, Allen was fatally shot on his own property. Since the late 20th century, his case has been investigated by a history professor at Tulane University. It was reopened by the FBI beginning in 2007 as part of its review of civil rights-era cold cases. In 2011 the CBS program 60 Minutes conducted a special on his murder as well. Their work suggested that Allen was killed by Daniel Jones, the then county sheriff. However, no one has been prosecuted for the murder.

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