The book begins in 1956 with the birth of the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission and follows its terrifying evolution from state - run propaganda outlet to a clandestine espionage network and secret police force with the mission to save segregation and block voting rights for African Americans. The Commission ruined careers and destroyed reputations, funnelled state funds to white supremacist organisations, and bribed journalists to print false information. It created an extensive network of paid informants, including black spies who snooped on their neighbours and infiltrated the NAACP. The agents intervened in a number of the highest profile events of the civil rights era, including screening jurors for the defense of a notorious Klan leader accused of the murder of NAACP leader Medgar Evers. While learning of its behind - the - scenes role, readers will encounter such historical events as Brown v Board of Education, the integration of Ole' Miss, the Freedom Rides, and Freedom Summer, but from the unique point of the entrenched opposition. ''The Spies of Mississippi'' will inspire readers with real accounts of civil rights leaders, students activists, and ordinary citizens who overcame the forces of white supremacy to usher in a new era. ''The Spies of Mississippi'' is based on a comprehensive review of 128,000 pages of documentation in the Commission archive, exclusive interviews with surviving participants as well as civil rights activists named in the once - secret files, reviews of the personal papers of past governors, commissioners and investigators, and writings and oral histories of Mississippi civil rights leaders.