Series 2515: Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission Records, 1994-2006 comprises the digitized records of the defunct Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission, which functioned as the state's official counter civil rights agency from 1956-1973. The 913 photographs interspersed in the files were generated and received by the Commission as part of its investigative and public relations functions. The actual photographer is often not indicated on the either the photograph itself or in associated documents. While investigative reports sometimes mention that attached photographs were taken by the investigator, it is clear that the Commission did not take the majority of the photographs in the collection. The bulk of the photographs are 1961 freedom rider police mug shots supplied by the Jackson Police Department. JPD also provided the Commission with mug shots of arrested sit-in participants as well as photographs of Jackson marches and demonstrations. Police departments in other Mississippi communities and states also sent the Commission arrest photographs/mug shots and demonstration photographs. Associated documentation suggests that the Berkeley California Free Speech and Jo Freeman photographs were provided by paid informant Edgar Downing. However, it is not clear whether Downing took all the photographs in the envelope of pictures attributed to him. Associated documentation also suggests that Informant "X" took the photographs of volunteers at what appears to be the Oxford, Ohio Council of Federated Organizations orientation of 1964. Some of the publicity photographs are stamped with the name of a photographer or studio but mostly the origin is not indicated. The collection also includes a small number of photographs of original documents. These are varied and include items such as: checks, memos, correspondence and minutes from the Southern Christian Education Fund and activists Carl and Anne Braden; Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and Congress of Racial Equality correspondence; checks from the Southern Christian Leadership Council bearing the endorsement of Martin Luther King Jr.; and a letter from J.B. Stoner, Atlanta Georgia Grand Wizard KKK to Elijah Muhammad.

In 2006 a new photograph search option was added to the existing online collection. This new function utilized re-scans of the un-redacted original photographs, which were individually described and linked back to their initial scan and salient documentation. To differentiate these new scans from the original images the code "ph" was appended to the Sovereignty Commission identification number.

The Civil Rights Digital Library received support from a National Leadership Grant for Libraries awarded to the University of Georgia by the Institute of Museum and Library Services for the aggregation and enhancement of partner metadata.

Series 2515 : Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission Records Online, Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson, Miss.

The Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission Records are state government records made available to the public pursuant to American Civil Liberties Union v. Fordice, 969 F.Supp. 403 (S.D.Miss.1994). The web-enabled version of the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission Records is intended for public use in research, teaching, and private study in accordance with the provisions of the Fair Use clause of the United States Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). MDAH makes no warranty or assurances that materials contained in this collection are free from U.S. copyright claims or other restrictions on free use and display. It is the user's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions when publishing or distributing materials found in this collection. MDAH requests that prior to publication of Sov. Com. images the user submit an MDAH Broadcast/Publication Permission form for approval by the Department. This form must be accompanied by documentation which proves that copyright requirements have been satisfied. Contact MDAH Reference Staff for details on how to obtain and complete the B/PP form: (601) 576 6876 or refdesk@mdah.state.ms.us. There are no MDAH Use Fees associated with use of Sov. Com. images. MDAH asks that each image used in a presentation, display, or publication be accompanied by a credit line, which at a minimum includes the name of this collection, the unique resource identifier for each image, the name of this institution, and URL. ; Cite images according to the following structure: Original Creator, "Title", Original creation date (if known), Unique Resource Identifier, Series Number and Title, Archival Repository, date of last web page revision, image location/URL, (image viewed on date).