Murder of George W. Lee

Dear Ms. King:

Thank you for submitting your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to
the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) via email to
foia@nara.gov. We received your request on January 24, 2024. Your request
states:

*All documents relating to the murder of Reverend George W. Lee in Belzoni,
Mississippi on May 7, 1955.*

Our office handles FOIA and Privacy Act requests for NARA’s operational records
(records created by this agency). Because your FOIA request is for records
that may be archival records (records created by or originated in a
different agency but that may have been transferred to the legal custody of
NARA), we are forwarding it by this email to our Office of Research
Services, Textual Reference (RR2RR) staff who handle FOIA requests for
textual archival records.

That office will assign your request a tracking number and respond directly
to you. In the future, if you need to follow up with that office directly,
please contact them at the address below, or electronically via email
(email is preferred).

National Archives and Records Administration
Research Services, Textual Reference Branch (RR2RR)
8601 Adelphi Road, Room 2400
College Park, MD 20740

Phone: 301-837-3091
Fax: 301-837-1752
Email: archives2reference@nara.gov

For your reference, a copy of your request is below.

Please visit our website at www.archives.gov/foia for further information
about making a FOIA request to NARA. On our main website,
www.archives.gov, you
can learn more about the resources we offer to the public, and you can
access our online catalog.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and pursuant to guidance received from the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA had adjusted its normal
operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work
while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of
our staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may
experience a delay in receiving a substantive response to your FOIA
request. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your
understanding and patience.

Sincerely,
Ashley Bryan
Government Information Specialist
Office of General Counsel (NGC)
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, Maryland, 20740-6001
301-837-3642

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: <requests@muckrock.com>
Date: Tue, Jan 23, 2024 at 8:34 PM
Subject: Freedom of Information Act Request: Murder of George W. Lee
To: <foia@nara.gov>

Nat'l Archives & Records Admin
FOIA Office
Room 3110
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740

January 23, 2024

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following
records:

All documents relating to the murder of Reverend George W. Lee in Belzoni,
Mississippi on May 7, 1955.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and
this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform
me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer
the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or
CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I
look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business
days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Katie King

View request history, upload responsive documents, and report problems here:
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Dear Ms. King,

This is in response to your Freedom of Information Act dated January 24,
2024. Your request was received in this office on August 15, 2023 with the
assigned control number 24-19722.

Specifically, you seek documents related to the murder of the Reverend
Willie G. Lee in Belzoni, Mississippi on May 7, 1955.

We searched in Record Group 60, General Records of the Department of
Justice. Specifically, we searched in the Department of
Justice General Index to Litigation Files
<https://catalog.archives.gov/id/1882794> (Entry A1 110-A) and found a
card responsive
to your request regarding Willie G. Lee with the assigned Case File #
144-41-210 . However, the files are subject to *access restrictions* and
need to be reviewed for categories of information exempted from disclosure
under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). I have included our
Special Access/FOIA Office (specialaccess_foia@nara.gov) on this email to
review the records and to conduct a search for additional FBI records. They
will respond separately to your request.. Here is the citation for your
reference:

*Record Group 60*
*General Records of the Department of Justice*

*Class 144 (Civil Rights) Litigation Case Files*
*Entry A1-COR 144*
*Box 2992@ B190/26/23/6*

We have also identified additional case file numbers 144-41-210 and
144-40-2154 that were responsive to your request. However, they are not in
the custody of the National Archives. If you wish to access them you will
need to file a FOIA request directly with the Department of Justice. You
may submit your request at <http://goog_538679821/>
https://www.justice.gov/oip/make-foia-request-doj

We have also searched in the Index Cards to Classification 44 (Civil
Rights) Headquarters Case Files, 1923-1972
<https://catalog.archives.gov/id/2387379> for any reference to a case file
for Willie G. Lee but there were no responsive results.

We do not consider this a denial of your FOIA request. However, if you are
not satisfied with our action on this request, your options for appeal and
dispute resolution are outlined in the attached enclosure. If you have any
questions, you may reach us at archives2reference@nara.gov.

This completes the processing of your request.

Sincerely,

Michael J. Hancock

Archives Specialist

Textual Reference at Archives II (RR2RR)

The National Archives at College Park

8601 Adelphi Rd College Park, MD 20740

michaelj.hancock1@nara.gov
--

Michael J. Hancock

Archives Specialist

Textual Reference at Archives II (RR2RR)

The National Archives at College Park

8601 Adelphi Rd College Park, MD 20740

michaelj.hancock1@nara.gov