On Wednesday, July 15, 1964, Ozell Sutton went to collect voter
registration materials from Secretary of State Kelly Bryant's
office at the Arkansas State Capitol. Sutton, from a
sharecropping family in Gould, was head of the Arkansas Voter
Project, an affiliate of the region-wide Voter Education Project
that was being run out of Atlanta by former Arkansan Wiley
Branton under the auspices of the Southern Regional Council.
After gathering his materials, Sutton headed to the Capitol
cafeteria in the basement of the building to grab some food. The
Civil Rights Act of 1964, which required the desegregation of
public facilities and accommodations, had become law just two
weeks earlier on July 2. Sutton entered the food line and picked
up a tray and silverware. Capitol cafeteria manager Edris Tyer,
who had operated the business on a lease from the state since
1947, approached Sutton and told him "we don't serve Negras
here!" Sutton recalled quipping in reply, "That's all right
lady, I don't eat them either, so you