In 1963, Thompson closed four of the city's five public swimming pools and transferred the fifth to the YMCA, which continued to operate it for whites only.

Thompson purchased an International Harvester Loadstar 1600 and outfitted it in paramilitary gear in order to assault Civil Rights activists.

"[6] On May 12, 1963, Civil Rights activist Medgar Evers sent out letters to city officials in Jackson stating the NAACP's goal of integration in Jackson and the four goals of the boycott of downtown Jackson (which had begun the previous year): hiring and promotion equality, integration of public spaces, use of courtesy titles towards black peers (such as Mrs., Miss, and Mr.) and service on a first-come, first-served basis.

In response, Mayor Allen Thompson went on television the next day to portray Jackson as a city without racial inequality, characterizing the NAACP as outside agitators.

After gaining permission from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Evers, a Jackson native, gave a reply to the mayor's speech on public television on May 20.

The representatives laid out eight goals: form a biracial committee; desegregate all public facilities, including parks, playgrounds and libraries; eventually desegregate all public schools; remove segregation signs from all public places; desegregate lunchrooms and lunch counters in downtown stores; upgrade the salaries of black municipal workers; employ black crossing guards for school zones; and hire blacks on the city police force.

Medgar Evers and other activists continued to lead small protests throughout Jackson that day, ending with a pray-in at City Hall.

On June 7, 1963, Mayor Thompson effectively issued an injunction to the NAACP, CORE, and Tougaloo College faculty by banning parades and mass demonstrations without a permit.

On Friday, June 7, the coalition's strategy committee ignored the injunction and continued the blitzkrieg, with dozens of demonstrators arrested.

Civil Rights Movement representatives accepted the terms and ended the direct action campaign on June 18, 1963.