On May 1, 1968, several Southern Christian Leadership Conference members, including Willie Bolden, gathered at Quitman County High School to raise awareness about the Poor People's Campaign and encourage students to participate in the Mule Train. After the principal asked Bolden and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference members to leave and they refused, the Sheriff's Department arrested seven people, including Bolden, and took them to the county jail. Nearly 300 students and 13 teachers then left the school and marched to the jailhouse to demand the release of Bolden and the others.