The storm came, and just as Monica Coleman predicted, it hit places least equipped to handle it. On Monday morning, she was one of roughly 1 million Americans without power because of Winter Storm Fern. Officials in Lafayette County, Mississippi, where she lives, are warning residents that they could be without power for multiple days. […]
Mississippi
Posted inClimate Change, Extreme Weather, Public Safety
A Storm Is Coming for the South’s Most Vulnerable Black Communities
For millions in the South, an impending storm could become unforgettable. “I can’t stop watching the forecasts,” said Shemekia Stringer, speaking by phone Thursday afternoon as she moved through near-empty aisles at a Walmart in Southaven, Mississippi, just outside of Memphis, Tennessee. “I’m trying to make sure we’re fully prepared. In my area, the map […]
Posted inEconomic Development, Eminent Domain
Mississippi Residents Say City Quietly Marked Their Homes for Takeover
Greg Gipson walked out of a federal appeals court in Louisiana last week feeling a bit more hopeful about a case that was dismissed in Mississippi over his historic neighborhood’s designation. Gipson and other residents drove 93 miles from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to New Orleans to persuade a panel of federal judges to reconsider whether their […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
Supreme Court Case Threatens Mail-in Ballots for Black Voters
For Mississippians, there’s been no escaping the attempts to dilute Black political power. Two Black Democrats won special elections on Nov. 4 to break the Republican supermajority in the Mississippi Senate. Then, six days later, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a Republican-led challenge to mail-in voting. Johnny DuPree and Theresa Gillespie Isom both […]
Posted inGun Violence, Politics & Policy, Public Safety
After DOJ Pulls Millions for Public Safety, Nonprofits and Neighborhoods Step In
JACKSON, Mississippi — Sharon Brown seemed destined from birth to be a changemaker in her hometown. She grew up reading old newspaper clippings about her mother and aunt protesting for women’s rights in the 1960s, and watching them help neighbors with whatever they could — from child care to groceries. Years later, her mother urged […]
Posted inEducation, HBCUs
Jackson State Alumni Say Leadership Instability Is Costing the School Its Future
For the fourth time in less than a decade, Jackson State University is searching for its next university president — and its alumni are calling for more transparency in the search process. The university’s presidents are picked by the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees, which oversees public universities in Mississippi. The board consists […]
Posted inHistory
Founded by Freedmen, Forgotten by Textbooks: The Men Reviving Mound Bayou
MOUND BAYOU, Mississippi — On an early summer morning, Hermon Johnson Jr. walked the halls of the former band hall of the John F. Kennedy High School surrounded by archival photographs and rotating exhibits. The historical records tell the story of Mound Bayou, Mississippi. The small but mighty town is one of America’s first all-Black […]
Posted inNews
Black Student Found Hanging at Delta State. Police Say No Foul Play.
This story has been updated. The death of a Black college student, who was found hanging from a tree on his school’s campus in Mississippi, sparking online speculation of a lynching, has been ruled a suicide, according to the state examiner’s office. The Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office conducted an autopsy on Sept. 17, after […]
Posted inHistory
The Long Journey to Preserve Emmett Till’s Story, 70 Years After His Lynching
At about 9 a.m. local time on Thursday, the Rev. Wheeler Parker Jr. arrived by train in Greenwood, Mississippi. He traveled for nearly 13 hours from Chicago aboard the Amtrak City of New Orleans. This first-of-its-kind commemorative ride was done to honor the life of his cousin and best friend, Emmett Till. Parker and Till […]
Posted inPolitics & Policy, Voting
Black Voters ‘Finally’ Get Win After Federal Judge Strikes Down Mississippi Map
In Dyamone White’s rural Mississippi town, churches long served as the gathering spot for community events. As a millennial, she recognized the need to bring those events elsewhere as a way to increase civic engagement and host important community discussions. Over the years, she’s seen the participation grow in Edwards and Bolton, towns near her […]