#OnThisDay in 1900, Black Congressman George H. White introduced a bill to make lynching a federal offense, only to see the bill die in committee. Hundreds of anti-lynching bills followed, even as 4,700+ lynchings took place. The bill finally passed in 2022. mississippitoday.org/2025/01/20/1...

#OnThisDay in 1856, Mississippi native Bridget “Biddy” Mason won her family's freedom in landmark court case. Bought land and organized the 1st A.M.E. Church in LA. Used her wealth to aid charities, shelter impoverished, visit prisoners & educate Black children. mississippitoday.org/2025/01/19/1...

#OnThisDay in 1931, James Earl Jones was born in Arkabutla, Mississippi. Won a Tony for “The Great White Hope” on Broadway & Golden Globe for acting. Later won another Tony, three Emmys & honorary Oscar. Did the voices of Darth Vader & Mufasa. mississippitoday.org/2025/01/17/1...

#OnThisDay in 1959, the Minneapolis Lakers played the Cincinnati Royals in Charleston WV. Fans were eager to see hometown star “Hot Rod” Hundley play w/ Elgin Baylor, but Baylor sat out after a hotel owner & restaurant refused to serve him & other Black players. mississippitoday.org/2025/01/16/1...

#OnThisDay in 1917, civil rights pioneer C.C. Bryant was born near McComb. Worked w/ Medgar Evers & Bob Moses, adding Black Mississippians to voting rolls. KKK bombed Bryant’s barbershop, house & church, but he kept fighting. Depicted in movie, “Freedom Song.” mississippitoday.org/2025/01/15/1...

#OnThisDay in 1963, Alabama Gov. George Wallace told his inaugural crowd, “I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!” mississippitoday.org/2025/01/14/1...

#OnThisDay in 1990, Douglas Wilder, who became the 1st Black American elected governor since Reconstruction, took office in Richmond VA. Received Bronze Star for his courage in the Korean War. His winning margin in his campaign for governor? Less than 1/2%. mississippitoday.org/2025/01/13/1...

#OnThisDay in 1865, Union Gen. Sherman issued a field order giving each freed family 40 acres of land along the Atlantic Coast. Some received mules, leading to phrase “40 acres and a mule.” After Lincoln's assassination, President Johnson reversed the order. mississippitoday.org/2025/01/12/o...

#OnThisDay in 1870, 1st legislature in Radical Reconstruction met in Mississippi & 226+ Black Mississippians held public office. Southerners who embraced white supremacy retook power, and Black Mississippians lost the rights they gained. mississippitoday.org/2025/01/11/1...

"If you don't vote, you don't count." -- Vernon Dahmer (murdered #otd 1966) Investigative journalist @jmitchellnews.bsky.social pursued case until there was a conviction. Read about this case & more in his excellent book "Race Against Time." ⬇️ www.zinnedproject.org/materials/ra...

#OnThisDay in 1966, voting rights champion Vernon Dahmer died defending his family from a KKK attack in Mississippi. Imperial Wizard Sam Bowers, who ordered attack, was finally convicted in 1998. A statue now honors him in Hattiesburg. mississippitoday.org/2025/01/10/1...

#onthisday in 1967, Julian Bond was finally seated in the Georgia House. The Georgia House had refused to seat him after he criticized US involvement in Vietnam, but the Supreme Court ruled in his favor. “The truth may hurt,” he said, “but it’s the truth.” mississippitoday.org/2025/01/09/1...

#OnThisDay in 1815, a U.S. Army unit that included Black and Choctaw soldiers helped defeat the British in the Battle of New Orleans. Gen. Andrew Jackson promised the enslaved Black soldiers pay, property and freedom, but the pledge proved hollow. mississippitoday.org/2025/01/08/1...

Happy Birthday, Zora Neale Hurston, who was born in Alabama #OnThisDay in 1891. Wrote “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” a seminal work in African-American literature & female literature. mississippitoday.org/2025/01/07/1...

#OnThisDay in 2021, Amanda Gorman was writing her Inauguration poem when she saw the Capitol attacked. "We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it ... there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it ... be it." mississippitoday.org/2025/01/06/2...

#OnThisDay in 1939, news broke that Pauli Murray had applied to a Ph.D. program at UNC, sparking white outrage across the state. In 1942, she helped form the Congress of Racial Equality. In 1977, she became the first Black woman to serve as an Episcopal priest. mississippitoday.org/2025/01/05/1...

#OnThisDay in 1965, 5 busloads of Black Mississippians challenged the seating of Mississippi’s all-white congressional delegation. 149 members of Congress sided with them. “That vote just really turned things upside down,” said SNCC leader Victoria Gray. mississippitoday.org/2025/01/04/1...

#OnThisDay in 1933, civil rights pioneer Dr. Aaron Shirley was born in Gluckstadt, Mississippi. He became the first Black pediatrician in the state. His pioneering approach to helping the impoverished with their medical needs won him a MacArthur “genius” grant. mississippitoday.org/2025/01/03/o...

#OnThisDay in 1903, President Teddy Roosevelt shut down Indianola MS post office to prevent a mob from pushing out Minnie Cox, a Black female postmaster they tried to kill. (Black postmasters were killed in SC & GA.) The Indianola Post Office now bears her name. mississippitoday.org/2025/01/02/1...

#OnThisDay in 1960, nearly 1,000 Black protesters marched 10 miles through the rain & sleet to the downtown airport in Greenville SC to protest its segregation policies and its mistreatment of Jackie Robinson. The walls of segregation soon fell at both airports. mississippitoday.org/2024/01/01/o...

Mafia hitman Gregory Scarpa Sr. shot to death so many people that he stopped counting at 50. Oh, and he helped the FBI solve who killed Mississippi NAACP leader Vernon Dahmer Sr. Mark Wahlberg portrays Scarpa in a fictional movie based on this, “By Any Means.” mississippitoday.org/2025/12/30/n...

Between 1916 & 1970, 6M+ Black Americans migrated from the South, changing the landscape of the nation. Before “The Great Migration,” 90%+ lived in South & only 20% lived in urban areas. By 1970, 80%+ of Black Americans lived in cities. mississippitoday.org/2024/12/31/1...

#OnThisDay in 1875, state senator Charles Caldwell was assassinated by a mob of white men in Clinton, Mississippi. He participated in writing the 1868 Constitutional Convention, which gave the vote, integrated public schools & legalized interracial marriages. mississippitoday.org/2024/12/30/o...

#OnThisDay in 1865, abolitionist leader William Lloyd Garrison produced last issue of “The Liberator.” Worked w/ Underground Railroad & Harriet Tubman, whom he nicknamed “Moses.” A pro-slavery mob tried to lynch him but failed. Memorial now honors him in Boston. mississippitoday.org/2024/12/29/1...

#OnThisDay in 1954, 2-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington was born in Mount Vernon, New York. He won Best Supporting Actor for the 1989 film Glory and Best Actor for the 2001 film Training Day. In 2022, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. mississippitoday.org/2024/12/28/1...

#OnThisDay in 1919, Black WWI veteran Powell Green, 23, was lynched by a mob of white men near Franklinton NC. He never got a chance to defend himself in court. No one was ever prosecuted for his killing, one of at least 80 lynchings that took place in 1919. mississippitoday.org/2024/12/27/1...

#OnThisDay in 1908, pro boxing pioneer Jack Johnson defeated Tommy Burns, becoming the 1st Black heavyweight boxing champion. Two years later, he successfully defended his title in the “Battle of the Century.” mississippitoday.org/2023/12/26/1...

#OnThisDay in 1957, Fred Shuttlesworth survived the KKK bombing that took out his home next to the Bethel Baptist Church in Birmingham. The city’s airport bears his name. The Bethel church, which was bombed three times, is now a historic landmark. mississippitoday.org/2024/12/25/1...

Christian Dedmon, imprisoned in the “Goon Squad” case, talked about the fraternity he found in law enforcement & his descent into cruelty. “I see Michael Jenkins bleeding in my sleep sometimes. It is a nightmare I will spend the rest of my life paying for.” mississippitoday.org/2025/12/23/g...

#OnThisDay in 1946, University of Tennessee refused to play a basketball game with Duquesne University, because they had a Black player, Chuck Cooper. He became the first Black player ever drafted in the NBA — drafted by the Boston Celtics. In 2019, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

#OnThisDay in 1997, the Mississippi Supreme Court upheld the conviction of white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith for the 1963 murder of Medgar Evers. The conviction helped clear the way for other prosecutions of unpunished killings from the Civil Rights Era. mississippitoday.org/2024/12/22/1...

#OnThisDay in 1911, Josh Gibson, Negro League’s “Home Run King,” was born in Buena Vista GA. He was such a talented catcher players were reluctant to steal. Hall of Fame estimates he hit nearly 800 homers & had a lifetime batting average of .359. mississippitoday.org/2024/12/21/1...

#OnThisDay in 1918, a white mob hung 4 African Americans on Mississippi’s “Hanging Bridge.” 24 years later, 2 Black teens were lynched on the bridge. The killers walked free, but the injustice helped fuel the “Double V” campaign led by Black newspapers. mississippitoday.org/2025/12/20/1...

#OnThisDay in 1924, 3-time Emmy winner Cicely Tyson was born in Harlem. 1st Black actor to appear as a series regular on a prime-time dramatic TV series. 1st Black actress to win an Emmy. In 2018, she received an honorary Oscar at the age of 94. mississippitoday.org/2024/12/19/1...

#OnThisDay in 1917, actor Ossie Davis was born in Cogdell GA. In 1946, he landed lead role in Broadway play “Jeb.” He & his wife Ruby Dee appeared in “A Raisin the Sun” & joined civil rights movement. Became friends with #MLK. Davis delivered Malcolm X’s eulogy. mississippitoday.org/2024/12/18/1...

Thanks, Square Books! Very cool to be in the same section with Willie Morris.

#OnThisDay in 1938, L. C. Dorsey was born in Tribbett, Mississippi. Fannie Lou Hamer inspired her to get involved in civil rights movement. Worked on healthcare & prison reform. Ran the Delta Health Center in Mound Bayou. An annual award honors her work. mississippitoday.org/2024/12/17/1...

#OnThisDay in 1976, President Jimmy Carter nominated Andrew Young for UN ambassador — the 1st Black American to serve in the position. Worked with #MLK & helped draft Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965. He later became Atlanta’s mayor. mississippitoday.org/2024/12/16/1...

The Mississippi Court of Appeals has ordered a new murder trial for Tameshia Shelton, a 47-year-old mother of four who has long insisted on her innocence in the death of her sister’s boyfriend. The jury never saw the victim's apparent suicide note. mississippitoday.org/2025/12/15/a...

#OnThisDay in 1961, #MLK spoke to those in the Albany Movement. He & Ralph Abernathy were jailed, only to have bail paid by unidentified man. Abernathy said, “I’ve been thrown out of lots of places in my day, but never before have I been thrown out of jail.” mississippitoday.org/2024/12/15/1...

Sad to hear about deaths of Rob Reiner & his wife. Met him at Mayflower Cafe, where we talked about Stand by Me. Later had lunch with him & his wife during filming Ghosts of Mississippi. Last saw them at Myrlie Evers' 90th birthday celebration, where he said she inspired him.

#OnThisDay in 1879, Blanche Kelso Bruce became the 1st Black American to preside over the U.S. Senate. He was also the 1st Black American to serve a full term in the Senate & later the 1st Black American to win any votes at a major party’s nominating convention. mississippitoday.org/2024/02/14/o...

#OnThisDay in 1903, Ella Baker, “Godmother of SNCC,” was born in Norfolk VA. She said, “Until the killing of a Black mother’s son becomes as important as the killing of a white mother’s son, we who believe in freedom cannot rest.” mississippitoday.org/2024/12/13/1...

#OnThisDay in 1870, Joseph H. Rainey became the 1st Black lawmaker sworn into the House. On April 1, 1871, he argued for the use of federal troops to protect southern Blacks from the KKK. The KKK Act became law but failed to stop the violence. mississippitoday.org/2024/12/12/1...

When I did a 1990 interview w/ Byron De La Beckwith, who killed Mississippi NAACP leader Medgar Evers in 1963, most Americans bristled at Beckwith’s beliefs. Now, 35 yrs later, the assassin is dead, but some of the views he promulgated are emerging in new forms. mississippitoday.org/2025/12/02/e...

#OnThisDay in 1961, the U.S. Supreme Court threw out the convictions of Black students arrested for taking part in a 1960 sit-in at the Kress Department Store in Baton Rouge. Continued protests led to desegregation of lunch counters in 1963. mississippitoday.org/2024/12/11/1...

#OnThisDay in 1961, a white mob attacked Freedom Riders when they attempted to integrate the “all-white” waiting room at the bus station in McComb MS, yelling, “Kill ‘em! Kill ‘em!” The mayor later told the press that segregation would no longer be enforced. mississippitoday.org/2024/11/29/1...

#OnThisDay in 1961, RB Ernie Davis became 1st Black player to win the Heisman. The 1st pick in the NFL draft, doctors discovered he had leukemia. Before his death, Davis said he wasn’t unlucky. “In these years I have had more than most people get in a lifetime.” mississippitoday.org/2024/11/28/1...