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OP-ED: Mississippi Black History

NNPA NEWSWIRE — As many governors, school boards and educational systems are trying to erase history by banning certain books in our schools and public libraries, how powerful to have ABC’s mini-series “Women of the Movement: the story of Mamie Till Mobley,” told at this particular time. Some governors have even said that they would penalize schools, teachers and principals if such material is taught. The mini-series was and should be painful to watch for all who watched it. We need to be reminded of atrocities such as these.
The post OP-ED: Mississippi Black History first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

Published

3 years ago

March 12, 2022

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By Paulette Patton, Contributing Guest Writer to The Mississippi Link

After recently watching ABC’s mini-series, “Women of the Movement: the story of Mamie Till Mobley,” I was reminded, as I often am, of memories growing up in Mississippi.

Paulette Patton

This docu-drama chronicled the life of Mamie Till Mobley, who devoted her life to seeking justice for her son Emmett Till. Till was abducted and killed for allegedly flirting with a white woman in Money, Mississippi.

I can remember looking at that iconic photo of Emmett Till in Jet Magazine when I was just 7 years old. I only recall how awful it looked. I don’t remember even asking my parents about it. Thanks to executive co-producers, Will Smith and Jay-Z, this true story was a painful reminder of Mississippi’s history during that perilous era.

As many governors, school boards and educational systems are trying to erase such history by banning certain books in our schools and public libraries, how powerful to have this story retold at this particular time. Some governors have even said that they would penalize schools, teachers and principals if such material is taught. The mini-series was and should be painful to watch to all who watched it. We need to be reminded of atrocities such as these.

For ten years, I helped plan and accompanied a group of Ursinus College (Collegeville, PA) students and their professors to Mississippi to visit sites around the state to have a firsthand look at some of the most treacherous and unforgiving parts of the history of the American South. We would start our journey in Jackson where we visited Jackson State University, (formerly Jackson College). Ursinus students learned about the killing of Phillip J. Gibbs and James E. Green and the shooting of twelve others on campus by the State Police in 1970.

Tougaloo College was another stop on our journey. Tougaloo’s history is rich in the Civil Rights Movement. Student activism was commonplace. Tougaloo College Archives, as stated on its website, has a collection of personal papers, oral histories, photographs and other memorabilia of persons who were active in the movement.

Hollis Watkins, a Tougaloo graduate and activist, is founder and director of Southern Echo. At this stop, students learned about the importance of community organizing. Watkins and others travelled all over the state of Mississippi teaching communities how essential it is for citizens to organize and have an impact on economic development, educational and environmental decisions.

While also in Jackson, we visited the home of one of those activists, Medgar Evers. We toured the Evers House, now a National Historic Landmark, where we saw the trajectory of the bullets that went into the home. We stood on the driveway where Evers was murdered.

Farish Street was another stop. Farish Street was the “largest economically independent” business section in Jackson, where Black businesses thrived. Recently, my sisters and I strolled down a few blocks of a mostly deserted community. We stopped at The Alamo Theatre where Black folks could see a movie without fear of being arrested because of segregation. Most of the businesses were shuttered. The Big Apple Inn, commonly known back then as Big John’s, was first opened in 1936, was still open.

Another stop, for the students, on our journey was Bolton, Mississippi to visit another Tougaloo College graduate and activist, Congressman Bennie Thompson, who is in his 13th term in the U.S. House of Representatives. Visiting Thompson’s office was always one of the highlights of the trip for many reasons, perhaps because he is a living legend, especially now as he chairs the January 6 Committee investigating the Insurrection that took place on our nation’s Capital.

Philadelphia, Mississippi was another stop. We saw the jail where Goodman, Chaney and Schwerner were detained and toured the courthouse where Edgar Ray Killen and seven klansmen and white supremacists were tried for their murder. Chaney, from Meridian, MS, and Goodman and Schwerner from New York, were working to help Black Mississippians register to vote. These three activists were abducted and murdered in Neshoba County, Mississippi in 1964. Our tour was led by Leroy Clemons, former president of the local chapter of the NAACP. Clemons is currently the executive director of the Neshoba Youth Coalition. Our tour ended at the murder site of Goodman, Chaney and Schwerner.

Many times, I would look at the faces of the students where tears flowed as Clemons told the story of their brutal murders as we stood on the site where they were buried.

As we journeyed to the Mississippi Delta, many times the ride was quiet as we looked out on cotton fields, as we tried to prepare ourselves for the last leg of the trip. Our first stop was in Ruleville, Mississippi to visit the gravesite of Fannie Lou Hamer, a voting and women’s rights activist, a leader in the Civil Rights Movement and co-founder of the Freedom Democratic Party. Here we paid homage to her and her lifetime of work. She is buried next to her beloved husband, Perry “Pap” Hamer.

From there to Glendora, Mississippi. We visited the Emmett Till Interpretive Center/Museum. This Museum was established by Mayor Johnny B Thomas. Thomas would meet us at the museum for a private tour. We were able to see a replica of the cotton gin fan that was tied around the neck of Till. The end of our journey was in Money, Mississippi. We stood on the very ground of Bryant’s store where Till and his cousins had entered to buy candy. This is the location where he was falsely accused.

Visiting all these places gave me the opportunity as an adult to visit places I never went as a child. I’m sure my parents were trying to spare us from the brutal nature of violence perpetrated against Blacks. As a parent and grandparent, I can understand wanting to protect your child. But our history should not be erased. Books should not be banned.

One place that I have been intrigued by since a student at Tougaloo was Mound Bayou, Mississippi. I was intrigued by the fact that there was an all-Black town in Mississippi that once thrived. I had a romanticized vision of this Black community. I don’t recall knowing about Mound Bayou as a child. It certainly was not in our history books. Recently, my sisters and I decided to take a road trip to Cleveland, Mississippi which would include Mound Bayou.

As portrayed in the mini-series, Mound Bayou was a thriving community. Not only was it thriving, it was a thriving Black community. It was founded by two cousins, Isiah and Joshua Montgomery and Benjamin Gill. It was founded in 1887 and aptly called “the Jewel of the Delta.” There was a hospital where Blacks all over the state would come for good medical care. The all-Black school was compared favorably with the best white schools in the state. There were several churches, a zoo, swimming pool, newspaper(s), insurance company, banks, credit union and sawmill, all owned by Black folks.

Today, like Farish Street, most of those businesses are gone. The hospital still stands and is used as the Delta Health Center.

Exploring and learning more about our history is very rewarding. Choose a place and set out on an adventure. As watching the Emmett Till story and visiting these places allowed us to see how we have survived as we struggle for self-determination. As we confront our history, we struggle with love and anger. Understanding our history is challenging and uplifting. But we must push forward. In the words of Maya Angelou, “And Still I Rise.”

James Hampton, reference librarian at the Eudora Welty Library in Jackson, MS, contributed to this article.

The post OP-ED: Mississippi Black History first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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EXCLUSIVE OP-ED: President Joe Biden Commemorating Juneteenth

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — “I’ve always believed that we need to be honest about our history, especially in the face of ongoing efforts to erase it. Darkness can hide much, but it erases nothing. Only with truth can come healing, justice, and repair.”

Published

2 days ago

June 20, 2025

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By Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
46th President of the United States: 2021—2025

The people of Galveston, Texas, have been commemorating Juneteenth since the Civil War ended. Yesterday, in honor of the 160^th anniversary, I went there to join them.

You can read about the events of Juneteenth, but there’s nothing quite like going to Galveston and seeing where it all happened.

After General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865, Union troops marched across the South for two months, freeing enslaved people along the way. Their final stop was Galveston, an island off the Gulf coast of Texas. There, on June 19, 1865, Union troops went to Reedy Chapel, a church founded in 1848 by enslaved people, and posted a document titled simply “General Order #3.”

“The people of Texas are informed,” it said, “that, in accordance with a Proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free.”

We can only imagine the joy that spread through Galveston – and across the state and nation – on that day and those that followed.

Yesterday, there was once again joy in Galveston, with a parade, picnic, and fireworks. There was also great solemnity, because Juneteenth is a sacred day – a day of weight and power.

The Book of Psalms tells us: “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Juneteenth marks both the long, hard night of slavery and subjugation, and the promise of that joyful morning to come.

As President, I had the great honor of signing the law declaring Juneteenth a federal holiday. It was our nation’s first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was created in 1983.

Our federal holidays say a lot about who we are as a nation. We have holidays celebrating our independence… the laborers who build this nation… the servicemembers who served and died in its defense.

And now, we also have a national holiday dedicated to the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans.

Signing that law was one of my proudest acts as President.

Yet for 156 years, Juneteenth was not written about in textbooks or taught in classrooms. Still today, there are those who say it does not deserve a holiday. They don’t want to remember the moral stain of slavery and the terrible harm it did to our country.

I’ve always believed that we need to be honest about our history, especially in the face of ongoing efforts to erase it. Darkness can hide much, but it erases nothing. Only with truth can come healing, justice, and repair.

I also believe that it’s not enough to commemorate the past. We must also embrace the obligation we have to the future. As Scripture says, “Faith without works is dead.” And right now, we Americans need to keep the faith and do the work.

In honor of Juneteenth, let’s help people register to vote.

For decades, we fought to expand voting rights in America. Now we’re living in an era when relentless obstacles are being thrown in the way of people trying to vote. We can’t let those tactics defeat us. In America, the power belongs with the people. And the way we show that power is by voting.

So let’s reach out to family, friends and neighbors – especially those who have never voted before. Remind them that with voting, anything is possible. And without it, nothing is possible.

Yesterday in Galveston, we gathered in Reedy Chapel to commemorate Juneteenth, just like people have done for 160 years and counting. We prayed, sang, and read General Order #3 again. The pews were full of families. How many people must have prayed for freedom inside those walls. How many must have sent fervent thanks to God when slavery finally ended.

I remembered the words of my late friend John Lewis. He said, “Freedom is not a state. It is an act.”

Juneteenth did not mark the end of America’s work to deliver on the promise of equality. It only marked the beginning. To honor the true meaning of Juneteenth, we must continue to work toward that promise. For our freedom. For our democracy. And for America itself.

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Cities Across the U.S. Shrink or Cancel Juneteenth Events as DEI Support Wanes

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Across the country, Juneteenth celebrations are being scaled back or eliminated as public funding dries up and corporations withdraw sponsorship.

Published

2 days ago

June 19, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

Across the country, Juneteenth celebrations are being scaled back or eliminated as public funding dries up and corporations withdraw sponsorship. In many communities, the once-growing recognition of the holiday is facing sharp resistance tied to the unraveling of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

In Denver, Colorado, the annual Juneteenth Music Festival, one of the largest in the nation—was cut from two days to one. Organizers said more than a dozen corporate sponsors walked away from commitments, leaving them with a financial gap that almost canceled the event. Norman Harris, the festival’s executive director, said several companies “pulled back their investments or let us know they couldn’t or wouldn’t be in a position to support this year.” Harris credited grassroots donors and small businesses for stepping in when larger backers stepped aside.

In Colorado Springs, the local celebration was relocated to the Citadel Mall parking lot after support from previous sponsors disappeared. Organizers noted that where there were once dozens of corporate partners, only five remained. The downsized event was pieced together with limited resources, but community leaders said they refused to let the holiday go unacknowledged.

Scottsdale, Arizona, canceled its Juneteenth observance after the city council voted to dissolve its diversity, equity, and inclusion office in February. Without the office in place, the city offered no support for planning or funding, leaving residents without an official celebration.

In San Diego, the Cooper Family Foundation lost a $25,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts that had been earmarked for Juneteenth programming. Organizers said the decision forced them to personally finance key elements of the event, including cultural exhibits, performances, and youth engagement activities.

Bend, Oregon, called off its Juneteenth event entirely. Organizers cited political tensions and safety concerns, saying they could not secure the partnerships needed to proceed. A public statement from the planning committee described the current climate as “increasingly volatile,” making it difficult to host a safe and inclusive event.

West Virginia, which has recognized Juneteenth as a paid state holiday since 2017, will not sponsor any official events this year. State leaders pointed to budget constraints and recent decisions to eliminate DEI programming across agencies as the reasons for stepping away from public observance.

Austin, Texas, has also reduced its Juneteenth programming. While the city has not canceled events outright, organizers said diminished city support and fewer private contributions forced them to focus only on core activities.

“Thankfully, there was a wide range of support that came when we made the announcement that the celebration is in jeopardy,” said Harris. “But it shows how fragile that support has become.”

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Juneteenth and President Trump

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Juneteenth is a day for African Americans in this nation to connect to their ancestry. It honors the end of slavery in the United States and is considered the longest-running African American holiday. The primary focus is freedom and the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States.

Published

2 days ago

June 19, 2025

Oakland Post

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA.com Newswire Washington Bureau Chief and White House Correspondent

President Trump is set to proclaim the federal observance of Juneteenth as the White House is open for business on this holiday. The White House says the president will sign a “historic proclamation designating Juneteenth as a National Day of Observance, marking the 160th anniversary of General Order Number 3 in Galveston, Texas.” The declaration was that “all slaves are free.” This Trump proclamation, according to the White House, “will celebrate the Emancipation Proclamation, the Republican Party’s role in passing the 13th Amendment, and reaffirm the administration’s dedication to equal justice and prosperity for all.”

This proclamation comes as President Trump has denounced Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and anything Woke. Juneteenth is a celebration of freedom from the tyranny of 250 years of slavery after the Civil War.

The Juneteenth celebration started when Union troops reached Galveston, Texas, and told the slaves that they were free on June 19, 1865, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was created.

The Emancipation Proclamation, which is on display in the Lincoln Bedroom of the White House, was issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863. It established that all enslaved people in Confederate states in rebellion against the Union “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.”

Juneteenth is a day for African Americans in this nation to connect to their ancestry. It honors the end of slavery in the United States and is considered the longest-running African American holiday. The primary focus is freedom and the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States.

The Juneteenth federal holiday was signed into law by then-President Joe Biden on June 19, 2021. This Trump White House is in full swing today, with a press briefing by Karoline Leavitt, not taking the federal holiday off. Also, President Trump will receive an intelligence briefing in the morning and participate in a swearing-in ceremony for the U.S. Ambassador to Ireland.