-
Truman Desegregated Armed Forces
President Truman announces in a special message to Congress on civil rights issues that he has "instructed the Secretary of Defense to take steps to have the remaining instances of discrimination in the armed services eliminated as rapidly as possible." -
Dixiecrat Party Formed
The States' Rights Democratic Party (the Dixiecrats) was a short-lived segregationist political party in 1948. It was a breakaway faction of the Democratic Party, determined to protect what they portrayed as the southern way of life beset by an oppressive federal government. They opposed racial integration & wanted to retain Jim Crow laws & white supremacy.
The Dixiecrats began the weakening of the "Solid South" (the Democratic Party's total control of presidential elections in the South). -
Brown Decision
Brown v. Board of Education was a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black & white students unconstitutional. The Warren Court's unanimous (9–0) decision stated that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." As a result, de jure racial segregation was ruled a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. This ruling paved the way for integration & the civil rights movement. -
White Citizen's Council Organized
Unlike the Ku Klux Klan, the WCC met openly & was seen as "pursuing the agenda of the Klan with the demeanor of the Rotary Club." The group preferred not to use violence, instead using economic & political tactics against activists. But, historians note, "Despite the official disclaimers, violence often followed in the wake of Council intimidation campaigns." Their tactics included "calling in" their mortgages, denying loans and business credit, & boycotting black-owned businesses. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott officially started the day blacks of Montgomery, Alabama, decided to boycott city buses until they could sit anywhere they wanted, instead of being relegated to the back when a white boarded. It was not, however. Maybe it began in 1943 when a bus drove off & left a black woman who'd already paid her fare or in 1949 when a bus driver screamed at a black professor for absentmindledly sitting in the front of an empty bus... -
Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission Established
The agency was established in the wake of Brown v. Board of Education. Mississippi responded with legislation to shore up the walls of racial separation. The act creating the Commission provided the agency with broad powers. The Commission's objective was to "do & perform any & all acts deemed necessary & proper to protect the sovereignty of the state of Mississippi, & her sister states . . ." from perceived "encroachment thereon by the Federal Government or any branch, department or agency." -
-
Peace Corps Created
The Peace Corps traces its roots & mission to 1960, when then Senator John F. Kennedy challenged students at University of Michigan to serve their country in the cause of peace by living & working in developing countries. From that inspiration grew an agency of the federal government devoted to world peace & friendship.
Since that time, 200,000+ Peace Corps Volunteers have served in 139 countries to work on issues ranging from AIDS education to information technology & environmental preservation -
Ole Miss Integration Crisis
In late September 1962, after a legal battle, an African-American man named James Meredith attempted to enroll at the University of Mississippi. Chaos briefly broke out on the Ole Miss campus, with riots ending in two dead, hundreds wounded and many others arrested, after the Kennedy administration called out some 31,000 National Guardsmen and other federal forces to enforce order. -
Medgar Evers Murdered
Shot in the back by the Klan, Medgar Evers barely managed to crawl across the floor to be with his wife & children during his final moments of life. As one of the top civil rights leaders in Mississippi throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, Evers knew that an assassination attempt was likely. After his death, national attention was brought to Mississippi for the first time regarding the severe violence & racism towards blacks, which ultimately had a large contribution in bringing about change. -
Civil Rights March on Washington
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was one of the largest political rallies for human rights in US history & called for civil & economic rights for African Americans. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his historic "I Have a Dream" speech advocating racial harmony at the Lincoln Memorial during the march. Observers estimated that 75–80% of the marchers were black and the rest were white and non-black minorities.
The march is widely credited with helping to pass the Civil Rights Act. -
President Kennedy Assassinated
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was fatally shot while traveling with his wife Jackie, Texas governor John Connally, and the latter's wife Nellie, in a Presidential motorcade. -
Martin Luther King, Jr. Murdered
Martin Luther King, Jr., leader of the civil rights movement and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. On June 10, 1968, James Earl Ray, a fugitive from the Missouri State Penitentiary, was arrested in London at Heathrow Airport, extradited to the United States, and charged with the crime. On March 10, 1969, Ray entered a plea of guilty and was sentenced to 99 years in the Tennessee state penitentiary. -
Mississippi Public Schools Desegregated
By the fall of 1970, all school districts had been desegregated, compared to as late as 1967 when one-third of Mississippi’s districts had achieved no school desegregation and less than three percent of the state’s black children attended classes with white children. And this transformation was generally accomplished across the South without the violence associated with the earlier desegregation and voting rights battles of the 1960s. -
Watergate Scandal
It began with the arrest of 5 men for breaking & entering into Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate. The FBI connected cash found on the burglars to a slush fund used by a fundraising group for the Nixon campaign. As evidence mounted against the president's staff, it was revealed that Nixon had a tape-recording system in his offices & he had recorded many conversations. Recordings from these tapes implicated the president, revealing he'd attempted to cover up the break-in. -
Iranians seized American Embassy in Tehran
66 Americans were held hostage for 444 days from November 4, 1979, to January 20, 1981, after a group of Islamist students and militants took over the American Embassy in Tehran. The episode reached a climax when, after failed attempts to negotiate a release, the US attempted a rescue on April 24, 1980 which resulted in 8 dead US soldiers. It ended with the signing of the Algiers Accords in Algeria on January 19, 1981. The hostages were formally released into United States custody the next day. -
Education Reform Act
The Education Reform Act of 1982 strengthened state leadership of Mississippi’s public schools. The state superintendent & Board of Education became appointed positions that provide strong, nonpolitical leadership for public education.
It also provided the impetus for development of a new performance-based accreditation system to emphasize the outcomes of education, specifically those related to student achievement. The Act heightened public awareness for the need for educational improvemenents. -
Espy Elected to Congress
Mike Espy navigated the strict racial division between blacks & whites Mississippi & won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives—the first held by a black Mississippian in more than 100 years—in 1986. Espy went door-to-door, calling on black supporters to volunteer transportation and other services on Election Day. “I need you; I can’t do it by myself,” he implored. “Please sir, please ma’am, turn out, serve as a poll watcher or a driver or a food-fixer. The answer is in your hands.” -
Women's Caucus Formed in Mississippi Legislature
The Legislative Women's Caucus represents and advocates on behalf of the diverse interests of women, children & families. It seeks to increase participation & representation of women in state government. Members of the Legislative Women's Caucus seek to promote sound legislative policies & budget priorities that will improve the well-being of women, children & families & to work cooperatively with local, state & national women's organizations interested in advancing policies to achieve this. -
Desert Storm War with Iraq
Hussein invades Kuwait. President Bush freezes Iraqi and Kuwatti assets. The United Nations calls on Hussien to withdraw. Marlin Fitzwater announces, "The liberation of Kuwait has begun..." The air war started Jan 17 at 2:38 a.m. (local time) or January 16 at 6:38PM EST due to an 8 hour time difference, with an Apache helicopter attack. US warplanes attack Baghdad, Kuwait and other military targets in Iraq. -
First Republican Governor (MS)Elected Since Reconstruction
In his first campaign for any public office in 1991, Kirk Fordice was elected Mississippi’s first Republican governor in 118 years. In his successful campaign for re-election in 1995, he became the first Mississippi governor to succeed himself in more than a century. -
Oklahoma City Bombing
The Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. It would remain the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Oklahoma blast claimed 168 lives, including 19 children under the age of 6, & injured more than 680 people. The blast destroyed or damaged 324 buildings within a sixteen-block radius, destroyed or burned 86 cars, and shattered glass in 258 buildings nearby. -
Musgrove and Parker Tied in Governor's Election
The Musgrove/Parker contest was the longest gubernatorial race in state history & had to be decided by the House. Musgrove received 49.6% of the vote compared to Mike Parker's 48.5% of the vote. Since Musgrove failed to break the 50% mark, the election went to Mississippi's "electoral vote." To win the electoral vote a candidate would have to win the vote of a majority of Mississippi's 122 House districts. But, vote was 61/61 so the House "picked one!" -
World Trade Center Destroyed
On that Tuesday morning, 19 Islamic terrorists from Al-Qaeda hijacked four passenger jets. The hijackers intentionally piloted two of those planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center; both towers collapsed within two hours. The hijackers also intentionally crashed into the Pentagon & intended to pilot the fourth jet into a target in Washington, D.C.; however, it crashed in Pennsylvania after its passengers attempted to regain control of the jet. Nearly 3,000 people died that day. -
Nissan Plant Opened
The plant opened in Canton, MS. Built at a cost of $1.4 billion, it is roughly the size of six football stadiums & bristles with robotic assemblers & other cutting-edge technology. Canton produces five distinct models, including linchpins of Nissan's lineup such as the Altima sedan & the Titan pickup. It's the first auto factory ever built in Mississippi; it's by far the most sophisticated factory of any kind in the state. It employes 5,300 people & generate thousands of other jobs.
