This article depicts a qualitative narrative study that reflects on the educational paths followed by three generations of Black women from rural Mississippi. The purpose of this study was to expand the documented footprint of Black women's educational experiences in the rural Deep South by exploring my own educational experiences as a researcher…

Despite earning the highest grade point average (GPA) in her graduating class at the recently integrated Cleveland High School (CHS) in Cleveland, Mississippi, Ms. Jasmine Shepard, an African-American female, was named "co-valedictorian" with Ms. Heather Bouse, a White female, who had a lower GPA. Utilizing Derrick Bell's rules of racial…

Typically, when a community's historical materials encounter a large academic library's archives, the engagement is transactional: they sign forms, they hand over their archives, and we assure them that their materials will be valued by researchers. These procedures make assumptions about comfort with gift agreements (what if communities seek…

In this paper, the author outlines the results of a research study conducted on one class cohort, focusing on the impacts of teaching Black women's history through Anne Moody's 1968 memoir, "Coming of Age in Mississippi," on their understandings of race and the experiences of Black women. Specifically, Moody's memoir provides a rich…

In this paper, I examine the use of litigation as a strategic tool of resistance for thwarting school desegregation. Utilizing "Cowan v. Bolivar County Board of Education" as a case study, I argue that, despite losing the constitutional right to racially segregate public schools according to an explicit white supremacist doctrine, whites…

In 1956, southern Congressmen signed the Southern Manifesto, rejecting the Supreme Court's "Brown v. Board of Education" ruling. This moment, in the general American consciousness, marked the rise of White massive resistance to Black advancement, a racist foray doomed to be swept aside by civil rights forces and a determined federal…

Objective: This report addresses the long-term efficacy of the Adults in the Making (AIM) prevention program on deterring the escalation of alcohol use and development of substance use problems, particularly among rural African American emerging adults confronting high levels of contextual risk. Method: African American youths (M age, pretest =…

I came to this country with an open mind to pursue the American dream. It did not take me a long to recognize racial disparity as a student and even more so when I became a faculty member in various teacher preparation programs. While I try to evade discussion on race, it is inevitable to talk about it because it seems to be the criteria upon…

The federal Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, defines a "historically" black institution of higher education as "any historically black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principle mission was, and is, the education of black Americans." They are usually referred to as HBCUs. Most private…

Chris Crowe, a university professor and author of young adult novels, sits with Lesesne to discuss his writing of both Mississippi Trial, 1955 (fiction) and Getting Away with Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Murder Case (nonfiction), related books that tell the story of a murder case that speaks to us from a half-century ago. Detailing…

In 1955, journalist William Bradford Huie interviewed Emmett Till's killers and published their confession in "Look" magazine. Titled "The Shocking Story of Approved Murder in Mississippi," Huie's tale dominated the remembrance of Emmett Till for nearly fifty years. This essay argues that the power of the "Shocking…

This article examines the contemporary role of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in public higher education systems. The article is based on the premise that in order to address persistent questions about whether HBCUs are a relevant sector of public higher education, a contemporary, rather than historical, analysis is…

This is the text of an interview conducted in 1977 with Medgar Evers' widow. It lends insight into the personal qualities, family life, and facts surrounding the death of the civil rights leader who was assassinated in 1963 in Mississippi. (GC)

Presents the recent Supreme Court Opinion No. 81-202, "National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, et al., v. Claiborne Hardware Company et al.," on a case which arose from a boycott of various Port Gibson, Mississippi, businesses. Appended is a 1969 speech about the boycott by Charles Evers. (GC)

In this article, the author talks about the disaster in the United States that reignited a debate about poverty and the responsibility of government--and government schools--that had never really gone away in the first place. Hurricane Katrina was one of the biggest natural disasters in the U.S. that swept through four states, killed more than…