Mississippi Today
Fact check: Did Gov. Reeves keep Mississippi ‘open for business’ during pandemic?

To hear Gov. Tate Reeves talk on the reelection trail, one would think that during COVID-19, he was a stalwart champion of individual and business freedom and that Mississippi never locked down or suffered the restrictions other states saw.
“When we were contemplating what to do and when to do it during COVID, we made a conscious decision to keep our businesses open, to say to the world that Mississippi is open for business,” Reeves said at a Sept. 14 press conference. “And I’m proud of the fact that we protected both lives and livelihoods during those challenging times of 2020, 2021 and beyond.”
Reeves on the campaign trail has also vowed to buck any federal mask-wearing mandate as COVID-19 cases pick up again.
But that’s a little revisionist of the first-term governor. The fact is he issued many orders restricting or directing what Mississippians and businesses could do over about a year of the pandemic. He often did it in a piecemeal, confusing way. He ordered a lockdown, closing “non-essential” businesses. And he ordered mask wearing.
Reeves managed to draw fire from all quarters on his pandemic responses or in turns lack thereof. He issued dozens of piecemeal, hang-fire and confusing orders on business closures or operations, mask wearing and other measures. He was criticized by both those wanting stringent public health regulations and those who believe government should be hands off and businesses operate unfettered amidst the pandemic. He left many decisions on restrictions up to local governments, and drew criticism from local officials for lack of state leadership.
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One of Reeves’ opponents in his first run for governor, conservative firebrand and former state Rep. Robert Foster of Desoto County, at the time blasted Reeves for “riding the fence” and going with political winds with his COVID-19 orders. Foster still maintains the governor was at times too heavy handed and eschewed personal liberty.
“While I appreciate the governor’s latest remarks stating that he will not again follow bad advice from activist medical professionals like Dr. Fauci and Dr. Dobbs, I think he should say more,” Foster said. “While most conservative Christians I know have forgiven him for his emotional rather than rational actions during the COVID hysteria, we haven’t forgotten how he mishandled it. He issued many unconstitutional mandates and gave tiny tyrants all over the state unbridled power, and they abused it. They used it to hurt small businesses. They used it to hurt our elderly in nursing homes and our helpless children in schools and daycares. They even used it to close churches for a short time.
“I for one think a public apology is not only due but possibly necessary for many to consider voting for him to be our governor again and not skipping the race altogether on the ballot in November,” Foster said. “My advice is free, unsolicited, yet the truth. Take it or leave it.”
Reeves issued dozens of pandemic executive orders or supplements from March 2020 to November 2021. He mostly attempted to issue orders on a county-by-county basis. But he also, as the state’s infections and deaths waxed and waned — at times leading the nation per capita — issued statewide orders. Then rescinded them. Then reinstated some because cases grew again.
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Reeves acknowledged in a June 16, 2021, press conference that his biggest regret in managing the state’s response to the pandemic was ordering non-essential business to shutter during certain points.
“It turns out about 80% or 85% of all businesses were defined as essential during that time, but as I look back on it I realize that I made a mistake, because the fact of the matter is that every single business in Mississippi is essential,” Reeves said.
Reeves has decried the “heavy hand of government,” fending off criticism that he should have done more, sooner. But he also managed to issue enough pandemic edicts to rile up the more libertarian wing of his base. Along the way, he also managed to insult state medical leaders, once referring to them as “so-called experts.”
Mississippi saw its first case of COVID-19 on March 11, 2020, while Reeves was on vacation in Spain. He returned to Mississippi on March 14 and declared a state of emergency. On March 19, the same day California declared the nation’s first “stay at home” order, Reeves ordered all Mississippi public schools closed until at least April 17 of that year.
Reeves in late March of 2020 on social media vowed he would not issue a statewide lockdown or shelter-in-place like many states were enacting. He added, “Mississippi will never be China.”
But then on April 1, 2020, under pressure from medical and local government leaders, Reeves issued Executive Order 1466, making Mississippi the 39th state to issue a lockdown, or shelter-in-place order.
The lockdown was initially set to expire on April 17 of that year, but Reeves extended it to April 27. He then issued a string of “Safer at Home” executive orders over months that relaxed or enacted various restrictions on restaurants and other businesses and parks and recreation venues.
While eschewing state health leaders’ pleas to order a statewide mask mandate, Reeves slowly issued mask-wearing executive orders for counties in dribs and drabs that eventually covered most of the state as infections and deaths in Mississippi continued to set records.
Then on Aug. 4, 2020, Reeves issued a statewide mask mandate, saying “I want to see college football.” The mandate would be extended to the end of September. During his statewide mask mandate, Reeves would face criticism for attending out-of-state political events mask-less. He would later catch flak for holding a large Christmas party at the Governor’s Mansion when such gatherings were prohibited.
READ MORE: Gov. Tate Reeves plans Christmas parties despite his own orders and record COVID-19 numbers
When cases began to spike after the mask mandate was lifted, Reeves went back to issuing mask orders for groups of counties. Reeves refused health leaders’ calls to reinstate a statewide mask mandate, but by December had ordered them for 77 of the state’s 82 counties.
In early March of 2021, a Reeves order ended most COVID-19 restrictions for citizens and businesses. Only school mask mandates remained and limits on attendance of events in indoor arenas — with these set to end at the end of the month.
On April 30, 2021, Reeves removed the last of the pandemic restrictions. But Mississippi was among the last of states to end its COVID-19 state of emergency.
House Speaker Philip Gunn in June of 2021 sent a letter to Reeves and released it publicly questioning why the COVID-19 state of emergency remained in effect and called for Reeves to rescind it. Reeves countered that the declaration was still needed in order to continue pay National Guardsmen activated for the pandemic.
Reeves did not end the COVID-19 state of emergency until Nov. 20, 2021, well after many other states had done so. For instance, Alabama and Georgia ended their states of emergency in early July of that year, Florida in June and Arkansas in May.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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Mississippi Today
1964: Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party was formed
April 26, 1964

Civil rights activists started the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party to challenge the state’s all-white regular delegation to the Democratic National Convention.
The regulars had already adopted this resolution: “We oppose, condemn and deplore the Civil Rights Act of 1964 … We believe in separation of the races in all phases of our society. It is our belief that the separation of the races is necessary for the peace and tranquility of all the people of Mississippi, and the continuing good relationship which has existed over the years.”
In reality, Black Mississippians had been victims of intimidation, harassment and violence for daring to try and vote as well as laws passed to disenfranchise them. As a result, by 1964, only 6% of Black Mississippians were permitted to vote. A year earlier, activists had run a mock election in which thousands of Black Mississippians showed they would vote if given an opportunity.
In August 1964, the Freedom Party decided to challenge the all-white delegation, saying they had been illegally elected in a segregated process and had no intention of supporting President Lyndon B. Johnson in the November election.
The prediction proved true, with white Mississippi Democrats overwhelmingly supporting Republican candidate Barry Goldwater, who opposed the Civil Rights Act. While the activists fell short of replacing the regulars, their courageous stand led to changes in both parties.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Mississippi Today
Mississippi River flooding Vicksburg, expected to crest on Monday
Warren County Emergency Management Director John Elfer said Friday floodwaters from the Mississippi River, which have reached homes in and around Vicksburg, will likely persist until early May. Elfer estimated there areabout 15 to 20 roads underwater in the area.
“We’re about half a foot (on the river gauge) from a major flood,” he said. “But we don’t think it’s going to be like in 2011, so we can kind of manage this.”
The National Weather projects the river to crest at 49.5 feet on Monday, making it the highest peak at the Vicksburg gauge since 2020. Elfer said some residents in north Vicksburg — including at the Ford Subdivision as well as near Chickasaw Road and Hutson Street — are having to take boats to get home, adding that those who live on the unprotected side of the levee are generally prepared for flooding.



“There are a few (inundated homes), but we’ve mitigated a lot of them,” he said. “Some of the structures have been torn down or raised. There are a few people that still live on the wet side of the levee, but they kind of know what to expect. So we’re not too concerned with that.”
The river first reached flood stage in the city — 43 feet — on April 14. State officials closed Highway 465, which connects the Eagle Lake community just north of Vicksburg to Highway 61, last Friday.

Elfer said the areas impacted are mostly residential and he didn’t believe any businesses have been affected, emphasizing that downtown Vicksburg is still safe for visitors. He said Warren County has worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency to secure pumps and barriers.
“Everybody thus far has been very cooperative,” he said. “We continue to tell people stay out of the flood areas, don’t drive around barricades and don’t drive around road close signs. Not only is it illegal, it’s dangerous.”
NWS projects the river to stay at flood stage in Vicksburg until May 6. The river reached its record crest of 57.1 feet in 2011.




This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Mississippi Today
With domestic violence law, victims ‘will be a number with a purpose,’ mother says
Joslin Napier. Carlos Collins. Bailey Mae Reed.
They are among Mississippi domestic violence homicide victims whose family members carried their photos as the governor signed a bill that will establish a board to study such deaths and how to prevent them.
Tara Gandy, who lost her daughter Napier in Waynesboro in 2022, said it’s a moment she plans to tell her 5-year-old grandson about when he is old enough. Napier’s presence, in spirit, at the bill signing can be another way for her grandson to feel proud of his mother.
“(The board) will allow for my daughter and those who have already lost their lives to domestic violence … to no longer be just a number,” Gandy said. “They will be a number with a purpose.”
Family members at the April 15 private bill signing included Ashla Hudson, whose son Collins, died last year in Jackson. Grandparents Mary and Charles Reed and brother Colby Kernell attended the event in honor of Bailey Mae Reed, who died in Oxford in 2023.
Joining them were staff and board members from the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the statewide group that supports shelters and advocated for the passage of Senate Bill 2886 to form a Domestic Violence Facility Review Board.
The law will go into effect July 1, and the coalition hopes to partner with elected officials who will make recommendations for members to serve on the board. The coalition wants to see appointees who have frontline experience with domestic violence survivors, said Luis Montgomery, public policy specialist for the coalition.
A spokesperson from Gov. Tate Reeves’ office did not respond to a request for comment Friday.
Establishment of the board would make Mississippi the 45th state to review domestic violence fatalities.
Montgomery has worked on passing a review board bill since December 2023. After an unsuccessful effort in 2024, the coalition worked to build support and educate people about the need for such a board.
In the recent legislative session, there were House and Senate versions of the bill that unanimously passed their respective chambers. Authors of the bills are from both political parties.
The review board is tasked with reviewing a variety of documents to learn about the lead up and circumstances in which people died in domestic violence-related fatalities, near fatalities and suicides – records that can include police records, court documents, medical records and more.
From each review, trends will emerge and that information can be used for the board to make recommendations to lawmakers about how to prevent domestic violence deaths.
“This is coming at a really great time because we can really get proactive,” Montgomery said.
Without a board and data collection, advocates say it is difficult to know how many people have died or been injured in domestic-violence related incidents.
A Mississippi Today analysis found at least 300 people, including victims, abusers and collateral victims, died from domestic violence between 2020 and 2024. That analysis came from reviewing local news stories, the Gun Violence Archive, the National Gun Violence Memorial, law enforcement reports and court documents.
Some recent cases the board could review are the deaths of Collins, Napier and Reed.
In court records, prosecutors wrote that Napier, 24, faced increased violence after ending a relationship with Chance Fabian Jones. She took action, including purchasing a firearm and filing for a protective order against Jones.
Jones’s trial is set for May 12 in Wayne County. His indictment for capital murder came on the first anniversary of her death, according to court records.
Collins, 25, worked as a nurse and was from Yazoo City. His ex-boyfriend Marcus Johnson has been indicted for capital murder and shooting into Collins’ apartment. Family members say Collins had filed several restraining orders against Johnson.
Johnson was denied bond and remains in jail. His trial is scheduled for July 28 in Hinds County.
He was a Jackson police officer for eight months in 2013. Johnson was separated from the department pending disciplinary action leading up to immediate termination, but he resigned before he was fired, Jackson police confirmed to local media.
Reed, 21, was born and raised in Michigan and moved to Water Valley to live with her grandparents and help care for her cousin, according to her obituary.
Kylan Jacques Phillips was charged with first degree murder for beating Reed, according to court records. In February, the court ordered him to undergo a mental evaluation to determine if he is competent to stand trial, according to court documents.
At the bill signing, Gandy said it was bittersweet and an honor to meet the families of other domestic violence homicide victims.
“We were there knowing we are not alone, we can travel this road together and hopefully find ways to prevent and bring more awareness about domestic violence,” she said.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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