Jan. 12, 1865 

As the Civil War neared an end, Union Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton met with local Black leaders in Savannah, Georgia. 

The Rev. Garrison Frazier, a 67-year-old imposing man, spoke for the group. Asked what slavery meant, he replied, “Slavery is, receiving by irresistible power the work of another man, and not by his consent.” 

He told the Army leaders that they wanted to be free from the dominion of white men, wanted to be educated and wanted to own land they could work and earn a living. 

Asked if they would rather live scattered among the whites or in colonies by yourselves, Frazier replied, “I would prefer to live by ourselves, for there is a prejudice against us in the South that will take years to get over.” 

In response, Sherman issued Special Field Order 15, giving each freed family 40 acres of land along the Atlantic Coast. “The effect throughout the South was electric,” wrote historian Henry Louis Gates Jr., with freedmen settling on 400,000 acres of “Sherman Land.” 

Some also received mules left over from the battles, leading to the phrase “40 acres and a mule.” 

After President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, President Andrew Johnson took over, reversing Field Order 15 and smashing the dreams of Black Americans who had finally been freed.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Jan. 11, 1870 

The first legislature in Radical Reconstruction met in Mississippi. During this time, at least 226 Black Mississippians held public office. Lawmakers adopted a new state constitution that ushered in free public schools and had no property requirements to vote. 

These acts infuriated the Southerners who embraced white supremacy, and they responded violently. They assassinated many of those who worked on the constitution. 

In Monroe County, Klansmen killed Jack Dupree, a Black Mississippian who led a Republican Party group. In Vicksburg, white supremacists formed the White Man’s party, patrolled the streets with guns, and told Black voters to stay home on election day. 

White supremacists continued to use violence and voter fraud to win. When the federal government refused to step in, 

Congressman John R. Lynch warned, “The war was fought in vain.” 

It would take almost a century for Black Mississippians to begin to regain the rights they had lost. 

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

How good is this Mississippi State men’s basketball team?

The Bulldogs, 14-1, are ranked No. 14 in the country and, in my opinion, are under-rated at that. They are balanced. They are deep. Defensively, they are special.

But don’t take it from me. Let’s listen to Richard Williams, the coach who guided the 1996 Bulldogs to an SEC Tournament Championship and the Final Four, and who is the radio commentator who watches and analyzes these Bulldogs every night out. So, Richard, how good is this State team?

“This team is really, really good, especially on defense,” Williams said. “They are really deep. And they are so well-coached, always thoroughly prepared. Chris Jans demands perfection He coaches them hard. He’s old school.”

Yes, State is really good, really deep. Are they elite? We are about to find out, beginning Saturday night. For the Bulldogs, the next 11 days and four games are going to be basketball’s equivalent to dribbling through land mines.

First up: Sixth-ranked Kentucky comes to The Hump Saturday night. Three nights later, State visits No. 2 Auburn, a team many experts believe be the nation’s best. Next Saturday, arch-rival and No 23 ranked Ole Miss goes to Starkville. Then, on Jan. 21, State visits No. 1 Tennessee for another Tuesday night game.

So, yes, 11 days from now we will have an idea of whether State is simply really good – or possibly elite. State’s next four opponents have a combined record of 53-7. Put it this way: Even a really good team, could go 0-4 against that stretch if it does not play well.

This will be a very different Kentucky team that comes to The Hump. Not a single player on scholarship returned from the 2023-24 team that won 23 games and defeated Mississippi State twice. Not a single coach returns either. John Calipari has moved to Kentucky. Mark Pope, a mainstay of the Kentucky team that State defeated for the SEC Championship in 1996, now coaches the Wildcats.

Kentucky still plays fast. The Wildcats still wear blue and white, but the similarities pretty much end there. Under Calipari, Kentucky was often a young team made up of McDonald’s All Americans and five-star recruits, rich in future NBA talent but often adjusting to the college game and leaving for the NBA after one or two years. Pope’s Wildcats are mostly seasoned veterans, seniors and grad students – many of them transfers from mid-majors.

Point guard Lamont Butler, a 22-year-old grad student came to Kentucky from San Diego State. Shooting guard Ortega Owen, a 21-year-old junior, transferred in from Oklahoma. Small forward Jaxson Robinson, a 22-year-old grad student, played at Texas A & M, Arkansas and BYU before following Pope to Kentucky. Power Andrew Carr, who will turn 23 next month, is still another grad student who played at Delaware and Wake Forest before joining Kentucky. Sixth man Koby Brea, a 50 percent shooter from 3-point range, is another 22-year-old grad student, played four years at Dayton.

Kentucky, like State, is deep. The Wildcats have 10 players who average 4.4 points or more. They love to shoot the three-ball, averaging a whopping 27.4 treys a game and making nearly 36 percent of those. Guarding the perimeter will be crucial to success for State. State generally does that well. 

In fact, as the record will attest, State has played well in almost every facet of the sport.

A weakness?

“Well, like a lot of teams, this team seems to play to the level of the competition,” Williams said.

For the next 11 days, that should not be a problem.

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.