Jan. 1, 1960 

Nearly 1,000 Black protesters marched 10 miles through the rain and sleet to the downtown airport in Greenville, South Carolina, to protest its segregation policies and its mistreatment of Jackie Robinson, the first Black player in Major League Baseball. 

Months earlier, Robinson had come to speak at an NAACP banquet, where he encouraged Black Americans. As he left the airport that night, he sat with NAACP leader Gloster Current in the “Whites-only” waiting room at the airport, where Robinson signed autographs. The airport manager ordered them to move to the “Colored” waiting room. They said no. 

When the manager brought a police officer, they responded that they had a legal right to stay where they were and refused to move. After the incident, Robinson complained to the NAACP’s Thurgood Marshall, whose office was already pursuing a case against the airport. In the future, Robinson said, “I hope that we can walk in the airport and sit down and enjoy ourselves.” 

During their march, protesters sang “America the Beautiful” and other songs in what they called their “prayer pilgrimage.” As they arrived at the airport, they were met by a 300-man white mob that included Klansmen. The protesters continued, and 15 of them entered the airport. 

“We will no longer make a pretense of being satisfied with the crumbs of citizenship while others enjoy the whole loaf only by the right of a white-skinned birth,” the Rev. C.D. McCullough of Orangeburg declared. 

The walls of segregation soon fell at both airports.

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

Mississippi lawmakers next year will have to put together two complex jigsaw puzzles when they gather under the Capitol dome for their 2025 session.  

State lawmakers will be required to redraw Mississippi’s 23 Circuit Court and 20 Chancery Court districts and comply with a federal court order to redraw some of their own legislative districts, as well. 

“It’s going to be very, very difficult to do this,” Senate President Pro Tempore Dean Kirby told Mississippi Today.

Kirby, a Republican from Pearl and chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, said that Senate leadership plans to comply with an order from a  federal three-judge panel who ruled earlier this year the Legislature must create new state Senate and House maps with Black-majority districts and conduct special elections in 2025 under those newly created districts. 

The Mississippi Conference of the NAACP and Black voters from across the state filed a federal lawsuit against the state last year arguing the legislative districts that were drawn in 2022 by the state Legislature diluted Black voting strength. 

The state has a Black population of about 38%. Currently there are 42-Black majority districts in the 122-member House and 15 Black majority districts in the 52-seat Senate.

The federal panel ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and ordered the state to create a majority-Black Senate district in the DeSoto County area in north Mississippi and one in the Hattiesburg area in south Mississippi. The panel also ruled the state must create a majority-Black House district in the Chickasaw County area in northeast Mississippi. 

However, the Legislature will also have to tweak many districts in the state to accommodate for the new Black-majority maps. State officials in court filings have argued that the redrawing would affect a quarter of the state’s 174 legislative districts.

“None of us are happy we’re having to do this,” Kirby said. 

Legislative leaders will also have to address changing the boundaries of the state’s chancery and circuit court judicial districts. 

State law mandates the Legislature must complete judicial redistricting  by the fifth year after the U.S. Census is administered. The last Census was performed in 2020, meaning the Legislature’s deadline is 2025. 

If the Legislature does not redraw the districts by the deadline, state law requires the chief justice of the state Supreme Court to modify the districts.

Senate Judiciary A Chairman Brice Wiggins, a Republican from Pascagoula, will be the main point-person in the Senate for judicial redistricting. 

The current court districts have largely remained unchanged for 30 years. But Wiggins told reporters in November that he wants to substantially redraw the judicial districts based on population shifts and caseload data collected from the Administrative Office of the Courts, the Legislature’s watchdog and research office and other agencies. 

The Jackson County lawmaker, over the objections of some Democrats, tried to push a bill through the Legislature during the 2024 session to overhaul the district boundaries, but negotiations between the House and the Senate stalled in the end.

Wiggins’ reason for trying to overhaul the district lines is that some districts around the state hear thousands more cases than others, and judges receive the same taxpayer-funded salary, regardless of the number of cases they deal with.

House Judiciary B Chairman Kevin Horan, a Republican from Grenada, is the lead House negotiator on judicial redistricting. He did not respond to a request for comment on the House’s plans for judicial redistricrting.  

House Speaker Jason White, a Republican from West, said through a spokesperson that he will “continue to gather feedback from members” and plans to “come forward with a plan for judicial and legislative redistricting.” 

The 2025 legislative session will begin on January 7.

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

At the Bolivar County Library in Cleveland, expecting parents gathered in early December for a hands-on workshop to prepare for labor and delivery.

The event, led by certified doula Brittany Isler, aimed to equip families with tools and confidence for a safe birth experience.

Among the attendees was Lakiyah Green, 17, who is six months pregnant and expecting her first baby, a boy, in March. Isler will be Green’s doula later this year and receive free services to guide her through the birthing process.

“I wanted to learn everything about birth,” Green said. “I saw this online, and my stepmother encouraged me to come. The positions and movement techniques we learned today were so helpful.”

Green shared her excitement for the journey ahead.

“I’m excited and have confidence in the process,” she said. “Coming here gave me even more confidence.” When asked what she was most excited about, her answer came with a smile: “Just meeting my baby.”

Isler, who has worked as a doula for three years, is passionate about empowering families with knowledge and support.

“Lactation is my first love, but I became a doula after hearing clients’ birth stories and realizing they needed more support,” she said. “I’ve experienced traumatic births myself, and I know how important it is to advocate for moms and teach them they have a voice.”

The workshop emphasized evidence-based practices, including six simple steps for achieving a safe and healthy birth.

“Many moms in this area don’t know their options or feel they have the right to ask questions,” Isler explained. “Classes like these help break down stigmas and empower parents with knowledge.”

In Mississippi, where maternal health outcomes are among the poorest in the nation, free workshops and services like these provide critical resources to families who might not otherwise afford doula support.

“Education helps improve outcomes because knowledge is power,” Isler added. “Now, these parents know they have choices, and they’re not alone.”

The session created a warm and welcoming environment, with parents sharing their thoughts and learning about building a supportive birth team. Events like this offer hope and reassurance to families preparing for childbirth in a state where maternal health education is critically needed.

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