Jackson Free Press

The American Family Association Action Voter Guide has made its Internet rounds this election season, prompting Christian voters to prioritize conservative ideologies at the polls.

The American Family Association won’t accept mail using the new Harvey Milk postage stamp—not even donations. AFA released a statement late May urging their supporters not only to refuse to buy postage donning the face of the late gay California politician, but also to reject mail received with that postage.

Experiments conducted by other bloggers show that the AFA will hold true to their incessant boycotts: each sender got his money back.

Milk, the first openly gay elected official in California, promoted gay rights legislation and was assassinated in 1978. He is still an icon for gay activism and “gave hope and confidence to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community in the United States and elsewhere at a time when the community was encountering widespread hostility and discrimination,” according to a USPS statement released after the reveal of the new Milk stamp.

The AFA, however, believes the commemoration of Milk is “disturbing to say the least,” touching on the fact that the stamp was introduced after seven years of lobbying by the drag queen (they leave out prominent LGBT-rights activist and San Diego Human Rights Commissioner) Nicole Murray-Ramirez.

The AFA cites Milk’s biography The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk to claim he was a pedophile. Milk, according to the source, had a relationship with a 16-year-old while in his thirties. “This is not diversity; this is perversity,” Tim Wildmon, AFA president, said in a press release.

Either way, AFA is missing out on a few $5 to $10 checks (and one $100 one) from some hilarious Internet trolls.

It really exists. Well, technically.

All Citizens for Mississippi, the super PAC created by Bishop Ronnie Crudup of New Horizon Church International, bought radio advertisements at Jackson stations WKXI, WJMI, WOAD on June 20 to air June 21-24. The ads encouraged black voters to turn out to the polls in support of Sen. Thad Cochran and suggested Sen. Chris McDaniel, if elected, would hurt race relations in Mississippi.

The super PAC bought 52 radio spots for each of these stations, which cater to black audiences, amounting to $9,825. Bishop Crudup told The Clarion-Ledger he helped raise nearly $200,000 for All Citizens for Mississippi, which was mostly spent on campaign advertisements for Cochran.

Federal law permits super PACs to raise and spend unlimited sums of money, but they cannot give directly to candidates' fundraising committees nor coordinate with campaigns and must report their activities each month or quarter. For any expenditures over $1,000 from June 4 though June 23, including for advertising, Crudup's PAC was also required to file 24-hour reports with the FEC. A search of federal campaign-finance records yields no filings by All Citizens for Mississippi. Federal law requires the PAC to file a report with the FEC by July 15, detailing all donors to the PAC. The paperwork to set up the PAC, signed by Vann, indicated that it was filled out May 30, 2014, and not received and stamped by the FEC on June 6.

The All Citizens for Mississippi ads were placed by the media buying firm, American Media Advocacy Group, which also placed ads at WLBT for the super PAC Mississippi Conservatives, another campaign group in support of Cochran.

Jon Ferrell, a buyer from National Media Research Planning & Placement, bought the ads through American Media Advocacy Group for both Jackson TV and radio stations.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee filed $175,000 with the Federal Elections Commission on June 19 to the payee National Media Research Planning & Placement for the purpose of phone calls and media supporting Cochran; however, we have found no advertisements in Mississippi that are attributed to the NRSC or the media-buying firm they gave money to.

Checks from American Media Advocacy Group, signed by Ferrell, to Jackson’s radio stations show the same address as National Media Research Planning & Placement.

Sales orders for Cochran’s candidate fundraising committee, Citizens for Cochran, were not found in Jackson’s black radio stations' political public files. Citizens for Cochran did advertise in The Clarion-Ledger and distributed doorknob hangers in whiter parts of Jackson.

Calls to National Media were not returned. Read more here.

This morning Hinds County GOP Chairman Pete Perry told reporters that the runoff election between Sen. Thad Cochran and Sen. Chris McDaniel went smoothly and was conducted properly. He denied allegations that Hinds poll workers were denied poll books so that they could check to see if anyone had already voted Democratic in the initial primary on June 3, which would have made their vote ineligible.

These illegal crossover votes had been the topic of much discussion by the McDaniel campaign, who believed they’d find enough to challenge the results of the election.

Perry told reporters that Claude McInnis, who initially told Breitbart about the lack of access to poll books, lied. When asked about allegations of vote buying, as reported on GotNews.com, Perry said, “It’s time for them to put up or shut up.”

He said the McDaniel campaign would have to find proof of voter fraud and vote buying to move forward with those claims.

“I’m not aware of any vote buying,” Perry said.

Perry’s company, Paradigm Government Relations, was paid $60,000 by the pro-Cochran super PAC Mississippi Conservatives, started by Henry Barbour.

Still, Perry said he oversaw the examination of poll books and absentee ballots and that representatives from both campaigns only found roughly 350 ineligible votes.

McDaniel’s campaign plans to hold a press conference tomorrow to discuss the findings from their inspection of ballot boxes and how they plan to move forward in challenging the election results. McDaniel supporters are anxious to hear how he will respond to Perry’s statements that the campaign was conducted in accordance with the law.

Noel Fritsch, McDaniel campaign spokesperson, said:

"We hope that the fact Pete Perry was paid $60,000 by Thad Cochran's super PAC to move Democrat votes in Hinds County had nothing to do with the fraud he is alleged to have engaged in, but we're glad Pete has taken a sudden interest in the integrity of the election, and hope he helps Mississippians find the truth about whether he ordered precincts to allow ineligible Democrats to vote illegally on June 24th."

On Thursday, July 24, the Supreme Court of Mississippi denied to rehear Sen. Chris McDaniel's request to view poll books without voters' personal information redacted.

“We find that the motion is not well taken and should be denied,” the order stated.

McDaniel wanted full access to information included in poll books to determine the validity of votes counted in the run off against U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran in Harrison County. The county would only make the poll books available if the McDaniel campaign would pay the administrative fees associated with redacting information—such as voters' social security number, telephone numbers and date of birth—from the records.

The McDaniel campaign tried to use Mississippi Code section 23-15-19 to make the claim that poll books are included in the materials necessary to confirm the legality of the votes in an election. Harrison County Circuit Clerk, Gayle Parker, and the Mississippi Attorney General, Jim Hood, responded that the section McDaniel cites does not include poll books.

The Mississippi Supreme Court agreed on July 17, writing, “After due consideration, we can discern no legal requirement that poll books be included in the contents of ballot boxes.”

But today’s court decision was not uncontested. Justices Michael Randolph, James W. Kitchens and David Chandler made a statement that McDaniel should be granted a Rule 33 hearing.

“Assuring the integrity of the electoral process is a matter of the highest priority and implicates the fundamental rights of all Mississippians,” the statement said.

McDaniel's lawyers said last week that a formal challenge to the results of the senatorial election will be made by tomorrow, claiming that a large number of abnormalities compromised the vote count.

In case anyone is worried that Mississippi's U.S. Senate election madness is winding down, Sen. Chris McDaniel announced today he will be holding a press conference Monday.

The Tea Party’s Prayer:

“We ask for your blessing upon the conservatives in this state, that they might stand strong and firm. Father, we even ask for you to bless our enemies, and Lord they are truly our enemies that head the Republican Party and the whole political establishment.

‘We’re asking, Father, for two things. We’re asking, Father, that you would expose them, set division amongst them, set them one against another, bring confusion and fear into their camp, into their thinking, for the purpose of pulling them down, for casting them down out of their high offices and reducing them, Lord, to having no power in this state.

“So, Lord, that you might raise up and seek the righteous in the positions of power that this state might once more be a state that honors you in all that it does.”

I’m not this good at satire. These words, in this order, were truly spoken when Mississippi Tea Party Chairman Roy Nicholson included them in his opening prayer at a Tea Party meeting on Monday.

Something tells me this is not how Christianity works.

Still, the crowd gave a generous “mhm” as the man on the stage asked God to smite the GOP.

The group was welcoming blogger Charles Johnson from California to speak about the U.S. Senate election, through which he’s made a name for himself. Tea Partier Tricia Raymond called Johnson a fearless bulldog, saying “God gave us this red-haired man.”

The red-haired prophet then went on to chastise Mississippi’s 76-year-old U.S. Senator for living in a house with his executive assistant and defended the men who broke into the Senator’s wife’s nursing home to take pictures of her by using the First Amendment as justification.

“Father, we’re asking that in all of the tribulations were asking you to bring upon them, that it would work change in their heart—that you would use it to bring true Godly sorrow, that they might truly repent for their iniquity and their wickedness, for that they would be restored to you, that you would have honor in the state of Mississippi for the great works that you’ve done in correcting and purifying the government and rescuing and saving the worst of us,” Nicholson went on about the establishment Republicans.

It was the most ominous tea party I’d ever been to.

Today, Jackson attorney Dorsey R. Carson, Jr. announced that he will be running for city council to represent Ward 1 and replace Quentin Whitwell, who resigned earlier this month.

“After much thought, consideration and prayer with our family and friends, I am proud to announce my candidacy for Jackson City Council, representing Ward 1. Having lived most of my life in Northeast Jackson, I have never seen our city so poised for growth and prosperity as it is right now. I will use my talents to help us seize this unique opportunity, and will fight for all of our people and businesses. We humbly ask for your support in our work and campaign, and for your vote in the special election," Carson said.

On American Family Radio’s talk show "Focal Point with Bryan Fischer" yesterday, the group's spokesman offered his explanation for the events that have led to the movement in #Ferguson. The policeman who killed 18-year-old Michael Brown did so because, Fischer says, Brown was "hyped up" on marijuana. Fischer cites recent reports that Brown may have had marijuana in his system, making him go "berserk" on the policeman. He also includes reports that Brown was shot six times in his front.

"We know now he did have marijuana in his system," Fischer explained, "and we've had stories, remember, we've had stories from Colorado, people going berserk on marijuana and killing people, hyped up on marijuana. So it's more dangerous than people think."

Not only does Fischer lack evidence to back up his claim that Brown was an aggressor, but, in the words of the late Robin Williams, "Marijuana enhances many things, colors, flavors, sensations, but you are certainly not f***ing empowered."

Speaking of Williams, the Christian right has attacked the actor following his recent death as well. While Rush Limbaugh alluded that Williams' suicide was a result of his liberal worldview, Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council said Monday that Williams' death justifies gay conversion therapy.

"…Why aren’t you trying to outlaw rehab? I ask the question because such activists are trying to ban a form of mental health treatment—not drug and alcohol rehabilitation, but 'sexual orientation change efforts' ('SOCE'), also known as 'sexual reorientation therapy.'"

Sexual reorientation therapy, or reparation therapy, has nothing to do with the death of the beloved comedian, and it is also considered unscientific and ultimately harmful by the American Psychiatric Association.

But scientific evidence won’t stop organizations like the AFA or the FRC from using death to push an ideological agenda.

WHEN: Tuesday, August 26, 2014

WHERE: Online

WHAT: Pop Quiz for Equality

ARLINGTON -- Women’s Equality Day commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution. The 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote in 1920, but it was a right that took decades to realize. This landmark Amendment institutionalized every person’s right to participate in the electoral process regardless of sex, and now it’s time to use the priceless power of the vote to advance another crucial amendment for women’s rights: the Equal Rights Amendment.

This Women’s Equality Day, the Feminist Majority Foundation is taking this important anniversary in the fight for women’s suffrage to continue building momentum around the Equal Rights Amendment with an online quiz testing voters’ knowledge of the ERA.

The Equal Rights Amendment will finally cement equal rights under the law – for all – for the first time ever in the United States Constitution. Now it’s time to make sure voters know what the ERA is all about, and how they can be agents in the fight to ratify the ERA right now!

Take the quiz and join the conversation all day long: Follow @majorityspeaks, @femmajority and #WED2014 all day for reasons to ratify the #ERANow!

"...the District will ask its convocation speakers to refrain from religious activity," Jackson Public School District Superintendent Cedrick Gray wrote in a letter after complaints about prayer in school convocations.

(Washington, D.C., Aug. 28, 2014)—In response to the American Humanist Association’s Appignani Humanist Legal Center’s letter sent on Aug. 25, 2014, the Jackson Public School District in Jackson, Mississippi, has agreed to eliminate religious activity, including prayers and sermons, at future convocations for its faculty.

“We’re very pleased that the school district has promptly responded to this issue and has made assurances that future school-sponsored assemblies will comply with the Establishment Clause,” said Monica Miller, an attorney with the Appignani Humanist Legal Center.

Earlier this week, the Appignani Humanist Legal Center sent a letter to the school district on behalf of a concerned teacher, who reported that a Christian reverend included prayers, a liturgical call and response, and biblical references in his remarks. Other speakers at the event also included religious language in their speeches and specifically invoked Scripture, “God” and the “Lord.” In a letter sent yesterday, representatives from the district state that such religious activity will not be included in future convocations.

“By upholding the separation of church and state, the school district is respecting the rights of teachers of minority faiths, as well as the rights of teachers who do not profess any faith,” said Roy Speckhardt, executive director of the American Humanist Association.

A copy of the letter sent to the school district can be viewed here, and a copy of the school district’s response can be viewed here.

Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator Travis Childers responded to Judge Hollis McGehee's decision to dismiss Sen. Chris McDaniel's lawsuit challenging the election results of the Republican run-off for U.S. Senator. Childers looks forward to debating Cochran on issues including the minimum wage and equal pay.

JACKSON, Miss. — I congratulate Senator Cochran on his win today in court. The allegations of the past couple months have raised serious questions about the electoral process, and I strongly believe we must ensure that every vote in Mississippi counts. With the Republican primary finally nearing the end, it is time for Senator Cochran to focus on the issues of today and spell out his vision for the future. I look forward to a spirited discussion and debates about the issues that affect millions of Mississippians.

The senator and I differ on increasing the minimum wage. I believe the minimum wage should be a living wage. We differ on demanding equal pay for women. If a woman does the same job as a man she should be paid the same and not 76 cents on the dollar, which is the current average. Women are the heads of many Mississippi households and co-bread winners in many others. Women pay the same for milk, gas and child care as a man and it's only right they be paid equally. These are just two of the many issues we must debate in the next 10 weeks.

Mississippians deserve no less.

“Justice has no timetable,” said State Sen. Chris McDaniel throughout the course of his challenge to U.S. Senate run-off election results against Sen. Thad Cochran. In the past two months, McDaniel has complained relentlessly about Mississippi’s election process, the one he has a hand in regulating as chairman of the Mississippi Senate Elections Committee.

From the beginning, the McDaniel camp tried to make the claim that so many “bad” votes were cast in the June 24 runoff between their guy and Cochran, that not only did they want Cochran’s win reversed, but they wanted McDaniel named the winner.

They made the claim that the use of election poll books was intentionally screwed up to skew the vote. When Pete Perry, Hinds County GOP Chairman, said that poll workers only found about one-fifth of the votes claimed to be invalid in Hinds County, the McDaniel camp said otherwise.

They compiled a binder of “evidence.”

The McDaniel camp blamed racial messaging. They blamed Democrats.

At more bizarre times, they involved a California blogger in the madness and even named their own lawyer as one of those “bad” votes. When the attorney general’s office launched an investigation into the shady election happenings, the camp’s spokesman was named in said blogger’s subpoena (which ended up on Twitter).

The validity of the challenge was further challenged when the Republican Party refused to hear the case.

Then, when the challenge finally reached the courts, it was shut down before things could get even sillier. Justice may have no timetable in the eyes of McDaniel, but today the presiding judge dismissed the case because he took too long to file.

Of course, McDaniel could always appeal. After reporting on the developments of this story in the last few months, believe us, we’ll be expecting it.

http://jacksonfreepress.com/users/photos/2014/aug/29/18623/

On August 3rd, Michael Johansson celebrated his 65th birthday and became eligible for federal government funded Medicare. While he said he is grateful for the coverage, he is saddened that other citizens of Mississippi are denied federal government funded Medicaid.

This is why he has coordinated a monthly rally called “Stand to Expand,” where Mississippi citizens will come to express support for Medicaid expansion the first Sunday of each month at the south steps of the capitol building from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Johansson pledged that he will rally until “Medicaid is expanded for the tens of thousands of women, men and children who are in dire need of healthcare.”

Johansson called the state’s failure to provide adequate healthcare to the people “shameful, inhumane and callous treatment of our citizens.”

“Most, if not all, who are eligible for this healthcare program—100% paid for by the federal government for the first years of the program & 90% thereafter—are citizens living under great financial stress. To add to their anxiety, having a sick child or a diabetic parent who cannot afford healthcare treatment is intolerable, if not cruel, for a society such as ours. This crisis could be solved by mere approval of the legislature and the governor's signature,” Johansson said.

Johansson points out that the number of uninsured Mississippians has risen, which is a disgrace when one considers the state’s reputation of being generous and hospitable. This, Johansson said, must change.

“This rally is unaffiliated with any organization. It is a TRYPARTISAN EFFORT (take out the "I" and ask the "Y") welcoming like-minded Republicans, Democrats and Independents who agree with Medicaid expansion for Mississippi. I urge any signage brought to the rally be respectful and be directed towards the cause of Medicaid expansion and not be directed against government officials or political parties,” Johansson said.

The next rally will be this Sunday, September 7th at 2 p.m.

WASHINGTON, DC—This week, Starkville became the first city in Mississippi to extend essential medical benefits to the partners of city workers who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). Today the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest LGBT civil rights organization, commended the Mayor and Board of Aldermen for acknowledging the dignity and worth of LGBT citizens in Starkville.

“Loving LGBT couples should have equal access to medical care, and we applaud the Mayor and the Board of Aldermen for their leadership on this critical issue,” said HRC Mississippi Director Rob Hill. “This measure successfully provides the necessary benefits that the partners of hardworking LGBT city workers deserve, and the city of Starkville demonstrated its commitment to upholding the Golden Rule by treating them with dignity and respect.”

The item passed by a unanimous 7-0 vote Tuesday night. This week, Mayor Parker Wiseman also announced plans to appoint two LGBT liaisons to support the needs of and provide resources to the LGBT community, including working with the city’s police department. Earlier this year, Starkville was also the first city in the state to pass a resolution welcoming LGBT people and their families. The resolution recognizes all citizens should be treated with respect and equality.

According to a 2014 study by HRC, 57 percent of LGBT people surveyed have called Mississippi home for more than 20 years, however, almost half have experienced harassment in a public establishment; 41 percent of those earning less than $45,000 have experienced at work; and roughly a quarter have experienced harassment from a public servant like a police officer or firefighter. HRC Mississippi is working across the state to change hearts and minds, advance enduring legal protections, and build more inclusive institutions from the workplace to the church pew.

There are 22,000 Jackson residents on AshelyMadison.com—the dating website with the slogan, "Life is short. Have an affair." A study released today shows that 9 out of ten of the highest ranked Jackson neighborhoods based on number of affairs are north of Fondren.

Ashely Madison CEO confirms this is consistent with the link between money and cheating.

“The Jackson data is consistent with what we’ve seen in other cities,” says AshleyMadison.com founder and CEO Noel Biderman. “Affluence is a common element found on most cities’ top ten lists while the proclivity to cheat often goes hand in hand with opportunity. Those with discretionary income and freedom to travel are even more likely to stray.”

Top 10 Jackson neighborhoods with the most affairs are:

Heatherwood 9.3% Bellvue Oaks 8.8% Fondren North 8.7% Northgate 8.3% Woodlea 7.9% Northlake 7.4% Woodhaven 7.1% Rolling Hills 6.6% Lake Trace 6.2% Woodville Heights 5.8%

Average Ages M: 37 F: 35

Female/Male Ratio 2014: F: 45% M: 55%

Female/Male Ratio 2012: F: 31% M: 69%

Members in Woodville Heights have the most children, on average. Members in Heatherwood have the most affair partners.

Jackson, MS – Five Mississippi school districts have joined the fight to recover their share of almost $134 million owed to them by the State of Mississippi under the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (“MAEP”).

Greene County, Humphreys County, Leland, North Bolivar and West Bolivar, join Clarksdale, Clay County, Greenville, Hattiesburg, Leake County, Okolona, Prentiss County, Richton, Simpson County, Smith County, Tate County, Wayne County, West Tallahatchie and Wilkinson County in seeking declaratory judgment to restore funding owed to them by the State. Previous release reported Forest Municipal would join legal action. School Board representatives have confirmed they will not.

The new districts will be joined into the same legal action with the original fourteen districts that filed legal claims in Hinds County Chancery Court in August. The districts allege the State of Mississippi has violated its own laws requiring full funding of the MAEP formula as amended in 2006. The law allowed the State a three-year period – 2007 through 2009 – to phase in full funding to the amounts called for by the formula.

The legal action also seeks to require the State to fully fund MAEP at the current formula levels the law requires. The State of Mississippi has failed to fully fund MAEP in every fiscal year since 2010.

As noted previously, under Miss. Code Ann. § 37-151-6, the law clearly reads:

Effective with fiscal year 2007, the Legislature shall fully fund the Mississippi Adequate Education Program.

Under Mississippi law, use of the word “shall” imposes a legal and binding agreement with the people of Mississippi. It is compulsory and provides no room for interpretation by the State. If the court rules that use of the word “shall” is open to interpretation, the State would be unable to make people pay their taxes, prosecute hundreds of crimes, or truly function as a government.

During the most recent legislative session, the State placed over $400 million in its “Rainy Day Fund” while underfunding education by more than $250 million. Filing for declaratory and injunctive relief is the only way for school districts to recover the money that has been kept from them over the past 6 years. These districts are also seeking injunctive relief to require the State resume full funding of MAEP for all districts going forward – not just those that have joined in the lawsuit.

Now that the suit has been filed, school districts that have not already joined the legal action may do so without court permission until the State’s answer is due. The Attorney General must answer on behalf of the State on or before September 29. After filing of the answer, remaining districts may only join after court permission is granted. School districts that fail to file for legal action may lose the right to recover any of the lost revenue.

For additional information, contact George Shelton at (601) 927-3044 or [email protected]. You may also find more information at www.maeppromisecampaign.com or go to www.facebook.com/mississippiadequateeducationpromise.

Mayor Tony Yarber continues the fight to obtain a Costco in Jackson, even after encountering setbacks in last month's zoning meeting, and now says that the location on Lakeland Drive is not the only location Costco will consider, WAPT reported.

"Whether it's there or other flourishing areas on (interstates) 55, 20 or 220, it remains to be seen," Yarber said. "Costco has made clear to us over the last couple of weeks that their commitment is to be in this market."

Since initial concerns from the community regarding the rezoning of green space north of Lakeland Drive near the I-55 intersection, the City's position was that if Costco were to come to Jackson, it would only be interested in that area. Costco has also expressed interest in two other locations along Lakeland Drive in Rankin County, but stringent liquor laws in that area makes them less desirable for the retailer.

The Jackson City Council is scheduled to discuss Lakeland Drive rezoning further on Oct. 20 at 2 p.m.

JACKSON, Mississippi – Building on its more than 40-year legacy in the state of Mississippi, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation today announced an endowment to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) in support of developing educational programs that will be operated by the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum.

The $2.3 million endowment from the Kellogg Foundation will fund a partnership between MDAH, the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation and the Medgar & Myrlie Evers Institute. The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum will educate Mississippians about the struggle for civil rights and provide a venue where visitors may come together to engage in meaningful public dialogue and programs that foster reconciliation and promote healing.

The museum endowment will fund numerous educational initiatives in the lead-up to and after the opening of the museum, including: · Summer teacher training programs and school workshops to prepare educators to teach an expanded civil rights curriculum and utilize the resources of the museum. · Digitizing important historical documents from the Evers collection to be housed at the museum for use by scholars, teachers and students. · Supporting the Medgar Wiley Evers Lecture Series throughout the state to engage communities in the museum’s programs.

“We’ve come to understand that racial equity and healing are essential if we are going to accomplish our mission to support children, families and communities in Mississippi,” said WKKF President and CEO La June Montgomery Tabron. “The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum will help us all take an honest look at the past in a state that was, in so many ways, the epicenter of this struggle in our county. It’s important to heal the wounds of the past, so that we can move forward together and put racism behind us for good.”

“We are thrilled that the W.K. Kellogg Foundation made this grant in honor of Myrlie Evers and Gov. William Winter, two leaders who have been instrumental in making the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum a reality,” said H.T. Holmes, director, MDAH. “We thank the Kellogg Foundation for making this extraordinary investment in Mississippi’s future and connecting the collections of MDAH with the people of Mississippi.”

Myrlie Evers said, “I can’t wait for the day that the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum opens its doors to people from Mississippi and throughout the country and the world.” Gov. William F. Winter added that young people visiting the Civil Rights Museum will learn lessons of sacrifice, courage and determination that will help them make a difference in Mississippi and the world.

Mississippi is one of four priority places in the United States for the foundation – along with the city of New Orleans and the states of Michigan and New Mexico. The foundation’s endowment to the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum comes one year after the foundation committed grants to 25 organizations across the state whose work focuses on setting Mississippi’s young men of color on a path to success. That $3.8 million initiative is designed to help young men of color in Mississippi by …