Mississippi Turns Infamous to Famous: First Black Mayor Elected

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In summary, James Young, a 53-year-old minister, became the first African American mayor in the history of Philadelphia, Mississippi with a narrow victory over incumbent Mayor Rayburn Waddell by a 64 vote margin. This is a significant milestone in a mostly white city of 7,300 people, which was once the site of the infamous murders of civil rights workers during the "Freedom Summer" of 1964. The country has come a long way in terms of racial progress, as evidenced by this election. However, there are still pockets of segregation and prejudice, as seen in the story of a pastor being fired for inviting a black family to a church picnic. Mississippi has also made progress in terms of electing a black Congressman
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Ivan Seeking
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...James Young, a 53-year-old minister, narrowly defeated incumbent Mayor Rayburn Waddell by a 64 vote margin to become the first African American mayor in the town's history.

...Philadelphia, Mississippi, a mostly white city of 7,300 people, was once the scene of a different milestone in 1964. In August of 1964, civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner were murdered as they attempted to organize voters during the "Freedom Summer."...
http://thedailyvoice.com/voice/2009/05/mississippi-turning-infamous-t-001911.php

It is one thing for Obama to win in a general election, but when a small, mostly white town, in Mississippi, elects a black man as mayor, I know that we have entered the Twilight Zone. It is hard to imagine that the country has come this far in my lifetime.
 
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In the late '80s/early '90s I did some consulting work for a paper mill in Pine Hill Alabama. I had spent time in Atlanta, Raleigh, Wickliffe, Paduca, and Moss Point doing contract work, but I was not prepared for the environs of Pine Hill. The only decent food to be had anywhere near that mill was at a diner at a crossroad on the way to Thomasville. The wait-staff and cashier were white and were the only employees in the dining area. From what I could see through the pass-through from the kitchen, the kitchen staff were all black. Never once in my several visits did a black person enter that air-conditioned dining area. There were lots of black people patronizing the place, but they ordered their lunches at a take-out window at the kitchen and ate their meals outside at picnic tables. I worked at that mill twice, both times for 2 weeks in late-July/early-August on boiler-automation projects and it was SOME hot outside. Still, the place was very strictly segregated and nobody but white customers ate in the dining area.

In the intervening year, I was doing some consulting work for Kone Wood in Atlanta (wood-yard upgrade for a mill in Panama City) and one weekend a pastor was fired for daring to invite a black family to the church picnic. The family showed up and were challenged by church members, and when they said that the pastor had invited them, the deacons convened a board meeting and fired the pastor on the spot.

I hope things have gotten better in the intervening years.
 
  • #3
Ivan Seeking said:
It is one thing for Obama to win in a general election, but when a small, mostly white town, in Mississippi, elects a black man as mayor, I know that we have entered the Twilight Zone. It is hard to imagine that the country has come this far in my lifetime.
Mississippi elected Mike Espy to Congress in 1987. The state was 62% white in the 2000 census. I don't know about 1987, but I expect it was similar. Espy is black.
 
  • #4
jimmysnyder said:
Mississippi elected Mike Espy to Congress in 1987. The state was 62% white in the 2000 census. I don't know about 1987, but I expect it was similar. Espy is black.

Since he was a Congressman, the demographics of the State are irrelevant. While credited with forging a black and white coalition, he was elected in a district that has a black majority. That is quite a bit different than getting elected in a small, mostly white town.

The demographics of the sprawling district, whose voting-age population is 58 percent black
http://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/12/us/racial-lines-seen-as-crucial-in-mississippi-runoff.html
 
  • #5
I should have looked at the demographics for his district before I posted. What I thought was a story about a state willing to vote on the issues turns out to be just another story of sharply drawn color lines. But I still disagree with the implications of your post. You shouldn't have assumed that the entire state of Mississippi was bigotted just because of this single district. As the town of Philadelphia shows, the people of Mississippi are willing to put racial divides aside even if the second district is not.
 
  • #6
Some fallacies in that paragraph:

Ivan never gave any indication that he was generalizing about the state based on the second district - he may not even have known about that (Espy) election when he wrote the OP. If anything, he indicated (in his response) that there was nothing in the 1987 result in the second district to dispel his (implied) assumption of widespread bigotry in the state (prevalent in earlier years).

Lack of support for the statement that the second district put aside racial divides can not lead to a conclusion that it did not put aside such divides (else you would also have to conclude that every single white Congressman ever elected from a white majority district was elected for racial reasons).

Even were the above assertion correct, the inference would not follow, given the significant time difference between 1987 and 2009.
 
  • #7
Gokul43201 said:
Even were the above assertion correct, the inference would not follow, given the significant time difference between 1987 and 2009.
Why? Who does the second district send to congress now? But you may be right. I simply assumed that Ivan's prejudice against the people of Mississippi was based on the second district because it was he that pointed out the shameful voting record there. Do you think his prejudice is based on a general distaste for Americans?
 
  • #8
Gokul43201 said:
Or a general distaste of Americans that love to engage in blatant misrepresentations?
The entire state of Mississippi loves to engage in blatant misrepresentations? I see an ugly pattern here.
 
  • #9
jimmysnyder said:
Why? Who does the second district send to congress now?
It doesn't matter. The inference is incorrect because it assumes without justification that social values have not changed noticeably in the last two decades.
 
  • #10
jimmysnyder said:
The entire state of Mississippi loves to engage in blatant misrepresentations? I see an ugly pattern here.
I deleted that post. Given how you've been seeing all manner of thoughts that were never expressed, I wouldn't be surprised if you saw an poledancing elephant in that post (even now, after it's been deleted).
 
  • #11
Gokul43201 said:
It doesn't matter.
Finally a voice of reason. It doesn't matter Ivan. Only racists would care.
 
  • #12
jimmysnyder said:
Finally a voice of reason.
What's that? A confession?
 
  • #13
Thread temporarily locked while we try to figure out how to get it back on track...
 

FAQ: Mississippi Turns Infamous to Famous: First Black Mayor Elected

What does it mean for Mississippi to have its first black mayor elected?

It means that for the first time in Mississippi's history, a black individual has been elected to serve as the mayor of a city. This is a significant milestone in the state's progress towards racial equality and representation in leadership positions.

Who is the first black mayor of Mississippi?

The first black mayor of Mississippi is Chokwe Antar Lumumba, who was elected to serve as the mayor of Jackson, the state's capital city, in 2017.

How did Lumumba's election impact the city of Jackson?

Lumumba's election brought hope and a sense of progress to the city of Jackson, which has a majority black population. His platform focused on addressing issues of racial and economic inequality, and his election was seen as a step towards addressing these issues in the city.

Was Lumumba's election met with any opposition or controversy?

Yes, Lumumba's election was met with some opposition and controversy, particularly from those who did not agree with his political ideology and plans for the city. However, he ultimately won the election with a majority of the votes.

Has Lumumba's election had any impact on the state of Mississippi as a whole?

While Lumumba's election was significant for the city of Jackson, it did not have a direct impact on the state as a whole. However, it did bring attention to issues of racial representation and equality in Mississippi's political landscape.

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