We’ve been taking a look back over the last few years of reporting at Mississippi Today in celebration of our 6th anniversary. I wanted to remind you of some popular stories you might remember from 2019 that show how Mississippi Today works to tell your story.

Our coverage of Olecia James not receiving the title of salutatorian at Cleveland Central High School went viral after publishing. James filed a lawsuit against the school district that claimed she was stripped of her salutatorian title due to negligence and skewed grading after East Side High School was merged with Cleveland Central. By not receiving her title, she lost her chance at a scholarship to Ole Miss.

Later in 2019, our photojournalist Eric Shelton captured a day-in-the-life of Kaitlyn Barton, a Clarksdale High School teacher. The result was an insightful look into the challenges teachers in the state face living on their salary. At that time, Barton worked a part-time job in addition to her full-time teaching job to make ends meet. We have been covering teacher pay during the current legislative session, where lawmakers have passed a historic pay raise for Mississippi teachers.

Why do these stories matter? They’re your stories. Our mission is to take the issues that matter to you and hold public officials accountable. Throughout our six years, we have told a lot of your stories, but the work is far from over.

To our current members: Your generous support allows us to continue this important work and for that, we thank you.

To our readers who are not yet members: Since we are a nonprofit, our newsroom relies on members and donors to help power our work. You can be a part of our passionate member community by creating a recurring donation today. To celebrate our 6th anniversary, our goal is to welcome 60 new members during our 6 days looking back at our top stories. Will you help us reach our goal?