
Today in civil rights history

On this day in 1944
On this day in 1944, the U.S. Navy began training for its first Black officers at the Great Lakes Naval Training Center.
This daily series recounts important moments in Civil Rights history. Jerry Mitchell, who leads the investigative reporting team, wrote the series.
Jerry Mitchell
Investigative Reporter
The stories of investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell have helped put four Klansmen and a serial killer behind bars. His stories have also helped free two people from death row, exposed injustices and corruption, prompting investigations and reforms as well as the firings of boards and officials. He is a Pulitzer Prize finalist, a longtime member of Investigative Reporters & Editors, and a winner of more than 30 other national awards, including a $500,000 MacArthur “genius” grant. After working for three decades for the statewide Clarion-Ledger, Mitchell left in 2019 and founded the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting. More by Jerry Mitchell

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On this day in 1980
On this day in 1980, Vernon Jordan Vernon Jordan survived an assassination attempt in Fort Wayne, Indiana, by a racist serial killer.

Mississippi prisons may soon exceed capacity
Mississippi — the world’s leader in imprisoning people — will soon skyrocket past its capacity to hold them all.

Black Americans are seven times more likely to be wrongfully convicted
Eddie Lee Howard Jr. and Sherwood Brown each spent 26 years on Mississippi’s death row for murders they did not commit — only to walk free last year. They are far from alone.

If Jackson’s water system collapsed, residents might have had to wait two years to get clean drinking water
If the city of Jackson’s main water treatment plant had failed — as it nearly did in August 2022 — residents would have had to wait 18 to 24 months to restore service.

Mississippi now leads the world in mass incarceration
Mississippi now has more inmates per capita than any state or nation, according to the World Population Review.

New welfare scandal revelations evoke stories of past misspending
Former DHS director: “My rule is to do the right thing. If you have to stop and think about it, it’s probably not the right thing.”
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