It Happened In Mississippi

It Happened in Mississippi takes readers on a rollicking, behind-the-scenes look at some of the characters and episodes from the Magnolia State's storied past. Including both famous tales, and famous names--and little-known heroes, heroines, and happenings.

As the fiftieth anniversary approaches, there's a renewed interest in this infamous 1955 murder case, which made a lasting mark on American culture, as well as the future Civil Rights Movement. Chris Crowe's IRA Award-winning novel and his gripping, photo-illustrated nonfiction work are currently the only books on the teenager's murder written for young adults.

It Happened in Mississippi takes readers on a rollicking, behind-the-scenes look at some of the characters and episodes from the Magnolia State's storied past. Including both famous tales, and famous names--and little-known heroes, heroines, and happenings.

On October 1, 1962, James Meredith was the first African American student to enroll at the University of Mississippi. Preceded by violent rioting resulting in two deaths and a lengthy court battle that made it all the way to the Supreme Court, his admission was a pivotal moment in civil rights history. Citing his “divine responsibility” to end white supremacy, Meredith risked everything to attend Ole Miss. In doing so, he paved the way for integration across the country. Originally published in 1966, more than ten years after the Supreme Court ended segregation in public schools in Brown v. Board of Education, Meredith describes his intense struggle to attend an all-white university and break down long-held race barriers in one of the most conservative states in the country. This first-person account offers a glimpse into a crucial point in civil rights history and the determination and courage of a man facing unfathomable odds. Reprinted for the first time, this volume features a new introduction by historian Aram Goudsouzian.

Whether you're a visitor or a local looking for something different, Mississippi Off the Beaten Path shows you the Hospitality State with new perspectives on timeless destinations and introduces you to those you never knew existed. Take a stroll around The Square in Oxford, the quintessentially Southern town that inspired William Faulkner, John Grisham, and dozens of other acclaimed writers. Go ghost-hunting at Waverly Plantation, a spectacular antebellum mansion rumored to be haunted by the lonely spirit of a lost little girl. Tour the folk art masterpiece known as Margaret’s Grocery, a colorful, ramshackle structure named the Weirdest Roadside Attraction in Mississippi. So if you've "been there, done that" one too many times, forget the main road and venture Off the Beaten Path.

After fifty years of guilt over his brother’s brutal murder in Civil Rights–era Mississippi, Warren Williams decides to renew his fight to bring the men responsible to justice. His efforts put him face-to-face with one of the murderers, Earl Olsen, in a remote Ontario town where a contest of wits will end in death.

Discusses the geographic features, history, government, people, achievements, and attractions of the state whose name means big river.

They stand as unselfconscious as if the photograph were being taken at a church picnic and not during one of the pitched battles of the civil rights struggle. None of them knows that the image will appear in Life magazine or that it will become an icon of its era. The year is 1962, and these seven white Mississippi lawmen have gathered to stop James Meredith from integrating the University of Mississippi. One of them is swinging a billy club. More than thirty years later, award-winning journalist and author Paul Hendrickson sets out to discover who these men were, what happened to them after the photograph was taken, and how racist attitudes shaped the way they lived their lives. But his ultimate focus is on their children and grandchildren, and how the prejudice bequeathed by the fathers was transformed, or remained untouched, in the sons. Sons of Mississippi is a scalding yet redemptive work of social history, a book of eloquence and subtlely that tracks the movement of racism across three generations and bears witness to its ravages among both black and white Americans.