Events on Gulf Coast May 15-17 feature Gov. Winter in keynote address
OXFORD,
Miss. – Former Gov. William Winter and the Winter Institute for Racial
Reconciliation at the University of Mississippi are major supporters of
a 50th anniversary commemoration scheduled May 15-17 of the “wade-in”
civil rights protests staged on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Programs
throughout the weekend are to be held at the Jefferson Davis Campus of
Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in Gulfport and the Biloxi
Beach at the Lighthouse. All events are open to the public.
Many
historians agree that the civil rights struggle in Mississippi began
with the 1959 wade-in. In open and conscious defiance of segregation
laws, Dr. Gilbert R. Mason Sr. led nine black Biloxians onto a
restricted spot along the 26-mile beach.
A year later, more
wade-ins on beaches reserved for whites set off a violent riot and led
the U.S. Justice Department to initiate the first federal court
challenge of Mississippi’s segregation laws and practices.
Simultaneously, Mason and local activists began their work on the
state’s first school desegregation suit.
“The Winter Institute
facilitated the early meetings of the Wade-In Commemoration Committee,”
said Susan Glisson, Winter Institute director. Glisson, who wrote the
Mississippi Humanities Council grant that is being used to help pay
speakers’ fees, said she thinks it is important for Mississippians to
confront their racial past.
“Young people who do not confront
our racial history are a bit like Rip van Winkle awakening after a
20-year slumber and not understanding the world before them,” she said.
The
commemoration concludes Sunday with a picnic, followed by an ecumenical
service on Biloxi Beach at the Lighthouse. Winter is to deliver the
keynote address. Rain location for Sunday’s events is the Biloxi
Community Center.
On Friday, LeRoy Carney and the Rev. James
Black (participants in the 1960 wade-in) will each reminisce about
participating in the 1960 wade-in. The program will conclude with
interviews of historian-author Lerone Bennett Jr. and James Patterson
Smith, history professor at the University of Southern Mississippi and
Mason’s biographer. Bennett and Mason grew up together in Jackson.
“Dr.
Mason was politically very active and gave the full measure to make his
community a better place,” Smith said. “Remembering these events helps
all of us appreciate what it is to have the full array of human
aspirations for the freedom to develop ourselves to the fullest extent
possible.”
Saturday’s activities include a panel discussion on
desegregation featuring panelists who were students from 1964 to 1974
and on ‘resegregation’ by panelists who are contemporary students.
Discussion participants also include Charles Bolton, professor of
history at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro; and Mary
Coleman, political science professor and associate dean at Jackson
State University.
“Remembering the sacrifices that have been
made to build the nation and improve Mississippi is necessary and
useful to every generation, for each generation will be called upon to
sacrifice to build a better future,” said Dr. Gilbert Mason Jr., a
physician, son of the civil rights leader and originator of the
commemoration program. “When we study the sacrifices of others, we gain
inspiration, comfort and courage to sustain the efforts that the world
places before us.”
“Unless white kids study the racial history
of the state, they may have no idea why there might be such a thing as
black anger,” said Cono Caranna, district attorney for Harrison,
Hancock and Stone counties and member of the program committee. “On the
other hand, unless black kids study the same racial history they may
not appreciate what tremendous and inspiring steps forward we have
taken in Mississippi and the nation, nor appreciate the commitment and
sacrifice that have made a difference for them in a comparatively short
time.”
For a complete schedule and more information on the
anniversary program, visit
http://www.winterinstitute.org/documents/wade-in09.htm or call
662-915-6734. For assistance related to a disability, call 662-915-6734.