OXFORD,
\nMiss. – Former Gov. William Winter and the Winter Institute for Racial
\nReconciliation at the University of Mississippi are major supporters of
\na 50th anniversary commemoration scheduled May 15-17 of the “wade-in”
\ncivil rights protests staged on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.<\/p>\n
Programs
\nthroughout the weekend are to be held at the Jefferson Davis Campus of
\nMississippi Gulf Coast Community College in Gulfport and the Biloxi
\nBeach at the Lighthouse. All events are open to the public.<\/p>\n
Many
\nhistorians agree that the civil rights struggle in Mississippi began
\nwith the 1959 wade-in. In open and conscious defiance of segregation
\nlaws, Dr. Gilbert R. Mason Sr. led nine black Biloxians onto a
\nrestricted spot along the 26-mile beach.<\/p>\n
A year later, more
\nwade-ins on beaches reserved for whites set off a violent riot and led
\nthe U.S. Justice Department to initiate the first federal court
\nchallenge of Mississippi’s segregation laws and practices.
\nSimultaneously, Mason and local activists began their work on the
\nstate’s first school desegregation suit.<\/p>\n
“The Winter Institute
\nfacilitated the early meetings of the Wade-In Commemoration Committee,”
\nsaid Susan Glisson, Winter Institute director. Glisson, who wrote the
\nMississippi Humanities Council grant that is being used to help pay
\nspeakers’ fees, said she thinks it is important for Mississippians to
\nconfront their racial past.<\/p>\n
“Young people who do not confront
\nour racial history are a bit like Rip van Winkle awakening after a
\n20-year slumber and not understanding the world before them,” she said.<\/p>\n
The
\ncommemoration concludes Sunday with a picnic, followed by an ecumenical
\nservice on Biloxi Beach at the Lighthouse. Winter is to deliver the
\nkeynote address. Rain location for Sunday’s events is the Biloxi
\nCommunity Center.<\/p>\n
On Friday, LeRoy Carney and the Rev. James
\nBlack (participants in the 1960 wade-in) will each reminisce about
\nparticipating in the 1960 wade-in. The program will conclude with
\ninterviews of historian-author Lerone Bennett Jr. and James Patterson
\nSmith, history professor at the University of Southern Mississippi and
\nMason’s biographer. Bennett and Mason grew up together in Jackson.<\/p>\n
“Dr.
\nMason was politically very active and gave the full measure to make his
\ncommunity a better place,” Smith said. “Remembering these events helps
\nall of us appreciate what it is to have the full array of human
\naspirations for the freedom to develop ourselves to the fullest extent
\npossible.”<\/p>\n
Saturday’s activities include a panel discussion on
\ndesegregation featuring panelists who were students from 1964 to 1974
\nand on ‘resegregation’ by panelists who are contemporary students.
\nDiscussion participants also include Charles Bolton, professor of
\nhistory at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro; and Mary
\nColeman, political science professor and associate dean at Jackson
\nState University.<\/p>\n
“Remembering the sacrifices that have been
\nmade to build the nation and improve Mississippi is necessary and
\nuseful to every generation, for each generation will be called upon to
\nsacrifice to build a better future,” said Dr. Gilbert Mason Jr., a
\nphysician, son of the civil rights leader and originator of the
\ncommemoration program. “When we study the sacrifices of others, we gain
\ninspiration, comfort and courage to sustain the efforts that the world
\nplaces before us.”<\/p>\n
“Unless white kids study the racial history
\nof the state, they may have no idea why there might be such a thing as
\nblack anger,” said Cono Caranna, district attorney for Harrison,
\nHancock and Stone counties and member of the program committee. “On the
\nother hand, unless black kids study the same racial history they may
\nnot appreciate what tremendous and inspiring steps forward we have
\ntaken in Mississippi and the nation, nor appreciate the commitment and
\nsacrifice that have made a difference for them in a comparatively short
\ntime.”<\/p>\n
For a complete schedule and more information on the
\nanniversary program, visit
\nhttp:\/\/www.winterinstitute.org\/documents\/wade-in09.htm or call
\n662-915-6734. For assistance related to a disability, call 662-915-6734.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"