I may qualify as a native Mississippian—I was born at South Central Regional Medical Center in Laurel, Miss.—but as I grew up, I realized I did not have the same endearing feelings about my home state as my classmates. Those around me talked of how their families had lived in Mississippi for generations, but my roots didn’t run as deep as theirs.
My father is partly from Arkansas and partly from rural New York, while my mother is from Indiana. They independently moved to Mississippi and met when my mom brought the kids from the daycare she worked for to the Aladdin’s Castle arcade that my dad managed. Before long, I came into the picture, a first-generation Mississippian.
Furthermore, I have known since I was in middle school that I wanted to become an editor, and for a long time, I assumed I would have to leave the state to land an editing job. Because I had this expectation, I did not think of Mississippi as “home.” Luckily, an opening at the Free Press that I stumbled upon shortly after my college graduation allowed me to avoid being another brain-drain statistic.
Gradually, my coworkers’ pride in the positive aspects of our state influenced me into better appreciating Mississippi’s history, culture and its people. Since I shifted into working full-time for the statewide Mississippi Free Press, my outlook on the Magnolia State has continued to evolve.
Yes, Mississippi, like many other states within our nation, has a troubling past, and remnants of those darker times and the mindsets that came with them bubble up from time to time. Heck, just last year, NBC reported that we had 32 school districts still openly under desegregation orders. And in late February, the museum in Carroll County honoring Black bluesman Mississippi John Hurt burned down “hours after” receiving national landmark status.
But over my time as the editor in charge of our culture and features section, I have also read about many occasions of Mississippians actively working to identify and resolve issues that plague residents of all types of backgrounds. I have witnessed moments of unity and compassion. And I have been able to assign feature stories on local businesses, cultural events and individuals that uplift them and showcase the wondrous offerings within our state.
During the last several months, I have been more proactive than ever in researching counties and towns in Mississippi that I never knew existed, despite having lived here for 28 years. Of the more than 400 cities, towns, villages and census-designated places I have read about online, I think some of my favorite names include Diamondhead, Coldwater, Coffeeville, Chunky and McCool.
Of Mississippi’s 82 counties, the MFP’s culture and features section has had stories touching on 55 of them in one form or another. One of my goals for the rest of 2024 is to schedule and publish stories that fill in those gaps. I have a number of articles planned that I think our readers will find as engaging as I found the process of reading about these counties and finding these ideas in the first place.
Learning more about Mississippi, bit by bit, and understanding what events in different geographic parts of our whole makes me feel more like a Mississippian—far more than I thought I ever would when I graduated from high school a decade ago anticipating a future elsewhere. I ended up where I’m supposed to be, at least for the time being. And I’m grateful that getting to know all of you as much as I have, even indirectly, has given me a sense of belonging.
My roots run deeper now.
This MFP Voices essay does not necessarily represent the views of the Mississippi Free Press, its staff or board members. To submit an opinion for the MFP Voices section, send up to 1,200 words and sources fact-checking the included information to voices@mississippifreepress.org. We welcome a wide variety of viewpoints.
