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After months spent rebuffing critics who said he should issue a statewide mask mandate to slow the spread of COVID-19, Gov. Tate Reeves announced today that he will issue an order requiring Mississippians to wear face masks while in public across the state for two weeks.
After 14 years in construction, Joaquín García (not his real name) thought that working inside a poultry plant during the warm season of 2019 would be more comfortable, so he took a job at one in Mississippi. He was arrested on Aug. 7, 2019, in one of the largest ICE workplace actions in history. Nine months later, he was released from jail to face a new problem: COVID-19 had reached his family and killed some Hispanic workers in the meat-processing facilities around him. (In English and Spanish.)
Ki Harris says Mississippi’s children are “more than capable” of achieving success in any avenue they choose, but that they often aren’t being properly “supported” and “counseled” throughout the process.
“What you have in Neshoba County is what you see across our state and country—communities raising their voices and asking leaders to consider the iconography and memorials in front of our buildings.”
Mississippi smashed its one-day record in COVID-19 cases today, as the Mississippi State Department of Health reported 1,635 newly confirmed novel coronavirus infections. The State also reported 31 additional deaths, which ranks among the most ever reported in a single day.
The Confederate soldier could get the last laugh in his new home at the University of Mississippi. Under UM’s Master Plan, he could be adjacent to a new Tad Smith Mall, with the statue’s walkway feeding into what is slated to be called the “New Grove.”
University of Mississippi alumnus and long-time donor Jim Barksdale reached out to the Mississippi Free Press Friday, July 10, to clarify his involvement in fundraising efforts for the Confederate monument relocation and controversial cemetery-enhancement vision one critic called a “CSA statuary.”
Mississippi hospitals are “stretched thin,” and Mississippians “will not be able to get the health care (they) need” as the novel coronavirus outbreak accelerates across the state, top health experts warned during a dire press conference this morning. Already, State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said, five of the state’s largest hospitals have already run out of ICU beds for critical patients.
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves signed “a law to turn a page in Mississippi today,” as he put his signature on legislation that will retire the state’s Confederate-themed flag. With legislative officials and African American leaders surrounding him, the Republican governor said that recent events have changed his mind about what the State of Mississippi should do about the long-controversial symbol.
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