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One Jail’s Tale: Hinds County Detention Center At Risk of Federal Takeover  

Outdoor shot of some buildings behind a chain link fence. A water tower on the right says "Hinds County Detention Facility"

The jail designed to improve conditions for detainees has faced a myriad of problems: structural deficiencies, chronic understaffing and poor management. But fixing those problems have been elusive under whatever sheriff and Hinds County Board of Supervisors are in elected office at a given time. Now, 27 years later, the federal government may take over the Hinds County Detention Center, wresting control from local officials.

They Said Emmett Till’s Name to Me. Now, I Say it for Myself.

A purple Emmett Till River SIte sign, riddled with bullets, behind plexiglass with a plaque beneath it

I was 15 years old the first time someone said Emmett Till’s name to me, and I’d hear it countless times over the ensuing years. I say his name now for myself, proving my English professors’ belief that Emmett Till’s blood cries out to us from the pen of Mississippians. I say it even though the governor and half the Legislature might say that it’s proof of the nefarious “critical race theory” infiltrating Mississippi schools.