May 8, 2021, was the 70th anniversary of the electrocution of Willie McGee in Mississippi’s traveling electric chair, a grim milestone in the history of civil rights in Mississippi. All these years later, McGee’s family continues to mourn his life and confront the impact of the tragic and undoubtedly unjust circumstances surrounding his death.
Telling a fuller, more complete history is a partial, but necessary step toward healing and the possibility of reconciliation. Collectively, we need to know a fuller history of our past. We need to understand how things were done and why they happened. In this state and in our county, we need to acknowledge the truth of lynching: the fact that many times, a mob of white men abducted and brutally killed a Black man in Lafayette County. We need to acknowledge that mob violence is never acceptable. We need to understand lasting impacts of lynching on our community and families within our community. It is only in telling the truth and hearing the truth that we can address the injustice of these acts.
Founding Editor Donna Ladd writes that Black History Month is a chance to learn vital, often hidden U.S. history that can lead to solutions far beyond partisanship. The past is painful, but it is joyful and inspiring, too.
Dale Gibbs is no ordinary woman, at least not after the overnight events of May 14, 1970. Only 17, she was in Ripley, Miss., with
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