Jerry Mitchell
@jmitchellnews.bsky.social
Leading investigative reporting team at Mississippi Today. Stories helped put 4 KKK members & serial killer behind bars. Author, Race Against Time.
Legendary bluesman Robert Johnson lived mysteriously, and #OnThisDay in 1938, he died just as mysteriously. 3 headstones in the Mississippi Delta mark where he may or may not be buried. According to myth, he sold his soul in exchange for playing guitar. mississippitoday.org/2024/08/16/1...
1938: Bluesman Robert Johnson dies - Mississippi Today
On this day in 1938, legendary bluesman Robert Johnson died mysteriously at the age of 27. His burial also remains a mystery.
mississippitoday.org
#OnThisDay in 1906, the Niagara Movement (forerunner to the NAACP) met at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, the site of John Brown’s raid. Headed by W.E.B. DuBois, the organization called for enforcement of the 13th, 14th & 15th amendments to the U.S. Constitution. mississippitoday.org/2024/08/15/1...
#OnThisDay in 1908, a mob of 5,000 white men in Springfield IL tried to lynch two Black men in jail. When they failed, they destroyed a Black neighborhood & dozens of businesses. 16+ died in the attacks. The massacre inspired the NAACP's creation. mississippitoday.org/2024/08/14/1...
1908: White mob starts Springfield Race Riot - Mississippi Today
On this day in 1908, a mob of about 5,000 white men thwarted in efforts to lynch two Black men during the Springfield Race Riot.
mississippitoday.org
#OnThisDay in 1955, Lamar Smith, a World War I veteran who organized Black Americans to vote, was shot dead in broad daylight on the courthouse lawn in Brookhaven, Mississippi. No one was ever prosecuted. A historic marker at the courthouse now honors Smith. mississippitoday.org/2024/08/13/1...
1955: Lamar Smith killed on courthouse lawn - Mississippi Today
On this day in 1955, Lamar Smith, a World War I veteran who organized Black Americans to vote, was shot dead on the courthouse lawn in Brookhaven.
mississippitoday.org
#OnThisDay in 2005, Edgar Ray Killen, who orchestrated the murders of 3 civil rights workers in Mississippi, was freed on bond after he swore he was confined to his wheelchair. After a deputy saw Killen walking around, the judge ordered Killen back to prison. mississippitoday.org/2024/08/12/2...
#OnThisDay in 1921, Alex Haley, the author of “Roots” and “The Autobiography of Malcolm X”, was born in Ithaca, NY. In the Coast Guard, he discovered his gift for writing. After his 1992 death, the Coast Guard named one of its ships after Haley. mississippitoday.org/2024/08/11/1...
1921: 'Roots' author Alex Haley is born - Mississippi Today
On this day in 1921, Alex Haley, the author of “Roots” and “The Autobiography of Malcolm X”, was born in Ithaca, New York.
mississippitoday.org
#OnThisDay in 1920, Mamie Smith sang Perry Bradford’s song “Crazy Blues,” detailing the “outrage by a woman driven mad by mistreatment,” music critic David Hajdu wrote in The New York Times. The song popularized the blues, selling 2M+ copies. mississippitoday.org/2024/08/10/1...
#OnThisDay in 1925, 30,000+ Klan members marched down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. The organization reached 6M members, tapped into white fears surrounding immigration and wrapped itself in the slogan, “100% Americanism.” mississippitoday.org/2023/08/08/1...
1925: Ku Klux Klan marches in D.C.
On this day in 1925, in a show of force, thousands of Ku Klux Klan members marched down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C.
mississippitoday.org
#OnThisDay in 1904, diplomat Ralph Bunche was born in Detroit. He consulted with #FDR & negotiated the 1948 armistice agreements between Israel and the Arab states. In 1950, he received the Nobel Peace Prize. He later marched with #MLK in Selma. mississippitoday.org/2024/08/07/1...
#OnThisDay in 1963, a 1,000 Black Mississippians defied arrest by authorities and threats by the Ku Klux Klan to cast protest votes in the Mississippi Delta. mississippitoday.org/2024/08/06/1...
#OnThisDay in 1901, Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans. His inventive trumpet playing and gravelly voice prompted singer Bing Crosby to declare, “He is the beginning and end of music in America.” 1st Black American to host a nationally broadcast radio show. mississippitoday.org/2024/08/04/1...
1901: Louis Armstrong is born - Mississippi Today
On August 4, 1901, trumpeter Louis Armstrong was born in an impoverished area of New Orleans known as “the Battlefield.”
mississippitoday.org
#OnThisDay in 1924, author James Baldwin was born in Harlem. His work explored the themes of racial, sexual and class differences and discrimination in America. He became friends with Medgar Evers, whom he called “a great man … a beautiful man.” mississippitoday.org/2024/08/02/1...
1924: James Baldwin is born in Harlem - Mississippi Today
On August 2, 1924, novelist, playwright, poet, essayist and social critic James Baldwin was born in Harlem, New York.
mississippitoday.org
In her new book, “If Emmett Till Lived,” best-selling author and historian Sarah Lewis uses a collection of essays and photos to imagine what the Black teen's life might have been if he'd returned to Chicago. ow.ly/lilM50ZvcYi
Book reimagines Emmett Till's life had he lived - Mississippi Today
In her new book, “If Emmett Till Lived,” best-selling author and historian Sarah Lewis uses essays and photos to imagine what the Black teen's life might have been if he had returned to Chicago.
ow.ly
#OnThisDay in 1974, Beverly Johnson made fashion history when she became the first Black model to appear on the American cover of Vogue magazine. She made the cover three more times. Within a year, every major American fashion designer began to use Black models. mississippitoday.org/2024/08/01/1...
1974: Beverly Johnson becomes first Black model on U.S. Vogue - Mississippi Today
On this day in 1974, Beverly Johnson made fashion history, becoming the first Black model to appear on the American cover of Vogue magazine.
mississippitoday.org
#OnThisDay in 1968, Franklin Armstrong, the 1st Black character in the “Peanuts” comic strip, returned a beach ball that Charlie Brown had lost. 11 days after #MLK assassination, a schoolteacher urged Charles Schultz to add the Black character in hopes of improving racial understanding.
#OnThisDay in 1866, Black men were killed in New Orleans when they paraded outside the Louisiana Constitutional Convention in favor of their right to vote. The march ended in a massacre. At least 38 people were killed & 146 wounded. mississippitoday.org/2024/07/30/1...
1866: Black men killed in New Orleans Massacre - Mississippi Today
On this day in 1866, Black men parading for voting rights were killed during the New Orleans Massacre.
mississippitoday.org
#OnThisDay in 1874, Patrick F. Healy became president of Georgetown University, the 1st Black American to lead a predominantly white university. Born into slavery in GA, he helped transform Georgetown into a major university. mississippitoday.org/2024/07/31/1...
1874: Patrick F. Healy becomes Georgetown president - Mississippi Today
On this day in 1874, Patrick F. Healy became the first African American to become president of a predominantly white university.
mississippitoday.org
#OnThisDay in 1917, 15,000 Black Americans marched in silence in NYC to protest lynchings. Organizers wrote President Wilson, noting that 2,800+ Black Americans had been lynched without trials. Anti-lynching bill finally became law a century later. mississippitoday.org/2024/07/28/1...
1917: Black Americans march in Silent Parade - Mississippi Today
On this day in 1917, up to 15,000 Black Americans marched against lynchings in a Silent Parade in New York City.
mississippitoday.org
#OnThisDay in 1919, a melee began after a Black youth mistakenly swam into “white” territory in Chicago. 6 days later, 38 were dead, 500+ had been injured, 1,000 Black families lost their homes to mob violence. That violence spread across the US in “Red Summer.” mississippitoday.org/2024/07/27/1...
#OnThisDay in 1948, President Harry Truman issued Executive Order 9981, which abolished racial discrimination in armed forces, leading to segregation’s end. The order came after he saw many returning Black soldiers become victims of violence. mississippitoday.org/2024/07/26/1...
1948: Truman abolishes racial discrimination in military - Mississippi Today
On this day in 1948, President Harry Truman issued an executive order that abolished racial discrimination in the United States military.
mississippitoday.org
#OnThisDay in 1964, Unita Blackwell became a delegate for the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, which fought to replace Mississippi’s all-white delegation at the 1964 DNC. “We had no idea that we were changing the whole political future of America.” mississippitoday.org/2024/07/25/1...
#OnThisDay in 1919, a white mob began assaulting Black Americans, including children, after a white woman was allegedly attacked in Washington, D.C. Up to 39 were killed & 150 injured. Similar violence followed in more than two dozen cities. mississippitoday.org/2024/07/24/1...
1919: Red Summer begins in D.C. - Mississippi Today
On this day in 1919, a white mob began assaulting random Black Americans after a white woman was allegedly attacked in Washington, D.C.
mississippitoday.org
#OnThisDay in 1890, white men assassinated F.M.B. “Marsh” Cook after he criticized the Constitutional Convention for its plot to “restore” white supremacy and strip Black Mississippians of the right to vote. The new laws & constitution did what Cook had claimed. mississippitoday.org/2024/07/23/1...
1890: F.M.B. 'Marsh' Cook assassinated - Mississippi Today
On this day in 1890, white men assassinated F.M.B. “Marsh” Cook after he criticized a Constitutional Convention plot to “restore” white supremacy.
mississippitoday.org
#OnThisDay in 1939, Jane Bolin became the 1st Black female judge in US when she was sworn in as family judge in NYC. Fought to end segregation in child placement facilities and spoke out for women’s rights. mississippitoday.org/2024/07/22/1...
1939: Jane Bolin became first Black female judge in the U.S.
On this day in 1939, Jane Bolin became the nation's first Black female judge when she was sworn in as a family judge in New York City
mississippitoday.org
#OnThisDay in 1963, when a National Guardsman poked his bayonet at Gloria Richardson in Cambridge MD, she pushed it away, refusing to back down during racism protests. Her stand inspired change. Two days later, she and others signed the Treaty of Cambridge. mississippitoday.org/2024/07/21/1...
1963: Gloria Richardson pushes bayonet - Mississippi Today
On this day in 1963, Gloria Richardson pushed away a National Guardsman's bayonet he poked at her.
mississippitoday.org
#onthisday in 1950, Black soldiers in the Army’s 24th Infantry Regiment recaptured Yechon, South Korea. For the U.S. forces, it marked the first South Korean city restored to friendly hands. Two soldiers received Congressional Medals of Honor. mississippitoday.org/2024/07/20/1...
1950: 24th Infantry recaptures Yechon - Mississippi Today
On this day in 1950, Black troops of the Army’s 24th Infantry Regiment began a 16-hour offensive that recaptured Yechon, South Korea.
mississippitoday.org
OnThisDay in 1958, Dockum Drug Store in downtown Wichita KS refused to serve Black patrons at its lunch counter. NAACP teens protested this policy through sit-ins. They endured insults, threats until Rexall drugstore chain ended discrimination. mississippitoday.org/2024/07/19/1...
#OnThisDay in 1965, Willie Brewster died after 3 neo-Nazis shot him to death. Their group had already bombed churches and killed Black Americans. Hubert Damon Strange received 10 years in prison, but never served time because he died in a bar fight. mississippitoday.org/2025/06/18/1...
1965: Willie Brewster killed in Alabama - Mississippi Today
Willie Brewster was fatally shot by three white men as he was headed home from work at a pipe foundry near Anniston, Alabama.
mississippitoday.org
#OnThisDay in 1944, Irene Morgan was arrested for refusing to move to the back of an interstate bus in VA for a white couple. Her legal appeal resulted in a Supreme Court decision barring segregation in interstate commerce. Her act inspired the Freedom Rides. mississippitoday.org/2025/07/16/1...
1944: Irene Morgan Arrested for Refusing to Give Up Seat - Mississippi Today
On this day in 1944, Irene Morgan was arrested for refusing to move to the back of an interstate bus, leading to a precedent-setting Supreme Court decision.
mississippitoday.org
#OnThisDay in 1867, Maggie Lena Walker, the first known Black president to charter a bank in US, was born in Richmond VA. She gave loans to Black Americans starting businesses. In 2017, Richmond honored Walker with a statue. mississippitoday.org/2025/07/15/1...
1867: Maggie Lena Walker First Black Bank President Born - Mississippi Today
On this day in 1867, Maggie Lena Walker, first Black and first known female bank president to charter a bank in the U.S., was born in Virginia.
mississippitoday.org