An Open Letter to Governor Haley Barbour of Mississippi

Dear Governor Barbour,
It was with profound regret that I read in the Commercial Appeal about your budget proposal that would result in the closing of three colleges, two of them historically African-American. I cannot say that I was surprised, but I was deeply saddened. You have stated that the state of Mississippi faces a formidable budget crisis. I am sure that all states do during this sad time in our nation's history. But a state with such a history of educational deprivation as Mississippi can hardly afford to find economy through the closing of school doors and the shutting off of opportunity. You have said that it is unfair to expect the taxpayers of Mississippi to support eight institutions of higher education. I would tend to agree, but the reason that so many institutions had to be established was also unfair. In case you have forgotten how we reached this point, let me review. The Reconstruction-era legislature of Mississippi voted not to admit Blacks to the University of Mississippi, and soon thereafter, Alcorn College (one of the schools you have proposed closing) was founded on the site of an old Presbyterian college. This decision guaranteed that separate education would be required for Black students. A number of Black institutions were founded at this time by Northern churches, but by the time of World War I, these were falling out of favor with white Southerners, who did not want Blacks to receive an academic curriculum, but rather one based in agriculture and vocational work, as suggested by Booker T. Washington at Tuskegee. From that point on, Southern states worked to bring the bulk of Black education under the control of state government. The Baptist-supported Jackson College was purchased by the state in 1940, and Mississippi Vocational College (now Mississippi Valley, another school marked for closing) was founded in 1950. State control over Black higher education wreaked havoc with struggling Black church schools-all but a few could not survive economically, so Natchez College, Prentiss Institute, Saints Junior College, Southern Christian Institute, Campbell College, Baptist Industrial College, Okolona Industrial College and Mississippi Industrial College all closed between the 1940's and today. Therefore, bad decisions of the past led to Blacks being required to be in separate colleges from whites, and that those colleges would not be private and church-related, but rather publicly funded. Now we have reached the point at which the majority of Black students no longer wish to abandon their institutions and attend historically-white colleges. Years of segregation and discrimination have convinced them that there is no point in continuing the folly of trying to make integration work with people who have no desire to see it work. As for my mother's alma mater, Mississippi State College for Women (Reneau University), which you have also proposed closing, it was founded for similar reasons as those above. The state's new land-grant college, Mississippi A & M, was founded in 1878 for men only. This unusual decision necessitated a nearby school for women be founded. While men and women should have been admitted to Mississippi A & M (now Mississippi State) from the beginning, they were not, and now women are proud of the fine legacy of their school and do not want to merge with Mississippi State.
If the concern is strictly one of budget, it is strange that you made no mention of, or decision regarding, the unusually-large number of junior colleges in the state of Mississippi. They undoubtedly cost the state a great deal of money, are often located close to each other, and are also often close to the four-year schools. Wouldn't it make sense to bring them under the control of the various four-year colleges to cut down on administrative costs? This would probably save far more money than what you are proposing.
And finally, even if consolidating some colleges were a sensible answer, I would have to take issue with the schools that are being consolidated. If we were going to merge Mississippi Valley State with another institution, why would we merge it with Jackson State, more than a hundred miles to the south, when it could be so easily merged with Delta State, no more than 50 miles away in Cleveland. Such a University of the Delta could be an economic boon to the area. But could it be that you, Governor Barbour, still would rather see Blacks go to school with Blacks and whites with whites?
I know that the decisions that you and the legislature have to make will be hard ones, but I have reviewed how we got to this point. For better or for worse, decisions were made to separate the races and genders in Mississippi higher education, and people have gotten used to that setup. It is unfair to force the victims of those bad decisions of the past to now be victimized again, with the loss of their schools, traditions and heritage.

Yours Truly,
John M. Shaw

September 5, 2009 Ocean Springs, MS; Gulfport, MS; Jackson, MS; Memphis, TN

We got up early and decided to drive to McElroy's on the Bayou in Ocean Springs for breakfast and it proved to be a good choice. The new restaurant, built to replace one in Biloxi that Hurricane Katrina had destroyed, was built overlooking beautiful Fort Bayou and the large homes that lined it. As we ate a delicious breakfast, we were able to watch boats that were taking an early morning run on the waters, and birds that were in the trees near the windows. After ending our meal with an order of beignets, we decided to drive into the downtown area of Ocean Springs to see what had been done since the storm, but we soon found that the city was teeming with people because of an event called Art Walk. The streets were lined with tents where artists had set up to sell paintings, pottery and sculptures, and people were walking everywhere. On Government Street, we passed interesting-looking places like Government Street Grocery (actually a restaurant) and Chandeleur Outfitters. I would have liked to have stopped and browsed around, but my mother had to meet her friends from school at the White Cap Seafood Restaurant in Gulfport at 11 AM, so we headed back west into Biloxi on Highway 90. The White Cap was owned by one of her old classmates, Carl Lizana, and was a beautiful new building at Mississippi City, since, once again, Katrina had blown the old one away. We spent a couple of hours there, eating and talking, and then we left, heading out the new Cowan-Lorraine highway out to Saucier to start the drive back to Memphis. In Jackson, we went to a restaurant near the stadium called Sal and Mookie's that proved to be some of the best pizza either of us had ever eaten. I was especially impressed by the herb garden that they had growing outdoors beside the building. From there we stopped by Lemuria Books in Banner Hall, where I bought a book about New Orleans, and then, after a cappuccino from the Broad Street Baking Company downstairs, we started back home to Memphis. We soon learned that the history-making football game between Mississippi State and Jackson State had not gone well for the JSU Tigers, as they got blown out by the Bulldogs.

August 16, 2009 Jackson, MS

Breakfast with Charlie Braxton and two of his sons at Broad Street Baking Company. Then I drove back to Memphis, but detoured into Water Valley to meet Justin Showah, the owner of Hill Country Records, who had an order of Eric Deaton Trio CDs for me to pick up for Select-O-Hits. The talk in the little grocery store there in Water Valley had been about the weekend death of Memphis music legend Jim Dickinson.

August 15, 2009 Jackson, MS

Breakfast at Primo's in Ridgeland (always good), and then I headed out to the flea market in Pearl to look for old records and Jackson State memoribilia (didn't find much other than a couple of old Provine High School yearbooks). Events on the Jackson State campus got under way late because people had been out at clubs the night before, so I ducked into the bookstore to kill time and noticed racks of T-shirts announcing the historic football game between Mississippi State and Jackson State in September. I started to buy one, but then I noticed a book by former JSU president Dr. John Peoples, and I bought that instead. I was able to spend some time talking with Dee-1 and his manager, and then Charlie Braxton arrived, followed by Kevin Powell, the keynote speaker for the conference, who was formerly editor-in-chief of Vibe Magazine. After his early afternoon speech, he headed out with me, Charlie and Kamikaze to Cool Al's in North Jackson, where we ate lunch. Although famous for burgers, I enjoyed the lemon-pepper chicken fingers and freshly cut french-fries. Back on the Jackson State campus, there was a screening of a documentary about Mississippi rap, but the film upset a community organizer named Chukwe Lumumba because it contained cursing, and he had brought his grandchildren to the event. He argued with the DJ from Mississippi Valley State that Black art should be appropriate for the elders and the children. The afternoon panel that I was on almost didn't happen because all the artists were over in the auditorium doing a soundcheck, but they eventually came back over to our panel, and we got underway. Afterwards, Charlie, Kevin and I decided to go get pizza for dinner, but as we walked out of the back of the Student Center, the Sonic Boom of the South was practicing in the fields just to the north, with the War and Thunder drumline practicing their cadences. We had intended to eat dinner at Sal and Mookie's Pizza in the Fondren nieghborhood, but they were overcrowded, so we headed to Soulshine Pizza Factory in Ridgeland instead. The food was great, and the conversation stimulating, and then we dropped Charlie back off at his house, and I dropped Kevin back off at the Jackson State guesthouse since he had an early flight back to New York the next day. I found that the rap performances at the auditorium had ended, but something seemed to be going on on Gibbs-Green Plaza on the yard, so I parked and walked up there. The freshmen had arrived on campus, but some upperclassmen had too, and there were Sigmas doing a step routine near their benches as I walked past. At the Student Center end of the plaza, a DJ and turntables had been set up for what I supposed had been a "welcome back" party, but everything was winding down. I gave the DJ my business card, and then headed back out to the hotel.

August 14, 2009 Jackson, MS

Breakfast at Panera Bread in Memphis, and then I headed out to Jackson, Mississippi for the Ya Heard Me-Meanings In Hip-Hop Culture conference at Jackson State University. Lunch at Majestic Burger (new and good), a cappuccino at Cups and then I headed out to the campus, which seemed bigger and newer than the last time I was out there. The new student center looks like something out of CSI Miami, but not many people were there because they had been told that the day's conference events were cancelled. I met a couple of rap artists from Ghana, and there was a reception for us hosted by JSU President Dr. Ronald Mason. Then, with heavy pop-up showers occurring at times, I headed out to Sal & Phil's Po-Boys for dinner, and watched the Saints-Bengals pre-season game while enjoying a shrimp po-boy. New Orleans rapper Dee-1 and his manager had come up from New Orleans, and called me as they were heading over to Flood's for the rap showcases, but I headed to my room at the Comfort Suites. They were supposed to call me when Dee-1 was about to go on stage, but if they did, I slept right through it.