Mi$$i$$ippi…..

So after these first few days we all know that Mississippi is not spelled with dollar signs. 

I moved to Mississippi in the 4^th grade from South Bend, Indiana – I was born in Charlotte, NC, so I am a true southerner, don’t worry.  Until the third grade I attended a public school that was primarily white.  In third grade I became aware that there were two African American students in the grade above me… then I moved to Mississippi.  On my first day of school in Mississippi I was placed in a class where the black/white ratio was just about equal.  Within a few hours I was moved to a class where the majority of the students were white.  Is there really anything else to say here?

Tupelo, Mississippi is very fortunate to have an exceptional public school district.  Dr. Mullins mentioned in his talk on Monday that one of the reasons the school district in Tupelo is so great is because the white population never dispersed when the African American population began to grow.  The public school system in Tupelo is great, but many of the problems that plagued the students and families seen in the film LaLee’s Kin are present in Tupelo.  I guess those instances are just the exception, rather than the rule.  

While I was home between the end of school and the start of this internship I had lunch with an old friend from middle school.  She is a black girl who comes from an educated family.  She has attended a year of college, has taken some time off to work and get married, and plans on returning to school.  As I walked out of the restaurant, I ran into a girl who was in my 5^th grade class, also African American.  She was stopping by to see her mother who worked at the restaurant and she had – I’m estimating – her three year old son with her. 

I must say that I learned a lot more from the film Lalee’s Kin than I expected.  I thought I knew about the Mississippi Delta.  Watching Lalee’s family bathe in buckets without running water will be an image that may never leave my mind.  I couldn’t help but be reminded of the stories Patrick has told me about his time in a small Ugandan village.  Hardly any families have running water or electricity… sounds a lot like Lalee’s new trailer to me. 

My mind is going crazy with the images of this documentary and the facts that I have been introduced to in the past few days.  I feel like I’m going to need a few days to let this settle and find a place in my mind that these thoughts can somehow, if possible, find a resting place.  I cannot help but wonder what was going through the minds of many of the first-years who sat in that room today.  I have grown up in Mississippi.  Although those images and facts are all still shocking to me, I cannot imagine what those from the farthest corners of the country are thinking about right now – especially in regard to the experiences they will have in the fall.