Mississippi Today
Election preview: Ag Commissioner Andy Gipson faces challenger Robert Bradford on Nov. 7
Incumbent Republican Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson faces Democratic nominee Robert Bradford in Tuesday's general election.
Gipson, 46, of Braxton, is a lawyer, a tree and cattle farmer, a Baptist minister and former longtime state representative, where he served as chairman of the Judiciary B Committee. He was appointed as agriculture commissioner in 2018 to fill out now U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith's term, then elected to the post.
Bradford, 50, is a fourth-generation Delta farmer. He is currently serving as the director of the Natchez-Adams County Homeland Security Program, Floodplain Management Program, Emergency 9-1-1 coordinator and Emergency Management Agency. Bradford is a U.S. Army 82nd Airborne veteran, and retired as a major with the Army Reserves. He has a bachelor of science degree in agronomy from Alcorn State University.
Gipson said he's made great accomplishments during his term-and-a-half as agriculture commissioner. He said he's consolidated divisions within his agency and saved tax dollars, helped grow international markets for the state's growers and fought unnecessary regulatory burdens from Washington.
“Agriculture is the single largest economic sector in the state of Mississippi,” Gipson said. “Another reason it's so critical, is it's the only industry God personally designed for the sustainability of the world.”
Bradford says his experience in farming, emergency management and military planning make him the most qualified candidate to oversee the state's agriculture industry.
“Why do we have an attorney running our agriculture?” Bradford told a recent crowd at a candidates' forum. “… There's nothing political in agriculture. The only red and blue things in agriculture are strawberries and blueberries.”
READ MORE: Mississippi Today's complete voter guide for the Nov. 7 general election
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi Today
On this day in 1896
MAY 18, 1896
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-1 in Plessy v. Ferguson that racial segregation on railroads or similar public places was constitutional, forging the “separate but equal” doctrine that remained in place until 1954.
In his dissent that would foreshadow the ruling six decades later in Brown v. Board of Education, Justice John Marshall Harlan wrote that “separate but equal” rail cars were aimed at discriminating against Black Americans.
“In the view of the Constitution, in the eye of the law, there is in this country no superior, dominant, ruling class of citizens,” he wrote. “Our Constitution in color-blind and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law. The humblest is the peer of the most powerful. The law … takes no account of his surroundings or of his color when his civil rights as guaranteed by the supreme law of the land are involved.”
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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Mississippi Today
Renada Stovall, chemist and entrepreneur
Renada Stovall sat on the back deck of her rural Arkansas home one evening, contemplating life when she had a life-altering epiphany…
“I gotta get out of these woods.”
She heard it as clear as lips to her ear and as deep as the trees surrounding her property. Stovall's job as a chemist had taken her all over the country. In addition to Arkansas, there were stints in Atlanta, Dallas and Reno. But she was missing home, her parents and friends. She also knew, she needed something else to do.
“I thought, what kind of business can I start for myself,” said Stovall, as she watered herbs growing in a garden behind her south Jackson home. Some of those herbs are used in her all-natural products. “I know when I lived in Reno, Nevada, where it's very hot and very dry, there really weren't products available that worked for me, my hair, and my skin suffered. I've got a chemistry degree from Spelman College. I took the plunge and decided to create products for myself.”
In 2018, Stovall's venture led to the creation of shea butter moisturizers and natural soaps. But she didn't stop there, and in December 2022, she moved home to Mississippi and got to work, expanding her product line to include body balms and butters, and shampoos infused with avocado and palm, mango butter, coconut and olive oils.
Nadabutter, which incorporates Renada's name, came to fruition.
Stovall sells her balms and moisturizers at what she calls, “pop-up markets,” across the state during the summer. She's available via social media and also creates products depending on what of her ingredients a customer chooses. “My turmeric and honey is really popular,” Stovall added.
“The all-natural ingredients I use are great for conditioning the skin and hair. All of my products make you feel soft and luscious. The shea butter I use comes from West Africa. It's my way of networking and supporting other women. And it's my wish that other women can be inspired to be self-sufficient in starting their own businesses.”
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi Today
On this day in 1954
MAY 17, 1954
In Brown v. Board of Education and Bolling v. Sharpe, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the “separate but equal” doctrine in Plessy v. Ferguson was unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment, which guaranteed equal treatment under the law.
The historic decision brought an end to federal tolerance of racial segregation, ruling in the case of student Linda Brown, who was denied admission to her local elementary school in Topeka, Kansas, because of the color of her skin.
In Mississippi, segregationist leaders called the day “Black Monday” and took up the charge of the just-created white Citizens' Council to preserve racial segregation at all costs.
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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