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On this day in 1919

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JULY 24, 1919

A white mob, many of them World War I , began assaulting random Black Americans after a white woman was allegedly attacked in Washington, D.C. Weeks prior, newspapers had fanned hysteria with reports of a “serial attacker” of white women.

hundreds of Black , and the Ku Klux Klan began night rides into the Black community, spreading terror. The NAACP warned the newspapers that they were “sowing the seeds of a race riot by their inflammatory headlines.” Their prediction came true when a white mob in Washington began beating anyone with Black skin, .

Historian Carter G. Woodson, who went on to found Black History Month, recalled seeing a Black man shot: “I heard him groaning in his struggle as I hurried away as fast as I could without running, expecting every moment to be lynched myself.”

When police refused to intervene, Black Americans fought back. About 375,000 had served in World War I and were willing to fight for their rights. President Woodrow Wilson ordered 2,000 federal troops to regain control.

By the time the violence ended, as many as 39 were dead and 150 . Two Black men went to prison for decades for crimes for which they were likely innocent. Before the year ended, similar violence against Black Americans would take place in more than two dozen , killing up to 237 Black men in Elaine, Arkansas alone. The violence became known as “Red Summer.”

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“There have been race riots throughout the breadth of American history, in every decade since the founding of the country, and the worst of it was in 1919,” Cameron McWhirter, author of “Red Summer: The Summer of 1919 and the Awakening of Black America”, told Smithsonian Magazine. “Every single one was instigated by white mobs, and Washington was the pinnacle if for no other reason than the symbolism.”

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

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mississippitoday.org – Vickie King – 2024-05-17 11:53:33

Renada Stovall sat on the back deck of her rural Arkansas home one evening, contemplating 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 and friends. She also knew, she needed something else to do. 

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“I thought, what kind of business can I start for myself,” said Stovall, as she watered herbs growing in a garden behind her south 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.”

A variety of soaps created by Renada Stovall. Stovall is a chemist who creates all natural skin and hair care products using natural ingredients.

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.

Renada Stovall, owner of Nadabutter, selling her all-natural soaps and balms at the Clinton Main Street Market: Spring into Green, in April of this year.

Stovall sells her balms and moisturizers at what she calls, “pop-up markets,” across the during the summer. She's available via social 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 from 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.”

Soap mixture is poured into a mold to cure. Once cured, the block with be cut into bars of soap.
Renada Stovall, making cold soap at her home.
Renada Stovall adds a vibrant gold to her soap mixture.
Tumeric soap created by Nadabutter owner, Renada Stovall.
Soap infused with honey. Credit: Vickie D. King/

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

On this day in 1954

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mississippitoday.org – Jerry Mitchell – 2024-05-17 07:00:00

MAY 17, 1954

Ella J. Rice talks to one of her pupils, all of them white, in a third grade classroom of Draper Elementary School in Washington, D.C., on September 13, 1954. This was the first day of non-segregated schools for teachers and . Rice was the only Black teacher in the school. Credit: AP

In Brown v. Board of Education and Bolling v. Sharpe, the unanimously ruled that the “separate but equal” doctrine in Plessy v. Ferguson was unconstitutional under the 14th Amendment, which guaranteed equal treatment under the

The historic 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 called the day “Black Monday” and took up the charge of the just-created white Citizens' Council to preserve racial segregation at all costs.

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This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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Mississippi Today

Every university but Delta State to increase tuition this year

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mississippitoday.org – Molly Minta – 2024-05-17 06:30:00

Every in Mississippi is increasing tuition in the fall except for Delta University.

The new rates were approved by the governing board of the eight universities, the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees, at its regular meeting Thursday. 

The average cost of tuition in Mississippi is now $8,833 a year, a roughly 3% increase from last year. can expect to pay tuition ranging from $7,942 a year at Mississippi Valley State University to $10,052 a year at Mississippi State University. 

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In recent years, universities have cited and rising insurance costs as reasons for the tuition increases. At Thursday's meeting, the board heard a presentation on how property insurance is becoming more expensive for the eight universities as Mississippi sees more tornadoes and storms with severe wind and hail.  

READ MORE: Tuition increases yet again at most public universities

But it's an ongoing trend. Mississippi's public universities have steadily increased tuition since 2000, putting the cost of college increasingly out of reach for the average Mississippi . More than half of Mississippi college students graduated with an average of $29,714 in student debt in 2020, according to the Institution for College Access and .

At Delta State University, the president, Daniel Ennis, announced that he will attempt to avoid tuition increases as the regional college in the Mississippi Delta undergoes drastic budget cuts in an effort to become more financially sustainable. 

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“We will resist tuition increases so that our most economically vulnerable students can continue to have access to the opportunities that a college degree can ,” he wrote in a memo to faculty and staff on Monday. “We will move beyond basic survival and into a place where we have the capacity to take better advantage of our undeniable strengths.” 

Delta State didn't increase tuition last year, either. have been concerned the university is becoming too pricey for the students it serves. 

Tuition for the 2024-25 academic year, by school:

  • Alcorn State University: $8,105
  • Delta State University: $8,435
  • State University: $8,690
  • Mississippi State University: $10,052
  • Mississippi University for Women: $8,392
  • Mississippi Valley State University: $7,492
  • University of Mississippi: $9,612
  • University of Southern Mississippi: $9,888

This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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