Forging Ahead, 1946–Present

OVERVIEW

At all levels of athletic competition, Mississippian Boo Ferriss serves as an inspiration to all athletes.  A pitcher for the Boston Red Sox in the 1940s, Ferriss suffered a career-ending injury in 1947 and served a brief period as a professional baseball coach for the Red Sox. Boo Ferriss then returned to his native state. In 1959, he became the athletic director and head baseball coach at Delta State University.  It was here in the Mississippi Delta that he launched one of the most successful baseball programs in the state.

OVERVIEW

The capital of a nation as well as a state has sentimental meaning to its citizens. It is this significant status given to capitals that can cause regional conflict within a state or nation. Mississippi is no exception to these political struggles in the establishment of its state capital. Mississippi’s capital was relocated for various reasons throughout the history of the state even after the current capital of Jackson was selected in 1821.

CURRICULAR CONNECTIONS

Mississippi Studies Framework: Competencies 1, 3 and 4.

OVERVIEW

Given the opportunity, most students are eager to explore and to understand the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi. Their interest will certainly be aroused by an informative study of youth involvement in the movement, an area often overlooked in a cursory review of the primary leaders and events. Students will be engaged in thinking about the following questions as they research the subject:

OVERVIEW

Anthropologist Margaret Mead once argued against the improbability of one person bringing about major changes in society. Rather, she asserted, one person’s dedication and commitment was normally the only way change would come. Few would argue that Mississippi became a vastly different state as the result of the life and work of Medgar Wiley Evers, a pioneer in the state’s Civil Rights Movement.

OVERVIEW

“My one vote doesn’t count.” “I really can’t accomplish anything by myself.” “No one will take me seriously.” “If I stand up for what I believe, people may make fun of me.”

The life of Ida B. Wells, born of slave parents in Mississippi, stands in stark contrast to these types of excuses frequently voiced by adults, as well as students. As pupils examine the story of this extraordinary woman, they should sense a real kinship with those in the state who fought so hard for justice. Students should begin to ask themselves:

OVERVIEW

While students may be somewhat knowledgeable about Mississippi’s rich contributions in the field of blues music and rock and roll, they are probably unaware of the state’s contributions to the field of country music. This lesson will enable them to study the content and form of country music and to explore the connections between the genre and the rural, southern environment of the early 20th century. In doing so, they will become acquainted with the life of a famous practitioner from Mississippi; Jimmie Rodgers.

OVERVIEW

Elvis Presley, or better known as simply Elvis, was born in Tupelo, Mississippi on January 8, 1935. Even after his untimely death, this Mississippian still remains a pop icon. He rose from a humble beginning in Mississippi to launch a rock and roll revolution with his charismatic stage presence and distinctive voice.

OVERVIEW

In this lesson, students will explore the life and work of “the most popular and influential blues guitarist of the last three decades,” according to Robert Palmer, author of Deep Blues, (p. 178). The life of Riley B. “B.B.” King is, in many ways, reflective of the early hard lives of most Delta blues musicians. No study of Mississippi’s rich cultural history is complete without including the Delta blues and its practitioners, now studied, sung, and imitated around the world.