Mississippi houses the most talked about battle in the country, and for once, it’s not one that makes you shudder. Football has brought Mississippi together in ways powers like religion and politics cannot.
Two of the top three college football teams are currently occupied in the state of Mississippi. It was a spectacular day, arguably the greatest day in Mississippi football history. On October 4, 2014, Mississippi State faced Texas A&M and University of Mississippi "Ole Miss" faced Alabama, the latter playing for the largest crowd in Southeastern Conference history. Both Mississippi teams stunned national audiences and beat the opposing football powerhouses. Beating them on our own land made the wins even more sweet. The trajectory’s been up since that day.
In five weeks, the Mississippi State Bulldogs jumped from no rank to being the country’s number one ranked football team—in Bulldog football history, the team has never been this good. The Ole Miss Rebels currently sit at number three, their highest rank since winning their 1963 SEC Championship, auspiciously the same academic year James Meredith became the first black student to integrate Ole Miss. By beating teams like Alabama, Auburn and Texas A&M, these two Mississippi teams have proven to be a force to be reckoned with. The world continues to watch.
But, as many are familiar, football isn’t the only battle Mississippi is fighting.
Mississippi is lambasted for being “first in things that are bad, last in things that are good.” The poverty-health-education trifecta has taken over Mississippi’s narrative, as systems are failing to address the most pressing needs. But it shouldn’t be a surprise that these three come in a pack. Poverty is the fire that ignites a cascade of problems, especially education and health.
Yet, Mississippi, along with many other states, refuses to support programs that could benefit groups affected the most by these failing systems. When the majority in power refuse to help the minority out of power, it’s hard to ignore the effects of race and how people continue to see each other, although we live in a country that promises equality and justice.
The South’s poor is redolent of the circumstances of the Jim Crow South—many are poor black people working low-income jobs in underdeveloped communities. Led mainly by conservative, white politicians, these communities rarely see policies that enhance their wellbeing.
Look at Mississippi’s education. Despite producing brilliant ‘students’ like Richard Wright, William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Tennessee Williams, Morgan Freeman and Oprah Winfrey, Mississippi public schools have one of the lowest per student expenditure rates in the country. Teachers in Mississippi are also paid $15,000 less than the average teacher in the country. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that these statistics correlate to Mississippi’s low ranking on the national education rankings list. It should, however, come as a surprise that despite this already minimal funding, Mississippi legislatures cut $1.3 billion from schools and gave $1.3 billion in tax breaks to the Nissan plant in Canton, Mississippi.
In the state of health, Mississippi’s sick are only getting sicker. 23 states, including Mississippi, have not expanded Medicaid, the health insurance program for the poor. But that’s not the heaviest problem. Most of these states have not even come up with alternatives, such as premium support or federal subsidy programs to those who cannot afford insurance. Those without health insurance cannot fight acute and chronic illnesses to become productive and sustainable members in society. As a result, you get communities trapped in cycles of unemployment, truancy and incarceration.
Politicians for these states are hurting the very kinds of people health insurance and education plans are intended to help. You can’t ignore race when one group continues to benefit from the marginalization of another group. Slavery in the South may no longer exist, but the current (lack of) policies, laws and programs are doing more harm than good.
Millsaps College Professor Robert S. McElvaine accurately quoted Booker T. Washington in his article in the Huffington Post, “Football and Race in Mississippi.”
“One man cannot hold another man down in a ditch without remaining down in the ditch with him.” By excluding the minority out of power from policy discussion reforms, Mississippi governor Phil Bryant, among other governors, is impacting everyone else in the state. Not expanding Medicaid is affecting all groups living in poverty, including poor white and Hispanic individuals, and immigrants. Marginalizing groups is a deliberate political move and it takes time, capital and resources. You can’t progress as a society until you recognize these ills and work to relieve the institutional pressures placed on minority groups. As long as you’re holding these groups down in the ditch, you’ll remain in the ditch, too.
61 of the 99 Mississippi State football team players are from Mississippi. The majority of Mississippi’s talent is produced by Mississippi, and these players wear the Mississippi name proudly. There is a raw authenticity in Mississippi’s football teams that has come a long way from a struggling, segregated society. Mississippi’s reform isn’t found in the hands of Congress or out-of-state organizations. Mississippi’s reform is found in Mississippi.
Mississippi State student and dear friend Kimberly Eady said, “Whether you win or lose is the only thing people remember. Look at the diversity of a team and of the fans and see how everyone comes together with the common goal of beating your opponent.”
Dak Prescott, the Mississippi State quarterback, echoes Kimberly’s sentiments. He tweeted, “At Mississippi State we don't have fans, we have family.” And he’s referring to both a team and fan-base that is both black and white.
If it weren’t for integration, Mississippi could not occupy where it currently stands—two of the top three rankings in SEC football. Imagine where Mississippi and the United States could be if we take a cue from football and support fair opportunity, support and justice in other sectors such as access to healthcare, education and jobs. True integration—not just by color, but by rights and opportunity—can propel football and a lot more to the very top of the rankings.
As Johnny Vaught, head coach of every Ole Miss SEC championship team, said to his 1962 Championship team,“We’ve got to show the world that we’re not all bad.”
Leena El-Sadek is a Trinity senior. Her column runs every other Wednesday.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.