ACLU MS Wrap-Up announces new partnership with Jackson Advocate
JANS – On Dec. 2nd, the ACLU of Mississippi closed the year with reflection, gratitude, and celebration at its Annual Wrap-Up at the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. It was announced, as part of a special storytelling partnership, that the Jackson Advocate will join with ACLU MS in presenting Precedent: The 1875 Mississippi Plan, underscoring the importance of truthful, community-centered journalism in preserving our history.
“For the past year, the ACLU of Mississippi has been on a journey to look honestly at our state’s history and the ways it continues to shape our present,” says Kristian Weatherspoon. “What began as internal research has grown into an expansive multimedia project that brings new attention to the names, places, and events of 1875 – one of the most defining years in Mississippi’s political life.
“The Mississippi Plan of 1875 was a coordinated campaign to overthrow Reconstruction and destroy Black political power through violence, intimidation, and targeted lawmaking. It set the terms for Jim Crow and created patterns of disenfranchisement that echo in our voting systems today. When we understand that history clearly, we see that many of the barriers communities still face were built intentionally, and their legacy persists in the policies we continue to grapple with.
“This project reframes both Mississippi and national history by placing that campaign of suppression at the center of how we understand political power today. And, just as importantly, it makes this history accessible. In partnership with the Jackson Advocate, we’ve created animated explainers, a short documentary, and a micro-website that will launch publicly on January 22 – bringing these stories to communities across the state and beyond.”
Guests also heard from ACLU National Board President Deborah Archer, who shared insights from her book Dividing Lines on how transportation shapes racial inequality. The evening also honored Rims Barber and Carroll Rhodes for their decades of work toward justice and equality in Mississippi.
