Guest Commentaries:
Transforming events that have changed Mississippi
by William Winter
As I look around Mississippi today, I am impressed by the immense progress that we have made in almost every way in the last thirty or so years. What has been the basis for the transformation that now makes our state a place of so many success stories? It has come about because across the state there were some visionary and progressive leaders who understood what it took to build strong communities.
In the old days an inertia based on a misplaced attachment to the past dominated many communities. Better to endure that status quo than to face unknown consequences what would come with change. In some places it was a matter of turf protection by those who held the political and economic advantage.
It was communities battling their neighbors and the rural folks fighting the folks who lived in town. It was defending racial segregation at all costs and defying the federal government and being suspicious of new ideas and people from the outside.
But fortunately there were those who understood that it was necessary to put community interest ahead of selfish personal interest, that it was essential to break down the barriers that separated and divided communities and that is was necessary to bring the resources of the federal, state and local governments to support programs essential for better living.
They understood that major new investments needed to be made to educate all of our people; that modern highways had to be built, that our abused natural resources had to be protected; that a wise and constructive economic development strategy had to be created that involved both business and government.
But this is only part of the story. The larger story is that local individual citizens began to buy into this process of working together across geographical and class and racial lines. They recognized that the best way to honor that heritage of their often conflicted past was to remove the obstacles that had held them back.
If you asked me what have been the truly transforming events that have done the most to change Mississippi for the better it would be these:
First, the elimination of Jim Crow and the recognition of the worth and dignity of all people regardless of their race. In my opinion no state has come further in this regard than Mississippi. But there is still too much misunderstanding between the races. Just because the laws have changed we have not put the problems of race behind us. Each of us must be involved in all of our relationships to end the remaining tensions that still exist.
The second great transforming event that moved our state forward has been the increased emphasis on the maximum education of all our people regardless of their economic or social situation. But we are still playing catch-up with the rest of the country in establishing a truly competitive system of education. I am afraid that Mississippi has taken a step backwards this year in that process.
The third defining development has been the breakdown of sectionalism and counterproductive rivalries between communities. We have come a long way in this regard, but we must do more to develop a regional approach to the solving of our common problems.
Now with resources at our disposal that were undreamed of a generation ago and with the intellectual and technical know-how to accomplish whatever we choose to do, the next generation of Mississippians must be able to look forward to a quality of life that will be more productive and satisfying than that which we have ever known before. The realization of that goal must be our continuing challenge, and it must be backed up by our willingness to invest more of our resources in that effort. DBJ
(William Winter is former governor of Mississippi. He is also partner in the Jackson law firm Watkins, Ludlam, Winter, and Stennis)
