Racism and Rights Activism
Where do we go from here? Racism and Rights Activism in Hattiesburg and Southern Miss
In the wake of the recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery,
USM Centers for Black Studies and for the Study of the Gulf South co-sponsored an
online panel discussion on Wednesday, June 10 to address the history of violence against
black citizens in Hattiesburg and at the University.
The program, titled “Where do we go from here? Racism and Rights Activism in Hattiesburg
and Southern Miss" discussed how community members, students, faculty, staff, and
administrators fought back against this oppression in the past and the best way to
protest, show support, and make longstanding change now and in the future, among others.
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Program panelists included:
- Dr. William Sturkey: an assistant professor of history at the University of North Carolina and author
of the award-winning book, Hattiesburg: An American City in Black and White. Dr. Sturkey
conducted research on his book in 2013 while in Hattiesburg as a visiting faculty
member in the USM History program.
- Dr. Anthony Harris: a Hattiesburg civil rights activist, Southern Miss alumnus, retired professor, and
author.
- Hattiesburg City Councilwoman Deborah Delgado: a five-term councilwoman for Ward 2, past president and current board member of
the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials (NBC-LEO), and founder and chairperson
of the Historic Mobile Street Renaissance Festival.
- Jourdan Green of Hattiesburg: a USM student leader who is a senior in its Honors College and a Luckyday Scholar.