Introduction

This chapter serves as an overview of the book, beginning with the social climate of Mississippi in the aftermath of the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision. From there, the chapter includes a discussion on the role of the press in this turbulent and violent time period, which more often than not acted as an arm of racist organizations like the Citizens’ Council and the Sovereignty Commission in an effort to protect the way of life that segregation had built. The part college athletics played in the Closed Society is also addressed, as are the various challenges to Mississippi’s white way of life, specifically the unwritten law, and the press reaction to the potential of integrated athletics.

Conclusion

This chapter serves as a summary of the evidence presented in the previous sections of the book and reiterates the evolutionary change that journalism in the Magnolia State underwent from the 1955 through 1973. Editors and reporters went from attacking the various colleges and universities for their quest for athletic glory and potential violations of the Closed Society to identifying the first black basketball players at these educational stalwarts as equals among their peers. By the time these schools began adding black athletes, the reign of the Closed Society was at a virtual end. The various challenges to the unwritten law and the eventual integration of college basketball in the Magnolia State was evidence of the social and ideological evolution in Mississippi’s press. While the athletic accomplishments of these colleges and universities may not have served as a direct catalyst for change, there was no doubt that the differences of opinions expressed in the pages of Mississippi’s newspapers was evidence of a society in transition from the iron grip of the Closed Society to the eventual acceptance of human and civil rights.

The Less Said, the Better

This chapter details the press coverage of the 1960-61 Mississippi State basketball team, which won its second SEC championship and spurred another press-based argument over integrated athletic competition. As detailed in this chapter, during the final month of the 1960-61 college basketball season for the SEC champion Maroons, Mississippi’s journalists supported and enforced the unwritten law and the Closed Society. While a similar argument existed for journalists in the Magnolia State in terms of the merits of the unwritten law, in total, the passion and commentary from Mississippi State’s 1958-59 season was lacking as only a select few argued for the Maroons to participate in the postseason, much less acknowledge the opportunity lost. Despite this level of neglect from the majority of Mississippi’s reporters, a degree of social progress could be found in Mississippi’s sports sections Vicksburg Daily News' Billy Ray and Dick Lightsey of the Biloxi-based Daily Herald, who joined the crusade of Jackson State Times’ Jimmie McDowell’s against the unwritten law, albeit for the chance at postseason glory.

This Is the Biggest Challenge to Our Way of Life Since the Reconstruction

This chapter examines Mississippi State’s fourth straight SEC championship and the team’s first appearance in the integrated NCAA tournament. The journalistic debate surrounding the 1963 Bulldogs demonstrated discontent for the unwritten law by Mississippi’s sports scribes, which was unveiled in the pages of the press. From February 26, 1963, when the Bulldogs clinched the SEC championship through March 20, 1963, after the MSU contingent returned to Starkville from the NCAA tournament, editors and reporters in Mississippi debated the legitimacy of the unwritten law. While Jimmy Ward of the Jackson Daily News continued to champion the cause of the Closed Society, the majority of Mississippi’s sports writers supported an NCAA title opportunity for the Bulldogs. The 1962-63 debate brought forth new support for integrated athletics from Mississippi’s sports reporters and demonstrated the beginning of a slow but progressive change in Mississippi’s press that refused to blindly dismiss any notions towards integration and social equality.

Is There Anything Wrong with Five White Boys Winning the National Championship?

This chapter examines Mississippi State’s third consecutive SEC championship and the onslaught of debate from Mississippi’s press surrounding the merits of integrated competition. Like its past championship seasons, the 1961-62 Bulldogs of head coach James “Babe” McCarthy were denied entry into the NCAA tournament, but support for MSU began to grow. Reporters such as Herb Phillips of the Commercial Dispatch, Billy Ray of the Vicksburg Daily News, Dick Lightsey of the Biloxi-based Daily Herald, and sports editor Lee Baker of the Hederman-owned Clarion-Ledger argued for the Bulldogs’ place in the integrated postseason and the elimination of the unwritten law, all the while stressing their own belief in segregation. From the early stages of February 1962 through March 1962, a smattering of commentary and opinions were expressed from newspapers with the majority of reporters in the Magnolia State once again retreating to the comfortable confines of silent support for the Closed Society. However, by evidence of the growing numbers of supporters in the press, journalists in Mississippi were slowly changing and social progress in athletics was soon to appear on the state’s doorstep.

We’ll Stay at Home and Tell Everybody We’re the Best

This chapter analyzes the press coverage of Mississippi State’s 1958-59 SEC championship season and the subsequent debate surrounding the team’s possible entry into the integrated NCAA tournament. From the team’s February 9, 1959, victory over basketball juggernaut The University of Kentucky until MSU president Ben Hilbun’s February 28, 1959, announcement that the Maroons would decline the invitation to the NCAA tournament, journalists and editors in the Magnolia State debated the merits of MSU entry into college basketball’s postseason. Despite the progressive efforts of Jackson State Times sports editor Jimmie McDowell, most journalists supported Mississippi’s white way of life and gave little credence to the athletic and, more importantly, the social justification for integration.

I’ve Made My Last Trip to Places like Mississippi

This chapter takes a closer look at the decision by the State College Board to eliminate the unwritten law, the first appearance of integrated basketball in the Magnolia State with the 1966 addition of Perry Wallace at The University of Vanderbilt, and the integration of Mississippi State’s college basketball program. In the 1963 aftermath of the unwritten law, Mississippi’s newspapers returned to support the ideals and values of the Closed Society and ignored the historical and social significance of athletic integration. However, over time, the views on race in Mississippi began to change. Evidence of this transformation in Mississippi’s press was apparent during the basketball-based integration of Mississippi State. In total, the anger and debate that had saturated Mississippi’s newspapers during the era of the unwritten law was gone and in its place was a Fourth Estate that attempted to find a journalistic balance.

Sometimes, Even College Administrators Act like Freshmen

This chapter focuses on Mississippi’s first colligate venture into integrated competition, the creation of the unwritten law, and the first challenges to the gentlemen’s agreement. Jones County Junior College played against the integrated Tartars of Compton Junior College in 1955 only to be met with a barrage of racially based verbal attacks from Mississippi’s journalistic elite. In response, state politicians and college presidents banded together to create the unwritten law in an effort to preserve segregation on the playing field. The chapter also examines the coverage of the first challenges to the unwritten law, which were brought forth from the then-Mississippi State College and The University of Mississippi in December 1956. Scribes across Mississippi united in their criticism of the attempted violations of the gentleman’s agreement. Despite the varying amounts of journalistic attention paid to the occurrences, the paths taken in each instance by the press in the Magnolia State contributed to the enforcement of the principles and ideals of the Closed Society