behind me is the mississippi state penitentiary known locally as parchment prison where an astounding 9 individuals have died in the past month alone since the start of the new year reports of everything from fights and fires and suicides to insufficient food and water supplies power outages and individuals sleeping on the floors have been reported and a mountain of human rights abuses are allegedly going on behind these walls we traveled here today to speak with locals activists politicians celebrities and everyone in between and to try and figure out why these things are happening here parchment and what can be done to fix the problem in order to understand the current crisis inside parchment you have to go way back in history and understand the prison's roots the former governor of mississippi an open my supremacist james k. vardaman was instrumental in creating the mississippi state prison he believed that the money made from convict leasing and chain gangs should go to the state instead of private entities and those of the mississippi state penitentiary was born the prison itself

behind me is the mississippi state penitentiary known locally as parchment prison where an astounding 9 individuals have died in the past month alone since the start of the new year reports of everything from fights and fires and suicides to insufficient food and water supplies power outages and individuals sleeping on the floors have been reported and a mountain of human rights abuses are allegedly going on behind these walls we traveled here today to speak with locals activists politicians celebrities and everyone in between and to try and figure out why these things are happening here parchment and what can be done to fix the problem in order to understand the current crisis inside parchment you have to go way back in history and understand the prison's roots of former governor of mississippi and open my supra mrs james k. vardaman was instrumental in creating the mississippi state prison he believed that the money made from convict leasing and chain gang should go to the state instead of private entities and thus the mississippi state penitentiary was born the prison itself is a r

, emerged as a fortress of southern white racism. >> i love mississippi! [ cheers and applause ] i love our heritage! [ cheers and applause ] >> mississippi had always been just a place apart, to me. it was the south africa of america. it was a place you didn't really want to put your foot. >> now a civil rights maverick would strike at the venerable all-white university of mississippi known as ole miss. >> university of mississippi had not had any black folks as students, ever. extremely single-minded young vet ran, james meredith, decides he's going to go to ole miss. and will not be deterred. >> i have decided that i, j.h. meredith, will register -- >> one impediment is removed after another by the courts, who keep saying, you can't keep the guy out. >> mississippi's governor, ross barnett, had no intention of complying with the court order. he stood defiantly in the door of the registrar, blocking meredith's way. ole miss, he said, would remain all white. >> i, ross r. barnett, governor of the great and sovereign state of mississippi, deny to you, jame

behind me is the mississippi state penitentiary known locally as parchment prison where an astounding 9 individuals have died in the past month alone since the start of the new year reports of everything from fights and fires and suicides to insufficient food and water supplies power outages and individuals sleeping on the floors have been reported and a mountain of human rights abuses are allegedly going on behind these walls we traveled here today to speak with locals activists politicians celebrities and everyone in between and to try and figure out why these things are happening here parchment and what can be done to fix the problem in order to understand the current crisis inside parchment you have to go way back in history and understand the prison's roots of former governor of mississippi and open my supra mrs james k. vardaman was instrumental in creating the mississippi state prison he believed that the money made from convict leasing and chain gang should go to the state instead of private entities and those of the mississippi state penitentiary was born the prison itself is

behind me is the mississippi state penitentiary known locally as parchment prison where an astounding 9 individuals have died in the past month alone since the start of the new year reports of everything from fights and fires and suicides to insufficient food and water supplies power outages and individuals sleeping on the floors have been reported and a mountain of human rights abuses are allegedly going on behind these walls we traveled here today to speak with locals activists politicians celebrities and everyone in between and to try and figure out why these things are happening here parchment and what can be done to fix the problem in order to understand the current crisis inside parchment you have to go way back in history and understand the prisons roots of former governor of mississippi an open wife supremacist james k. vardaman was instrumental in creating the mississippi state prison he believed that the money made from convict leasing and chain gang should go to the state instead of private entities and those of the mississippi state penitentiary was born the prison itself

behind me is the mississippi state penitentiary known locally as parchment prison where an astounding 9 individuals have died in the past month alone since the start of the new year reports of everything from fights and fires and suicides to insufficient food and water supplies power outages and individuals sleeping on the floors have been reported and a mountain of human rights abuses are allegedly going on behind these walls we traveled here today to speak with locals activists politicians celebrities and everyone in between and to try and figure out why these things are happening here parchment and what can be done to fix the problem in order to understand the current crisis inside parchment you have to go way back in history and understand the prisons roots of former governor of mississippi and open my supreme mrs james k. vardaman was instrumental in creating the mississippi state prison he believed that the money made from convict leasing and chain gangs should go to the state instead of private entities and those of the mississippi state penitentiary was born the prison itself

in 8096 do you think if i were to walk down the street of any town in mississippi that people would say yes they knew that. people of a certain generation with no that i would imagine young people probably under 35 may not realize it but people of artifactual realize and it's been in the news so much that 89 to 48 and i think. that the flag was. the was on the flag that was 70 years after the federal civil war 'd of the confederacy so it was put there to be a reminder of slavery was put there to be very offensive it was put there to subjugate african-americans to being a 2nd class citizen that was very intentional and i could just not sit back as a father and just allow that to continue to rise upright the premise they have to go if they have been defeated i mean. at least in the symbiotically. i want to ask you since i'm talking to you tonight from berlin germany came up with a way of dealing with its nazi past and with its non-si icons and symbols you may find them in museums you will not find them to on display anywhere in public do you think that could be a model for the united

in 8096 do you think if i were to walk down the street of any town in mississippi that people would say yes they knew that people of a search generation would know that i would imagine young people probably under 35 may not really. think of other to perhaps it will have been to do so much of it you know in a fortnight it sticks with the flag was. the flag that was so many years after the better civil war 'd of the confederacy most yes it was but there's again a reminder of slavery was but it would be very offensive to subjugate african-americans to being a 2nd class citizen that was very intentional and i could just. as a father and it allow that to continue to write the crying by supremacy have to go it has been defeated i mean. and there's nothing in the least about it. i want to ask you since i'm talking to you tonight from berlin germany came up with a way of dealing with its nazi past and with nazi icons and symbols you may find them in museums you will not find them though on display anywhere in public do you think that could be a model for the united states as it removes its

behind me is the mississippi state penitentiary known locally as parchment prison where an astounding 9 individuals have died in the past month alone since the start of the new year reports of everything from fights and fires and suicides to insufficient food and water supplies power outages and individuals sleeping on the floors have been reported and a mountain of human rights abuses are allegedly going on behind these walls we traveled here today to speak with locals activists politicians celebrities and everyone in between and to try and figure out why these things are happening here parchment and what can be done to fix the problem in order to understand the current crisis inside parchment you have to go way back in history and understand the prisons roots of former governor of mississippi and open my supremacist james k. vardaman was instrumental in creating the mississippi state prison he believed that the money made from convict leasing and chain gang should go to the state instead of private entities and thus the mississippi state penitentiary was born the prison itself is a

mississippi saw record-high hospitalizations. there were at least eight major medical centers with zero icu beds available. how close is mississippi's hospital system to having to triage patients and even deny some of the medical care because you don't have capacity? >> well, first of all, thanks for having me on, jake. i wouldn't suggest that our health care system is in a position in which we are going to have to triage patients. we certainly have more patients in icu beds than we have ever had. our total hospitalization on covid-19 patients, but let's keep this in perspective. the number on june 27th was approximately 490 patients in hospital beds. today that number is closer to 890. and so we haven't quite doubled, but we are seeing significantly increased hospitalization. and that's the reason that we have worked with our hospitals and mandated the surge capacity for icu beds and we're making the decisions that need to be made to make sure we achieve our goal. our goal in mississippi is that every single mississippian that c

do you think people know the history of the flag the history of mississippi as well as they should i know even researching this story a lot of people found out that i was talking to that the confederate emblem 1st was put on the state flag in mississippi in 8096 do you think if i were to walk down the street of any town in mississippi that people would say yes they knew that. people of a certain generation with no that i would imagine young people probably under 35 may not realize it but people of artifacts are realizing it's been in the news so much that 89 to 48 and i think. that the flag was. the was on the flag that was 70 years after the confederate civil war of the confederacy and so it was put there to be a reminder of slavery was put there to be very offensive it was put there to subjugate african-americans to be a 2nd class citizen that was very intentional after just not. as a father and just allow that to continue to rise upright supremacy has to go it has been defeated i mean. at least in the symbolically. i want to ask you since i'm talking to you tonight from berlin ger

i'll speak to los angeles mayor and mississippi governor, next. >>> crackdown. camouflaged federal agents detained portland protesters in unmarked vehicles. >> this is an attack on our me dock si. >> president trump may use the same approach in other cities. is it legal? portland mayor joins me to discuss. >>> congressman john lewis has died. >> we're one people. we're one family. we're one house. >> we'll reflect on his impact. >>> hello, i'm jake tapper where the state of our union is in mourning for john lewis. we'll have more on him and his leg legacy. the state of our union are terrified because there's 3.4 million in the united states and more than 140,000 americans dead and there's no friendly way to say this. this crisis is spiraling out of control with no indication that president trump will try to do anything different to try to stop it. in the last month, the u.s. beat its own daily record for new cases, at least nine times. hospitals and states across the country are reaching capacity. nothing would make me happier than to report to you this morning

what's worse, look at mississippi. in other words, there is, as i said before, there is no separate but equal here. clearly, the facilities that the african-americans had were going to be less because the allocations were going to be significantly less. i put up the figures for california, new york, and washington. they were not segregated areas, but i put up the figures in comparison and you'll notice right away that the area of the country that provides the least for education, the south, provides significantly less for african-americans. provides significantly less for african-americans. again, i'm going to get myself in trouble here, but people talk about the achievement gap today. this is the root of the achievement gap. this is where it came from. it came from decades of poor training and the aftermath of that poor training that extends into contemporary society. by the early 1950s, african-american parents in south carolina, in virginia, in delaware, in the district of columbia initiated a series of lawsuits aga

the percentage of african-americans almost 50 percent mississippi, alabama, georgi mississippi, alabama, georgia, a and south carolina was less than five years of formal jim crow education. more than 50 percent of black adults in those states of formal jim crow education. and then we put the constitution in front of them. to say read and interpret that and again the us supreme court said because everybody has to read and interpret it it doesn't violate the 15th amendment. by the time we get to 1940 only 3 percent of african-american adults are registered to vote in the south. 3 percent this is where the bulk of black folks live this is how you can legally eviscerate the right to vote american citizen. it took mobilizing and organizing to break this wide-open. >> you have inspired me to talk about this quickly. with covid-19 upon us and the pandemic and all of a sudden but the disproportionate numbers in the african-american community my colleagues say how does this happen? this is horrible. you don't know the history of this country. have been working on legislation i decided to members

of mississippi. the state health officer is perhaps being more stark about how far mississippi is already off the cliff. >> we've been talking about this, saying it's coming, and here it is. and not only is it here, it's going to get worse. yesterday five of our biggest hospitals in the state had zero icu beds. zero. an additional four had 5% or less. an additional three had less than 10%. our biggest medical institutions who take care of our sickest patients have no room to take care of additional folks. when i talk to my e.r. colleagues, i'm understanding they can't get them anywhere because there's nowhere to send them. we're sending people out of state all the time because mississippi hospitals cannot take care of mississippi patients. >> mississippi hospitals cannot take care of mississippi patients. that's mississippi state health officer thomas dobbs. when i said that there is a considerable freakout in the mississippi state government about what's happening in that state, i would be remiss to

first one here, outbreak at mississippi capitol. number of infected lawmakers grows to 26. 26 state legislators have just tested positive. quote, many politicians flouted recommendations to wear a mask inside the capitol in recent weeks. now about one in six mississippi state lawmakers have tested positive for the coronavirus. quote, the number of coronavirus cases linked to the outbreak at the capitol has grown to 36. that includes 26 legislators according to the state's top health official. it apparently also does not include tests of all lawmakers, some whom returned to their district before they got tested at the capitol. so the number may yet rise. the legislators known to be infected already include the leader of the house in mississippi, also the leader of the senate in mississippi who's the lieutenant governor. he oversees the senate and also the member of the public health committee. these are all republican legislators. now tonight the mississippi governor also a republican his name is tate reaves, he has had to deliver ju

this is jackson mississippi, 1963. this is towards the end of the movement, as you can see the violence. the violence that is involved here. birmingham, alabama. everyone in this room has probably heard of birmingham. you know about the violence in firming hand. you know what would happen in 1963. thousands, not hundreds, thousands of people would be arrested. many of them will be children. the fire hoses, the famous fire hoses be turned on people. wasourse, the worst of this , if you want to call it that, the worst of this was the four little girls who were bombed at septemberchool in 1963. this was birmingham. the man who orchestrated much of this is bull connor. bull connor was the guy who went after eleanor roosevelt in 1937. he is still the head of police. don't have a chief position. he is called the commissioner of public safety. interesting phrase. he is also the person who is responsible for castrating violence throughout northern alabama. not just in birmingham. in the early 1960's. of course, there is meg ri

in mississippi, 99%. in other words, 99% of the black folks eligible to vote were not allowed to vote in the state of mississippi in 1960. this was the reality. this was the reality that these students saw in 1960. thirdly, there were thousands -- thousands of private businesses and public accommodations across the south that either barred blacks all together or segregated them. again, the reality. this is -- yeah, i keep becoming personal here. i remember these signs. i remember growing up with these signs. they were on businesses throughout brownsville, tennessee where i grew up, and i suspect that they were on businesses throughout the south at that time, and maybe even in some places outside of the south. restaurants, hotels, theatres, drugstores, department stores, public parks, all segregated. all segregated. let me give you a sign that i do remember seeing. i'm going to get personal here. overton park zoo. i grew up in brownsville. and memphis was the big city. sort of like olympia and seattle. so

joining us this evening are mississippi state senator angela turner ford. mississippi's legislature has had an outbreak of coronavirus cases. also with us is dr. ebony hilton, an associate professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the university of virginia, and hayes brown is the host of buzzfeed's podcast news o'clock. good to see all of you. dr. hilton, let me start with you. when you see disney world reopening today, as the cases and the hospitalizations are rising in florida, how do you view that? the theme parks, disney universal, seaworld, they all seem to be taking pretty aggressive measures to keep people safe, including turning away people at the gate if they don't have proper masks or if they have a fever. >> it's not enough. thank you for having me, for one. but what we know is that florida just announced that 7,000 children were testing positive from covid-19. and who tends to go to these theme parks but kids? what we're seeing across the

joining us this evening are mississippi state senator angela turner ford. mississippi's legislature has had an outbreak of coronavirus cases. also with us is dr. ebony hilton, an associate professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the university of virginia, and hayes brown is the host of buzzfeed's podcast news o'clock. good to see all of you. dr. hilton, let me start with you. when you see disney world reopening today, as the cases and the hospitalizations are rising in florida, how do you view that? the theme parks, disney universal, seaworld, they all seem to be taking pretty aggressive measures to keep people safe, including turning away people at the gate if they don't have proper masks or if they have a fever. >> it's not enough. thank you for having me, for one. but what we know is that florida just announced that 7,000 children were testing positive from covid-19. and who tends to go to these theme parks but kids? what we're seeing across the nation is that our test, although we're plateaued on how many tests we're performing, our p

i find commission has been set up in mississippi and it's to you to submit a proposal by mid september people there will then vote in a referendum on the same day as the presidential election on november 3rd. to formula one now and defending world champion lewis hamilton who has won the hungarian crown prince the british driver won in hungary a record extending 8th time to go top of the driver standing leap frogging restating his teammate while terry bottas who finished 3rd. to stop him did well to finish 2nd after crashing into a barrier before the race and even begun. you're watching d.w. news here's a reminder of our top story at this hour e.u. leaders are holding a 3rd day of talks over a 750000000000 euro coronavirus recovery plan they're deeply divided over how to help countries including spain and italy which have been hardest hit by the fed's demick. to sustainable you news i'm in essex we'll have more headlines for you at the top of the hour on the pledge for me as the entire team here and thanks for watching. me there i'm david and this is climate change. our premise in 3 boo

let's bring in mississippi governor tate reeves. i will ask about the rising coronavirus cases in a moment but first, you and your state had a historic moment yesterday removing the confederate symbol from your flag. i want to get your take on it. he said if the legislature sent it to you you would sign it. did you anticipate it would happen? >> i did, as i watch the process over the last couple weeks. it became more clear that more and more people were getting on board to make this decision to retire the 1894 flag but i'll tell you it required a two-thirds vote of the house and senate as we look at it late last week, it appeared was becoming increasingly difficult for them to do so and that's the reason i decided that i needed to take the initiative and say that i would sign the legislation which i will tell you we did yesterday in a solemn ceremony at the governor's mansion. we have the first african-american member of the mississippi supreme court, the first african-american member to hold a district office in our state. we had t

even as eight mississippi state lawmakers have tested positive for the virus. mississippi's governor took to social media day to blame the rise on protesters. that is a claim mississippi health officials have since refuted. joining me now, dr. thomas dobbs, mississippi state health officer. dr. dobbs, thank you very much for joining us. the case numbers are on the rise in mississippi as we just said a moment ago. the hospitals are warning that they're going to be overloaded. what is happening in terms of reopenings, rolling back or any pauses in your state? >> well, certainly we're extremely concerned about the lack of availability of hospital beds and icu capacity, and today we released a public health order limiting elective procedures that need scheduled hospitalization in mississippi counties where we have a specific lack of access to care in jackson, which is basically our biggest medical market. today we actually have four icu beds across the whole city as far as like our major medical centers. so that's a real concern. certainly, we want to watch closely

you counter that with mississippi is known for its voter suppression. one of only six states not to have made the state safer for voters in november. i have been watching you have the zoom rallies with voters trying to campaign in the time of a global pandemic. when it's about a game, when you're trying to get out the vote, what else can you do other than the zoom rallies to make people aware of what is happening in mississippi. the fact that you could become the first black senator since reconstruction, you're running against a senate who tells lynching jokes during the last election cycle. she made a lynching joke, publicly, on video and the joke itself wasn't bad enough it was the laughter from the crowd. so i imagine that must be quite the experience for you running against someone like that. >> absolutely. absolutely. but she is an anachronism. she went to jefferson davis museum. she tried on a rebel hat. the rebel race coat, the confederate gun. but she said this is the best of mississippi's history. now, she said that in 2014. not 1914 or 1814. s

patients. >> mississippi hospitals cannot take care of mississippi patients. that's mississippi state health officer thomas dobbs. when i said there is a considerable freak-out about what's happening in that state, i would be remiss to not mention part of that is also the fact there are 26 members of the state legislature who all just tested positive after a long in person legislative session in the mississippi capital where many legislatures did not wear masks. that led to the governor of the state warning specifically any mississippi resident who has had any contact with someone connected to the state legislature they are being warned now to please get tested because the state government in mississippi is itself in outbreak. in texas tonight as that state passes 10,000 patients hospitalized, this is the headline right now at the texas tribune. texas surpasses 10,000 coronavirus hospitalizations. houston hospitals increasingly turning away new patients as coronavirus overwhelms emergency rooms. the busiest hospitals in houston increasingly telling emergency r

and shoot in mississippi. and therefore, you kept telling yourself, okay, don't be paralyzed. this is a dangerous situation, don't be paralyzed. sometimes, i remember, i looked around. and the trial of kollie lee roy will cans, who had shot viola luis. i looked around in the courtroom when i was the only person of color in the whole courtroom. and i started thinking, what were the kids that i went to college with doing? you're crazy. this is a little dangerous here. when you are in it, you have mechanisms that go into place that don't calculate to the danger or reflect deflect the danger from you. i think, it's only with something actually happening to somebody you know that brings it home, i think, when you get outside of it, you think about, that was a little interesting. i think that i was affected. i always try to rationalize it. there were others who were not so lucky. i went through a series of rationalizations. that's the way i dealt with it >> let me ask you about the 65, 66 period. carmichael replaces

how is mississippi doing now in taking care of both the residents and your colleagues? >> thank you, joshua, for having me on the panel this evening. the governor has actually signalled, governor reeves, has signalled that he's going to issue an executive order on monday requiring that 13 counties across the state be required -- that those citizens be required to wear a mask when they're in public and in social gatherings. there's some pushback but certainly there are positions that perhaps that approach is not strong enough. certainly it's a step in the right direction, so i think that the governor is taking an approach that will push us toward safety. i just hope that the residents of mississippi will take heed. >> hayes, what impact do you think the video of president trump wearing a mask might have? masks have become a kind of political clapback or not wearing them has become a clapback against liberals and authority figures and the medical establishment. how might today's images which we're looking at right now affect that, if at all? >> i mean i'm really afraid th

the judge was a man named curtis from mississippi. and journalists north and south talked about what a fair and dignified and proper trial he conducted in what evidence he allowed, how he treated the witnesses. for example, he would not allow in court in front of the jury carolyn bryant begins to tell her story about what emmett till did to her and the jury is ordered out and he insists that not be admitted. because if you think about it what would that have to do with why the two killed emmett till. they would have to argue that someone was in danger of their life. there's no place in a proper jury trial for an honor killing which is what was being argued. no, he wouldn't allow that. the prosecutor a man named curtis chatam also say some say at least in part that the character of atticus finch was influenced by chatam. journalists north and south, black and white commented how good a job he did with very little time, how clearly especially when they described his closing arguments how serious he was about this. none of that mattered.

the judge was for mississippi. journalists north and south talked about what a fair and dignified and proper trial he conducted. in terms of what evidence he allowed, how he treated the wouldses, for example, he not allow, in court, in front of the jury, carolyn begins to tell her story about what and its till did to her, and the jury is ordered out, and he insists that it not be admitted because if you think about it, what would that have to do with why they killed him? thatwould have to argue someone was in danger of their life. there's no place in a proper jury trial for an honor trial, which is what was he argued. he wouldn't allow that. prosecutor, ahe man named curtis chatham also. part,ay that at least in the character of atticus finch is encouraged by chatham. chatham wanted a conviction. black and white commented on how good a job he did, how clearly, especially when they described his closing arguments, how serious he was about this. none of that matters. it didn't matter a bit again, because the jury was

he will eventually return to mississippi. interpretivet, and footnote from governor burnet -- barnett. >> you are witnessing one more chapter in what has been termed the television revolution, information media including tv networks have publicized and dramatized the race issue far beyond its relative importance. a degree of coverage accorded the march on washington underlined the fact that the american public is being emphasis.ized by over the race issue is a legitimate issue in america and if proper context but it has been presented to you in recent months is being used as a smokescreen to hide the biggest power grab in american history. thend the headlines, beyond interpretation, down deep in the proposedegislation lies a very great threat, and immediate threat to the basic rights and independence of all americans. all of you. not merely those of us who insist on a racially segregated social system in our own localities. the real goal are the conspiracy which tempts era motion with this race issue is concentration of all e

the state's senior senator, republican roger wicker, was on hand as a temporary flag with the mississippi state seal was put in place. that does it for us tonight on "the 11th hour." thank you for being with us. on behalf of all my colleagues at the networks of nbc news, have a good night. ♪ >>> this morning, president trump is facing growing pressure to respond to the firestorm over possible russian bounties on u.s. troops. the white house is denying the president was briefed as early as 2019. >>> also with coronavirus cases skyrocketing in the united states, a growing number of republicans are breaking with trump to advocate for face masks. >>> and joe biden takes on trump for his response in the pandemic, claiming trump has waved the white flag and failed americans. >>> good wednesday morning, everybody. it is july, july 1st, in fact. i'm yasmin vossoughian. we've got a lot to cover this morning. we are learning new information about that money trail linked to a suspected russian bounty plot, targeting u.s. troops in afghanistan. "the new york times" reports that american officials i

in mississippi. therefore, you could tell , this is a dangerous situation. sometimes i looked around. i looked around in the courtroom and i was the only person of color in the whole courtroom. and i served to -- what did those kids that i went to what were they doing? i said, you are really crazy. when you are and it, you have mechanisms that go into place that don't calculate the .anger i think it is only when something actually happens to somebody you know that brings it home. i think when you get outside of littlet is a interesting. affected -- i always try to rationalize it. there were others in sncc who were not so lucky. that is the way i dealt with it. what can you say about the 1965 period in sncc? just how you move through that period, your perspectives on those transitions? think -- i think, basically, which goes back to atlantic city, the organization was becoming much more militants. of -- since 1962 we had one group who felt the philosophy and the others who felt that this was a tactic.

he says he will eventually return to mississippi. >> now tonight, an interpretive footnote from the mississippi governor recorded especially for this program. >> fellow americans, you are witnessing one more chapter in what has been termed the television revolution. information media including the tv networks have publicized and dramatized the race issue far beyond its relative importance in today's world. programe-hour special and a degree of coverage recorded on august 28 march in washington, underline the fact that the american public is being propagandized by an emphasis. the race issue is a legitimate issue in america in its proper context. but the race issue as it has been presented to you in recent months is being used as a smokescreen to hide the biggest power grab in american history. thend the headlines, beyond casters in -- interpretation, down deep in the text of legislation, lies a very great threat. an immediate threat to the basic .ights and independence of all americans all of you. not merely those of us who insist on a racial segregated social system. the real goal of the consp

our second witnesses the mayor of tupelo, mississippi. for those of you who are on here who might not know, elvis presley was born in tupelo, mississippi. after practicing law in tupelo, mississippi for more than a ticket, mr. shelton was elected mayor in 2013. the city of tupelo received the 2015 all-american city award. welcome, mr. mayor. since we have two members of the panel from houston, texas, i yield first to the gentlewoman from houston, mr. x and light -- and after that, i yield from the gentleman from houston, texas, also, to finish that introduction. >> thank you very much to the committee members and the ranking member come all of the witnesses, thank you for your presence. is the executive director and of all health the county's public health says 2013. he is a nationally recognized agency of 700 public health professionals serving the nation. he has been a strong, important, and interesting but provocative messenger on the importance of health challenges throughout the nation and around the world. we worked together on the

where the governor of mississippi like wallace refused to integrate the university of mississippi. these are the last of the great, big public universities in the south. all others have been integrated at this point. in 1962, the kennedys have to send in the national guard to preserve the rights of james meredith to enter that university. it does not go well and it is quite a disaster. there is a 15 hour riot and two people are killed, including a french journalist. hundreds are injured. ross barnett has not done what he said he would do, the kennedys feel betrayed, and they will not let it happen again. before the show down at the university of alabama, the kennedys, led by bobby kennedy, the attorney general of the united states, jackie kennedy, kennedy, as he is called. robert kennedy has working at the justice department to make sure nothing goes wrong. they are gaining scenarios. how will they remove george wallace if he refuses? should they hold him in contempt of court because there is an order to the university? how will they preserve the dignity of the black students who j

youre heard you talk about early life in mississippi. my early life was in mississippi also. just had to take a chance. you knew that you might not live, but that was the nature of the beast. you tried to make the world a different place. and i think to a large degree we did. people in mississippi vote now. people run for governor, for congress, black people in mississippi, and hold all kinds of offices. that is the result of people like george lee, the reverend mr. courts, a number of people who were really active in the movement in mississippi and it made the whole state change. host: let's go to donna who is calling from falls church, virginia. good morning. all, rest in of peace to congressman john lewis. i was up this morning so i got the notification on my phone. i was like, oh wow. john lewis has passed away. i will make my comments short. i grew up in washington, d.c. in 1959. when the civil rights movement war, aing place, vietnam lot of national events, i was growing up. about martin luther king dying. i did not know what was happening, but i remember my stepfather

past the death chambers in mississippi. he was there because he had walked into a segregated room that was supposed to be sbe fwr gra- integrated, but people in my nation, believed in white supremacy so stlorongly deep in the 20th century that they didn't care, and they put him in prison. and they put paul in prison, they put the apostles in prison, and i don't think congressman lewis is explicable without understanding that he is a biblical figure. his name was robert lewis when he was a boy. he became john when he joined the movement. now, there's a biblical tradition -- i don't mean to get too close to reverend al's territory, but a biblical tradition, elias, abraham, pete, you receive a different name. you are in a sense baptized into, ordained into a new life and a new role, and that's what happened to him in nashville, tennessee in the late 1950s. we are sitting here talking about him because he encountered a man whose name is not well enough known named james lawson. james lawson was an apostle and teacher, is an apo

to remove the confederal symbol from mississippi state flag. last week, the governor signed a law doing just that, four days after emma's passing. emma sanders, a teacher, an activist who pushed the country forward, died at home in brandon, mississippi. brandon, mississippi. she was 91ears old. y she's driven by a primal desire for meat. a lynx in the wild and your cat. for a lynx this need is satisfied by what the wild provides. for your cat it's meat rich blue wilderness. because your cat is wild inside. now there's skyrizi. 3 out of 4 people achieved 90% clearer skin at 4 months after just 2 doses. skyrizi may increase your risk of infections and lower your ability to fight them. before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, such as fever, sweats, chills, muscle aches, or coughs. or if you plan to or recently received a vaccine. ♪ nothing is everything. ask your dermatologist about skyrizi. ask your dermatologist threedon't settleients for less.cream n

>> in a real sense, john did, we were both in sncc, and when i went in to mississippi, i was going in to parts of the south that even john had not gone into. young and foolish, i could only think of john's example. and john's example inspired not only me, but it inspired mos, the legendary leader of sncc, in mississippi, and inspired me to go to mississippi, where otherwise i would have been very reluctant to go, and where he later came and helped lead the movement. his example is what is most important. john was really the most important disciple of martin luther king jr., and at that time, there was no youth movement, and he is responsible for helping to create it. >> and so then, you know, fast forward, here you guys were kids, and then you too have been a delegate and congresswoman on capitol hill, working alongside congressman lewis. what has that working relationship, that friendship, i many that life-long commitment been like for you two? >> well, it mattered a great deal to both of us to begin our lives in the civil rights movement with no thought of going further, except proc

. >> so you went immediately to mississippi? dr. gaither: no, i had a variety of assignments for court. -- for core. ira member working in kentucky. i remember work -- i remember working in kentucky. i remember working in they would express an interest in addressing the problem of discrimination in their communities. core would send out a person to train them, to advise them, so forth and so on. that is how i got to work in some of these other communities. i got the jackson assignment because i had been key in coming up with the idea of freedom ride in the first place, and because i made all of these contacts along the route, it was a natural kind of thing for me to be a scout for the ride. i have to slow you down again. through the fall of 1960, one of the things you are heavily that will build up to january 31. withaither: the training the folks from rock hill was done at claflin college. jim mccain may have been in and out of their and the primary emphasis was on the socio-dramas. took a group of college students who had no knowl

[ scanners beeping ] ♪ ♪ i'll take you to a historic town on the mississippi river crippled by a catastrophic flood. reporter: illinois national guard has been called into grafton to help with the flooding. man: this is probably going to be the second worst flood of all time. lemonis: grafton, illinois, just outside of st. louis, missouri, has experienced the worst flood to hit its community in over 25 years. oh, my god. this is, like, heart-breaking. i'm marcus lemonis, and i want to see it for myself and really understand how small towns in america recover from a disaster like this. is this worse than you thought it was gonna be? peter: this is brutal. lemonis: something like this make you want to call it quits? oliver: yes. lemonis: there's massive devastation... this is a street. ...an entire main street underwater. oh, my goodness. i met the mayor. we toured the city the only way we could, by boat... it's okay. ...roads closed and businesses wiped out... look at this. kim: oh, my god. lemonis: ...a severe burden on the local economy. peter: so i'm on the city council, and so we are gonna