The Magnolia State

Hey everyone,

I’ve done bio posts on Ole Miss and Oxford, so this week my post is one on the state of Mississippi so we can all learn a little more about the broader area in which I’ll be living.

The state of Mississippi is located on the southern border of the United States in the South-eastern region (commonly referred to as “the South”). States considered to be “southern” are distinguishable by their music, cuisine and customs (e.g. country music, fried chicken and racism). The South is also considered to be quite religious, and they are huge sports fans and competitors (particularly of/in gridiron football, where college football’s South-Eastern Conference (SEC) (made up entirely of southern colleges) is considered to be the strongest in the country).

(Highlighted in red: where Mississippi state is in relation to the rest of the US)

Compared to the 49 other American states, Mississippi is the 32nd largest in physical size (125,438 km2) and ranks 34th in population size (2.9 million). Its capital, Jackson, is also its largest city, with a population of roughly 167,000 people (similar to the population of the entire Mornington Peninsula).

(Jackson, MS)

Mississippi is home to many rivers and lakes, and aside from some low hills is generally a relatively flat state. It is nicknamed ‘The Magnolia State’ due to the beauty of the state’s Magnolia trees. Mississippi is classed as having a humid subtropical climate meaning they see long, hot and humid summers and short, mild winters. Late summer and fall are hurricane-risk months, but the state is generally not as high-risk as others and it’s the southern parts of the state which are closer to the ocean that are more at risk (so Oxford is pretty safe). Tornadoes and wild thunderstorms are also common in Mississippi, where 2 out of 5 of America’s deadliest tornadoes occurred in the state. Flooding is also a frequent occurrence in the winter months.

(The typical kind of landscape one will experience in Mississippi - a river/lake and relatively flat land surrounding)

In the 1800s, Mississippi was America’s biggest cotton producer and at this time slaves made up 55% of the state’s population. These days, African-Americans make up roughly 37% of Mississippi’s population, the highest of any other state (except in D.C. where African-Americans account for 50% of the capital’s population). 96% of the population speak English as their first/primary language, which is greatly due to the fact that only 4% identify as a nationality other than European/American (Caucasian) or African-American. Similarly, 83% of Mississippians identify as a Christian denomination (mainly Protestant), 14% as unaffiliated, and the remaining 3% as a non-Christian faith (Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist or Hindu) or did not answer. So generally Mississippi is a very White Christian state, and I definitely won’t be seeing Melbourne-level multiculturalism whilst there.

(African-American slaves on a cotton plantation, circa 1800s)

In healthcare, Mississippi is ranked 50th out of all US states. It has the highest rate of infant death, the highest overall death rate, the highest death rate from heart disease, has the worst rates of high blood pressure and diabetes, has a 30% obesity rate amongst adults and 23% amongst children, and is the state with the fewest number of dentists. It is believed that these issues are predominantly linked to a lack of knowledge around health in general contributed to greatly by the absence or lack of physical education and nutrition classes in most schools.

Education in Mississippi is of quite a lower quality than that of many other US states. Funding for education has historically been quite low, where in the 1800s the state’s reliance on agriculture and resistance to taxation limited the amount of funding put towards education, which in turn affected rural students’ access to education given the limited number of rural schools. Schools were segregated until the late 1960s even though the US Supreme Court ruled such segregation as unconstitutional over a decade prior.

Roughly 90% of Mississippian children attend public school, which is on-par with national averages (given that private education is not nearly as common in the US as it is in Australia). Mississippi ranks 3rd last in percentage of high school graduates (83% - 1st place 93% Montana), 2nd last in students who obtain a bachelor’s degree (21% - 1st place 42% Massachusetts) and 4th last in students who obtain an advanced degree (8% - 1st place 19% Massachusetts). In 2008 the American Legislative Exchange Council ranked Mississippi last of all states in overall academic achievement.

Despite the low success rates in education certificate achievement, Mississippi is still home to 8 four-year higher education institutions (Alcorn State University, Delta State University, Jackson State University, Mississippi State University, Mississippi University for Women, Mississippi Valley State University, University of Mississippi, and University of Southern Mississippi), as well as 17 two-year institutions (known as junior/community colleges) and 10 private colleges. The high amount of community/junior colleges eases access into four-year institutions as they act as a pathway both for those who live rurally and for those who did not perform academically well-enough to gain access into a four-year institution directly.

(If you’re interested, the Netflix show Last Chance U’s first two seasons focus on East Mississippi Community College’s football team and the efforts by the school to graduate them and move them onto better colleges).

(Geographical position of the 8 four-year institutions in Mississippi)

Mississippi state enacts and holds some outdated and backwards laws, as well as some that are just outright weird:

· Until the United States Supreme Court overruled all state-level same-sex marriage laws in 2015, Mississippi prohibited the recognition of same-sex marriages in an amendment passed in 2004 which won with 86% of the vote

· Capital punishment is still legal

· Those who deny the existence of a Supreme Being (God) are not allowed to hold a place in office (government)

· A person may have 1 illegitimate child, but if they have a 2nd illegitimate child (a child conceived whilst not married to the other person) they could be imprisoned for up to 90 days

· Its unlawful to teach anyone about polygamy (having more than one husband or wife)

· It’s illegal to tell a woman you’re going to marry her and then not follow through with it

· Anyone who interrupts a Sunday church service could face 6 months in prison or a hefty fine

· People in cars may legally consume beer (only state in America to allow this)

Some famous Mississippians include Oprah Winfrey (TV personality), Elvis Presley (singer), Britney Spears (singer), Floyd Mayweather Sr. (boxer), Diplo (DJ), Soulja Boy (rapper), John Grisham (author), Rae Sremmurd (hip hop duo), and Hayley Williams (lead singer of Paramore).

(Geographical position of where each famous Mississippian was born/grew up/lived)

So whilst Mississippi as a state may be seen as quite behind in terms of where the first-world is generally at, and as compared to Melbourne, the University of Mississippi is a world ranked institution and provides a great education to tens of thousands of students a year. It will definitely be a different experience, that’s for sure!

Thanks for reading my little research piece on Mississippi. I hope you found some of the facts and pieces of info as interesting as I did! I actually really enjoyed learning a bit more about where I’ll be going and it always feels good to be more educated (especially since there’s a few whacky laws I’ll need to remember not to break). I’ll be back next week.

- Emily xx