Wading In: Desegregation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast

Wading In: Desegregation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast chronicles the fight for beach and school desegregation in Biloxi, beginning with the arrival of slave ships in 1721 and ending with the desegregation of Mississippi's beaches and Harrison County schools. Dr. Gilbert Mason, a resilient civic leader, inspired and helped organize local Black activists to peacefully protest the apartheid of Biloxi's beaches, leading to the desegregation of Mississippi's beaches and making Harrison County schools the first primary school district in the state to integrate.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 208 pages
Publication date: 16 October 2023
Publisher: University Press of Mississippi

Wading In: Desegregation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast provides a comprehensive historical account of the fight for beach and school desegregation in Biloxi, Mississippi, from the arrival of slave ships in 1721 to the mid-1960s. The book explores the complex and often tumultuous history of Black life in the region, including the establishment of Back-of-Town businesses, lynchings in the early 1900s, and national and state legislation that repressed Black progress. Author Amy Lemco contextualizes this regional atmosphere by profiling the resilient civic leader, humanitarian, and lover of the water, Dr. Gilbert Mason, and his family in 1955.

Using extensive archival records and interviews with survivors, the book chronicles how Dr. Mason inspired and helped organize local Black activists to peacefully protest the apartheid of Biloxi's beaches. Dr. Mason operated under the surveillance of the State Sovereignty Commission, assaults by private citizens, and the terrors of a decade riddled with the assassinations of civil rights workers. Grassroots efforts he led and inspired in Biloxi joined with the national movement to weaken the hold of white supremacy in the state.

With unwavering perseverance and bravery, Dr. Mason and fellow activists achieved the desegregation of Mississippi's beaches and made Harrison County schools the first primary school district in the state to integrate. Wading In firmly establishes Dr. Mason as a national civil rights role model and presents the story of Mississippis struggle to a new generation of readers.

Weight: 324g
Dimension: 151 x 229 x 17 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781496850348