Contributing Writer,
African-American history is living history, building upon what has been established as well as establishing new blocks to build upon. Mississippi is profoundly rich in African-American history, being “ground zero” for so much of our collective experiences.
As we say farewell to 2021’s African-American History Month, we here at
The Mississippi Link give a special salute to seven Living Legends among us, those who have been in the trenches for decades and still pushing forward their progressive boundaries.
These Mississippians are reflective of the resilience of our collective heritage. The Hon. Constance Iona Slaughter-Harvey describes it this way:
“The Magnolia is the state flower of Mississippi and is a symbol that has long represented our state and the hospitality of our citizens, and also represents our state’s sense of hope and rebirth as the Magnolia often blooms more than once and has a long blooming season. The circle of twenty stars represents Mississippi as the twentieth state of the United States of America and the circle is anchored at the top by the gold five-point star, which represents our first peoples, the indigenous Native American tribes of the land that would become Mississippi, and also represents Africa, the Americas, Asia, Australia/Oceania and Europe, which are the five inhabited areas of the world from which all Mississippians originate. The color blue in the center panel echoes the blue of the American flag, representing vigilance, justice and perseverance, and the red bars represent the hardiness and valor of our citizens. The gold bars and the gold stamen of the Magnolia represent the rich