The leader of the Senate committee that oversees U.S. courts is asking a federal judge in Mississippi to explain whether his office used artificial intelligence to write a flawed order in a recent case.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, sent a letter to U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate on Monday that questioned whether the judge or his clerks used AI to write an order. He also asked why the order in question had been removed from the public docket and whether the judge planned to restore the original order to the docket.

The letter stems from an error-laden temporary restraining order Wingate issued July 20, which paused the enforcement of a state law that bans diversity, equity and inclusion programs in public schools.

After the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office raised concerns about mistakes in the order — which included naming defendants and plaintiffs that weren’t parties to the case, misquoting state law and referencing a case that doesn’t exist — the judge replaced the order with a corrected version, wiping the original from the public docket. 

Wingate denied the state’s request to restore the original order with errors to the public docket and refused to explain the errors, chalking them up to “clerical” mistakes. But attorneys have questioned whether artificial intelligence was used to prepare it. It’s hard to know for certain, experts say, but the original order did contain errors that are “hallmarks” of AI usage.

“These do not appear to be simple slips of the pen or mechanical oversights, but substantive errors that undermine confidence in the Court’s deliberative process,” Grassley wrote. 

The state attorney general’s office has since appealed Wingate’s orders prohibiting the state from enforcing the DEI laws to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. Judges from the appellate court could also ask Wingate to explain the errors in the order. 

Wingate did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Grassley’s letter. 

Grassley’s letter, which cited reporting from Mississippi Today, is a general oversight inquiry and not a subpoena. He has given Wingate until Oct. 13 to respond to his questions.

With a U.S. senator weighing in on Wingate’s recent case, the Mississippi judge may now be at the center of how the federal judiciary polices itself over AI usage. 

The legal profession has seen a rise in AI use in recent years, with people relying on software or processes that attempt to replicate aspects of human work. These are trained on vast amounts of data to accomplish tasks such as researching court cases and citing them in legal briefs.  

But these systems are not perfect and can “hallucinate,” or provide false information. 

It’s increasingly common for judges to sanction lawyers for suspected artificial intelligence usage. Attorneys have a professional and ethical responsibility to make truthful statements in court and in legal filings, but there’s little accountability when the roles are reversed. 

Grassley, though, wrote that federal judges should also be held to the “highest standards of integrity, candor, and factual accuracy.”

He sent a similar letter to a federal district judge in New Jersey.

The future makeup of the Mississippi judiciary and the state Legislature lies in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court. 

The nation’s highest court is considering three redistricting cases, including a Mississippi case, that could significantly alter the Voting Rights Act, a federal law stemming from the Civil Rights era that Black Mississippians have used for decades to prevent discrimination at the ballot box.

Attorney General Lynn Fitch last month appealed a ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Sharion Aycock of Mississippi. The ruling concluded that state lawmakers must redraw the state Supreme Court districts because they weaken Black voting strength. 

That ruling, which forbids the state from using those maps in future Mississippi Supreme Court elections, is pending before the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. However, the appellate court has paused all proceedings in the appeal until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on its redistricting cases.

The litigation over the Mississippi Supreme Court includes a group of Black voters and candidates who in 2022 sued state officials, alleging that Black candidates face unfair difficulties getting elected to the state’s high court.

However, while the U.S. Supreme Court considers other cases that could impact the Mississippi Supreme Court cases, Aycock’s lower court in the meantime can proceed with determining how and when lawmakers will need to change the state districts.

One of those three cases the nation’s highest court is considering is another Mississippi case involving state legislative districts. 

A federal three-judge panel last year ordered lawmakers to redraw their districts in three areas of the state to give Black voters a fairer shot at electing candidates of their choice. Special elections for these races are currently underway, with the general election scheduled for November. 

Fitch’s office also appealed this ruling and asked the U.S. Supreme Court to sharply curtail the federal Voting Rights Act by declaring private voters cannot sue to prevent discrimination at the ballot box. 

If the U.S. Supreme Court rules in Mississippi’s favor, it would mean only the Department of Justice could sue to enforce the Voting Rights Act. 

In both of the Mississippi redistricting lawsuits, private citizens — not the federal government — filed the lawsuit. So if the U.S. Supreme Court rules in Mississippi’s favor, it could prevent individual voters from filing future redistricting cases. 

Another case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court that could limit redistricting cases is Louisiana v. Callais, a suit over Louisiana’s congressional districts. The central question in the case is whether factoring race into the drawing of congressional districts violates the U.S. Constitution.

The U.S. Supreme Court will hold an oral argument in the Callais case on Oct. 15.

Sponsored By JPMorganChase

Credit cards, debit cards, cash, checks, wires or sending money to others using a P2P (person-to-person) payment app are examples of the many ways consumers can pay for everyday transactions. To help protect their money from scammers, it’s important for people to understand that how they pay matters, especially when buying something from someone they don’t know or trust.

Here are some examples of common scams impacting payment types:

Checks:

Although declining in usage, many people still regularly use checks, particularly for business transactions. Check fraud can happen in various ways, such as writing bad checks, stealing and altering someone else’s check, forging a check, or depositing the same check twice (once through a mobile app and again at a branch).

• Here’s What You Can Do: Never make checks out to “cash.”  Use permanent ink and write the amount in numbers and words. Don’t leave a check book unattended and always send a check directly from the post office or through secured mailboxes; don’t leave them for pickup in your mailbox at home. When possible, opt for electronic payment methods instead of checks.

Person-to-Person Payments:

Person-to-person payments through services like Zelle^® can be quick and convenient ways to send money to others you know and trust (e.g., friends and family or your dogwalker). Don’t use Zelle to buy things online, especially through social media marketplaces or messaging apps. If you send money for something that turns out to be a scam, it’s very unlikely you’ll be able to get it back.

• Here’s What You Can Do: If you are purchasing goods or merchandise, including things like concert tickets, a credit or debit card that offers purchase protection may be a better option. If at any time you feel pressured, the deal seems too good to be true, or you otherwise suspect it’s a scam, don’t proceed with the purchase.

Credit and Debit Cards:

When you pay with a credit or debit card, you are not responsible for unauthorized charges if your card is lost, stolen or fraudulently used, as long as you report unauthorized charges promptly. Use your card’s security features to help keep it safe.

• Here’s What You Can Do: Two-factor authentication can help block anyone who gets your banking information from using it, and setting up credit monitoring helps you know if your card is used fraudulently. Keep your card safe. If you misplace it or think it is lost or stolen, contact your bank immediately, and lock your card from additional charges.

Scammers may try to get you to send a payment to them to pay for something (like concert tickets) that you then never receive. Credit and debit cards may offer some protections that can help you get your money back for purchases you make if you don’t receive what you paid for. If you pay with a credit card, your bank will likely reimburse you for your payment if you don’t receive the goods. If you paid with a debit card, your bank will try to get your money back from the scammer’s bank, but if the scammer has disappeared with your money, they won’t be able to get the funds back, and your bank is not required to reimburse you.

• Here’s What You Can Do: Watch out for sellers who require forms of payment that do not provide purchase protection. Before you pay, always ask yourself: “Am I sure this is not a scam?” Always remember: If you’re unsure, walk away.

Wire Transfers:

Wire transfers are convenient and secure, and they work like cash. Only send a wire when you know the details of the recipient and never feel pressured or urged to send one. Wire transfers are a target for scammers because they are often used for high dollar transactions—like homes or cars—and once sent, they cannot be reversed. Scammers can impersonate companies, banks, and government agencies to quickly receive your hard-earned money, move it to another account and disappear. 

• Here’s What You Can Do: Never provide your bank account details to unfamiliar or suspicious individuals and avoid wiring money to people or businesses you are unfamiliar with, especially if prompted by suspicious phone calls or emails. 

In a world of growing payment options, it’s important that people make informed choices about how to pay for purchases, especially when buying from a person or business you aren’t familiar with, to help keep their money safe.

Learn more about protecting your finances at chase.com/digital/resources/privacy-security

For informational/educational purposes only: Views and strategies described in this article or provided via links may not be appropriate for everyone and are not intended as specific advice/recommendation for any business. Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but JPMorgan Chase & Co. or its affiliates and/or subsidiaries do not warrant its completeness or accuracy. The material is not intended to provide legal, tax, or financial advice or to indicate the availability or suitability of any JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. product or service. You should carefully consider your needs and objectives before making any decisions and consult the appropriate professional(s). Outlooks and past performance are not guarantees of future results. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and its affiliates are not responsible for, and do not provide or endorse third party products, services, or other content.

Deposit products provided by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. Equal Opportunity Lender.

 © 2025 JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Ben Bush, a former U.S. Army Ranger combat veteran from Brandon, shares with Mississippi Today his personal story of his struggle with PTSD after returning home from overseas combat, and how the psychedelic plant-derived drug ibogaine helped him regain his life. But he had to travel to Mexico for the treatment. It’s illegal in the United States. House Public Health Chairman Sam Creekmore wants to change that, and he wants Mississippi to invest in testing the drug and help push for federal approval. 

One by one, universal school-choice programs are expanding across the Southeast.

Now, as state lawmakers are considering doing the same in Mississippi, they’re looking to our neighbors and talking to experts about what happened in those states.

There has been a nationwide push to expand school-choice programs, most of which give families public money to spend outside of traditional public schools. These options range from charter schools to vouchers that pay for private-school tuition. When these programs are available to all students, regardless of family income, they’re described as “universal.” 

Rep. Jansen Owen, a Republican from Poplarville and one of the leading school-choice proponents in the House, said he’d like Mississippi to consider a plan with education savings accounts that are at least partially reserved for students of all backgrounds. Education savings accounts, or ESAs, give parents public dollars to pay for their child’s education — that can include tuition to private schools and online education curriculum for homeschooling. Mississippi currently has an ESA program limited to students with disabilities.

Owen also would like to see expanded open enrollment policies, which would allow students to transfer between public school districts. Owen said he believes parents should be able to make the final decision on their child’s education. He also said parents regularly tell him their local districts don’t offer the ideal educational program.

“They’re telling me that they have no options right now,” Owen said. 

But school-choice opponents say the pricey programs don’t actually give students more options. Private schools can turn away students, unlike public schools. And national data shows school-choice programs are still out of reach for many low-income students, students of color and students with disabilities because of private-school access, transportation issues and tuition costs. 

A Mississippi House committee studying school-choice policies has called on experts from Arkansas and Louisiana, who have lauded school-choice efforts in their states. Owen said he hopes to mimic parts of Tennessee’s plan in Mississippi.

Others from those states often have a different perspective. 

Tennessee

Tennessee’s first two education savings account programs were limited to students with special needs and families in Nashville and in Hamilton and Shelby counties who wanted their children to attend private schools instead of their local public school. 

But a similar program established this year is open to all students in Tennessee.

Half of the program’s 20,000 scholarships are reserved for students who previously qualified for the education savings account program, students with special needs or students in households with income lower than 300% of the federal free- and reduced-lunch guidelines. The other 10,000 scholarships are open to anyone. 

The omnibus legislation also gave public school teachers one-time bonuses and included a “hold harmless” clause that reimburses public schools for any state funding lost from students leaving to participate in the voucher program. 

The income cap will be removed next year, and the program can grow by 5,000 scholarships each year, as demand requires.

And the demand is there, said Tori Venable, Tennessee director of Americans for Prosperity, a national conservative advocacy group funded by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch. This year, people applied for twice as many vouchers as were available, she said. 

“We saw a groundswell of parents demanding this after COVID,” she said. “We saw schools shut down and parents were dissatisfied with online learning.”

It’s not clear who has received vouchers so far, Venable said. The state won’t release details about who’s enrolled in the program. Some Tennessee lawmakers previously predicted a majority of the money would go to students who already attend private schools. 

The biggest issue for Jenny Mills McFerron, assistant director for policy and research for EdTrust Tennessee, is student performance at private schools. 

There’s little data to show how well students are learning in Tennessee’s voucher program. Private-school students in the smaller initial program generally performed below their public-school peers.

Additionally, the rural nature of Tennessee — similar to Mississippi — presents challenges. 

According to a 2025 report from the Partnership for Equity and Education Rights, five counties host over half of the private schools in Tennessee. More than 30 counties have only one or two, some with fewer than 10 students each.

While some school-choice programs allow parents to use the money to cover transportation costs, the voucher funds are limited and averaged about $6,000 during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank based in Washington.

The conservative policy group Empower Mississippi reports that in-state average private school tuition hovers around the same amount, but some schools in Mississippi have rates higher than $15,000. And after voucher programs were established in other states, private schools raised their tuition.

“The private school-choice programs are not really providing choice to the vast majority of rural families, and they divert funding from public schools, leaving rural students with less,” said Paige Shoemaker DeMio, senior K-12 education policy analyst for Center for American Progress.

While a rural student might be able to utilize a voucher program, losing the student could be harmful to the local public school, she said. Rural areas have lower student population and have to make fewer dollars go further. 

“Even when no students from a community use a voucher program, when state-level funding gets cut due to the cost of the practical voucher program, like has been seen in Arizona or in Ohio, rural schools are definitely going to feel it the most because they rely more heavily on state and federal funding,” Shoemaker DeMio said. “We’ve seen this in West Virginia and Indiana, where rural schools are closing or they’re dramatically losing funding as they’re feeling the effects of these programs.”

As federal funding cuts trickle down, McFerron is concerned the program’s costs will continue to increase, putting Tennessee into a tight financial situation.

“Our concern is that the data and accountability are so limited,” she said. “Since we’re in our first year, it’s too early to see large-scale effects.”

Arkansas

The LEARNS Act created an Arkansas education savings account program in 2023. 

The program has been slowly scaled up, and as of this school year, all Arkansas students are eligible. Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has committed to funding every student who wants to participate.

The majority of dollars so far have been spent on private-school students. During the 2023-24 school year, 64% of students who received funds through the state’s program were already enrolled in private schools, according to a recent report. Data also show Arkansas private schools raised their tuition in response to the voucher program.

Shay Rafferty, director of social media and marketing for Citizens for Arkansas Public Education and Students, said her child’s religious private school charged more for tuition when it started accepting vouchers. 

“Most of the other local private schools have done that, too,” she said. “These students are supposed to get school choice, but they still can’t afford it.” 

Still, Josh McGee of the Office of Education Policy at the University of Arkansas said the program has improved education options in rural areas. He said micro-schools and cooperatives have sprung up in unexpected places, and more parents are opting for homeschooling, thanks to the vouchers. 

According to him, the competition makes everyone work harder to keep students.

“Superintendents would tell you they’re having to think about how to keep parents in their schools for a number of reasons,” McGee said. “The ultimate story is that if folks can leave, you have to deliver the goods.”

It’s a popular free-market idea that’s been embraced by Mississippi conservatives — that more school choices will make public schools better. 

While research shows that in some places, charter school presence has slightly improved the performance of public schools, Nicole Carey from Arkansas Advocates for Families and Children isn’t sure the results are worth the growing price tag. 

If every student who applied for vouchers this year is funded, that will cost Arkansas $355 million — far more than the $277 million budgeted for the program.

“We’re letting in everyone even if we don’t have the specific amount of money appropriated, with the hope that every student will not use their entire amount,” Carey said.

Alabama

Since 2013, Alabama has offered tax-credit programs to parents who send their children to private schools. 

This year, however, the state has widely expanded school choice after the passage of the CHOOSE Act. Now, families of four that don’t make above $93,600 are eligible for the education savings accounts, and by 2027, all Alabama families can opt in.

The program funds the ESAs through refundable income tax credits, so it’s administered by the Department of Revenue, not the state education agency. Money is never distributed directly to parents. Giving money directly to parents created problems in Arizona, the first state to establish a universal school-choice program. Costs ballooned, and parents reportedly spent money on things such as diamond rings and lingerie. 

The tax-credit nature of the program makes it an unlikely option for Mississippi. The state is phasing out its income tax under legislation passed this year. 

But Mississippi lawmakers may take note of the accountability measures built into the program, the income caps, the slow rollout and the prioritization of students with disabilities.   

Much of the money has been going to students already in private schools, but Alabama Policy Institute’s Stephanie Smith doesn’t see an issue with that. 

“Lots of private-school parents pay public-school taxes and don’t utilize the service,” she said. 

But Allison King, government relations manager at the Alabama Education Association, said tax dollars go to public education because it’s a public good.

“Public education may not always be perfect for everyone, but we don’t apply this principle to our police or fire departments or any other public service,” she said. “Like if you don’t like your police department, you don’t ask for your tax dollars to hire private security.”

King acknowledged there hasn’t been a mass exodus from public schools due to the tiered rollout of the program, but taxpayers are “certainly” subsidizing students who were already in private school, she said, and the costs are set to grow. 

“The sell, when the bill is running through the Legislature, is that we are doing this to help poor kids get out of failing schools,” she said. “When the dust settles, that’s really not the students that are benefitting at all.”

Louisiana

Louisiana has had a number of school choice programs since 2008, but last year, the Legislature approved the LA GATOR program, which creates education savings accounts across various eligibility groups. By the program’s final phase, the money will be available to all students, regardless of income. 

But the Legislature allocated far less money to the program last year than what the governor and other school-choice proponents wanted. 

It’s resulted in a self-limiting program that hasn’t been able to reach its full potential, said Erin Bendily, senior vice president of the Pelican Institute. 

Bendily said there are more than 30,000 families currently waitlisted for the program.

“The timing of this has just been incredibly frustrating and disappointing for families because they got this news in the middle of the summer, after many of them had already put deposits down,” she said. “Many people just were really counting on this. … The only other option is the public school they’re zoned to.” 

In context, that’s 30,000 students out of 700,000 in public schools, said Jan Moller, executive director of Invest in Louisiana. He suspects many of those thousands of students are already enrolled in private schools. 

Moller disagrees with the idea that there was a “broken promise” on behalf of the state Legislature. 

“This is subject to appropriation,” he said. “Everybody understood that. … To Louisiana’s credit, they saw where this was heading and put the brakes on it.”

Louisiana students using vouchers for private schools were more likely to make lower scores in the four tested subject areas than public-school students, according to research. And by the end of the voucher program’s fourth year, voucher students performed “noticeably worse” on state assessments than their counterparts. 

While Bendily acknowledged most Louisianans are educated at public schools and the important role those schools serve in their communities, there are parents who want other options for their children. 

“There’s a sense of community around your public schools, and you want your public school to be great, but we still have enormous challenges in our public education system,” she said. “We still have needs that are not being met.”

That’s a reality Mississippi lawmakers have grappled with. 

While the state’s public education system has seen great improvement in recent years — improvement that’s been nationally recognized — that doesn’t mean every parent is satisfied with the education their child is receiving.

“We believe that we can do both,” Bendily said. “While we’re making public schools better, we need to make sure that we are also giving families the options that they need.”

The math, however, doesn’t always add up. 

This coverage is supported by a grant from Press Forward Mississippi, part of a nationwide philanthropic effort to reinvigorate local news.

Let’s go back to May 19, 1968. War was escalating in Vietnam. President Lyndon Johnson had just announced he would not run for reelection. Mickey Mantle was limping through his last season with the New York Yankees. James Eastland and John Stennis, two Democrats, were Mississippi’s two U.S. senators. A promising young quarterback named Archie Manning was finishing spring training, preparing for his first varsity season at Ole Miss.

Yes, and in Hattiesburg, B.R. “Mac” McClendon, a rookie playing his first professional golf tournament, won the first Magnolia Classic, defeating 53-year-old Pete Fleming in a nine-hole, sudden-death playoff at the Hattiesburg Country Club. 

McClendon, fresh out of LSU where he was a three-time Southeastern Conference golf champion, won a not-so-grand total of $2,800 for his efforts. He birdied the ninth hole, his 45th of the day, at dusk, as car lights shone brightly from the parking lot just behind the green.

Few, if any, of us present that damp spring evening in Hattiesburg would have ever believed the little tournament with such humble beginnings would endure for 57 years, but it has.

Fast-forward to Sunday’s breezy, cloudy afternoon at the Country Club of Jackson in the final round of perhaps the final Sanderson Farms Championship. Steven Fisk, a 28-year-old Georgian, fired an 8-under-par 64 with birdies on the final three holes to win the tournament that began so long ago as the Magnolia Classic. First prize this time? Just over a million bucks. The late Mac McClendon surely wouldn’t have believed that.

Just as had happened 57 years before, Sunday’s final round came down to a two-man shootout. Fisk and South African Garrick Higgo trading birdies until Fisk birdied the final three holes with a remarkable display of grit and pinpoint accuracy. 

“I know I’m good enough,” Fisk said immediately afterward. “I knew I could do it. It’s a lifelong dream, honestly. Sometimes you doubt yourself, but I just knew I could do it. Nothing was going to stop me from doing what I wanted today.”

A former Georgia Southern golfer, Fisk turned professional in 2019, but his early professional career was slowed – and threatened, really – by a condition in his left hand called carpometacarpal bossing. If that sounds serious, it was. The injury required surgery and then a change in his golf swing to prevent further problems. Fisk persevered.

Perseverance has also been the story of the Magnolia Classic, turned Deposit Guaranty Classic, turned Southern Farm Bureau Classic, turned Viking Classic, turned True South Classic, turned Sanderson Farms Championship. The event’s  57-year-history has included tournaments at three different golf courses, in three different Mississippi cities, and with six different sponsors. It has endured not only the sponsorhip losses, but also a 100-year flood, two lesser floods, a couple hurricanes, a tornado, a pandemic and a half dozen recessions. In 2005, before so much of that happened, Mississippi’s only PGA TOUR tournament had endured so much that a Sports Illustrated deemed it “the little tournament that could.”

The late Robert Morgan, a Hattiesburg businessman, championed the tournament through its first 40 years and a move from the Hattiesburg Country Club to Annandale in Madison. Then, Joe Sanderson, the Laurel poultry magnate, saved the event and oversaw the move from Annandale to the Country Club of Jackson where the tournament had seemingly flourished until now. 

But Sanderson sold his company in 2022 and the new owners have decided not to continue sponsoring the event beyond this year’s tournament. A new sponsor has not been found, which could spell the end of the “little tournament that could.”

That would be a blow to several Mississippi charities and especially Children’s Hospital. Since 2013, the event has raised nearly $19 million for Children’s of Mississippi and $2.75 million for other Mississippi charities. Said Steve Jent, the tournament’s executive director, “All I can say is that we’d like to find a title sponsor for next year. We want to keep it going.”

Steven Fisk knew little of any of that before he came to Country Club of Jackson for the first time this week. He has quickly learned to adore the tournament which he called “a first-class event on a great golf course.”

Asked about the likelihood of this being the last Sanderson Farms Championship, Fisk, spoke for many when he replied, “If this was the last one, that stinks…”

OAKLAND, Miss. — Grocery store owner Marquitrice Mangham hurries out of the sweltering August heat of the Mississippi Delta and enters her newly opened Farmacy Marketplace. 

She arrives about an hour before the doors open at 10 a.m.

It’s a quiet Friday in Oakland, Mississippi, except for the occasional screech of tires from semitrucks passing by on Highway 51. Oakland, fewer than 30 miles from her hometown of Webb, is home to about 400 residents, more than half of whom are Black. 

Inside the store, Mangham greets and praises her assistant manager, Kini Bradford-Jefferson. She emphasizes that without her, the store couldn’t operate. They laugh, ask each other how they are doing and tidy up the 3,000-square-foot space.

Until April, Oakland had been without a grocery store. 

In rural areas, particularly in the Delta, residents face some of the highest rates of food insecurity and unemployment in the state, resulting in poor health outcomes such as obesity, hypertension, and diabetes. These communities have high populations of Black people. They often struggle to attract grocery stores and are overwhelmed by a striking growth of dollar stores. 

Around 14% of Americans — more than 47 million people — were food insecure at some point during 2023, according to an Associated Press analysis of U.S. Census Bureau and Feeding America data.

Mississippi had a food insecurity rate of 18%, higher than the national rate.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will stop collecting and releasing statistics on food insecurity after October 2025, saying the numbers had become “overly politicized.” The decision comes in the wake of federal funding cuts for food and nutrition safety net programs nationwide.

Getting consistent support from the government to fight hunger is often a struggle. For the second year in a row, the Mississippi Department of Health and Human Services opted out of a federal program that would’ve provided kids with $40 in grocery assistance in the summer months. Advocates worry this decision could increase hunger and health issues. Recent federal cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the elimination of grants geared to help farmers and improve food access compound the problem. 

Despite all these challenges, Black women like Mangham are stepping up. From grocery stores to food distribution services, they’re leading community-centered solutions to feed their families and improve the health and well-being of their neighbors.

Local grocer fills a crucial need 

Community leaders in Oakland requested a supermarket after learning of Mangham’s first store in Webb, which she opened in 2022. 

Oakland resident Bradford-Jefferson said there hadn’t been a place to shop for everyday necessities since she was a child. There’s only a library, food service plant, post office, bank and medical clinic. Like other residents, Bradford-Jefferson traveled to the nearest town to purchase food from stores such as Walmart or Piggly Wiggly. 

She used to drive regularly to her retail job in Batesville, a 40-mile round trip. Not only did she get a job closer to home, but she’s been able to cut back on expenses such as gas.

“I can walk here (to work) if I had to,” she said. 

The bell above the door chimed as the store doors swung open, welcoming the first customers of the day. They excitedly greeted Bradford-Jefferson before hugging Mangham.

It felt as if everyone knew everyone.  

Bradford-Jefferson seamlessly transitioned from ringing up purchases on the cash register to prepping meat at the deli station for two men on their lunch break.

The 58-year-old understands that the store is needed for her town, as well other rural areas where food access is limited.

“You got to think of the elders, and some people don’t have vehicles and can’t afford to pay people to take them to other towns to shop,” she said. “It’s a good thing for this community and the surrounding communities.” 

Mangham grew up on a family farm in Webb, a majority-Black town of fewer than 500 people. They grew soybeans, corn, fruits and trees, and managed livestock (cows and hogs) on over 200 acres of land. 

Back then, they “lived off the land,” meaning most of the food they consumed, they grew themselves. Even if they wanted to visit a grocery store, they had to drive 20 to 30 miles. But, as a child, Mangham didn’t grasp the severity of the situation. 

The 48-year-old military veteran moved away after high school, eventually settling in Atlanta. In 2016, she inherited her family’s farm, which brought her back to Webb more frequently. She began paying closer attention to the food disparities. 

It was worse than when she left nearly 25 years ago. 

“My 89-year-old grandmother has to drive 15 to 20 miles just to get fresh food,” Mangham said. “She’s a diabetic and has this special diet.”

In 2023, Tallahatchie County, where Webb is located, 21% of people reported food insecurity in their household, higher than the state and national rates, with about 2,610 people who were food insecure.

Mangham’s nonprofit, In Her Shoes Inc., began in Atlanta and focuses on improving access to food and supporting farmers. But she recognized a greater need for these programs in the Delta. She conducted research, secured funding and successfully launched her first Farmacy Marketplace store.

She also teaches families how to prepare meals that cater to their specific health care needs and how to properly store fresh foods. The store also implemented the Double Up Food Bucks program, which encourages SNAP recipients to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. 

Inspired, other communities — like Oakland — have reached out for guidance.

“The most important thing was it showed so many other communities that this can be your community, too,” she said. 

Online delivery services for those without transportation

About 19 miles away in Drew, Gloria Dickerson is working to uplift her community “from poverty to prosperity,” the mission of her youth nonprofit. 

Providing residents with the resources to achieve food security is her North Star.

Despite growing up in poverty, Dickerson and her family knew how to put food on the table. Her parents, Mathew and Mae Bertha Carter, were sharecroppers who lived with their 13 children on a plantation near Drew. They grew a garden filled with fruits, vegetables and beans.

But that was snatched away when the children decided to do the unthinkable: integrate the “all white” Drew High School in 1965, becoming the first Black family to do so. Their house was shot at, credit in local stores was cut off, the garden was plowed up and they were evicted.

Mae Bertha was fortunate to have a friend in the civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer, who lived less than 10 miles away. Hamer sent Charles McLaurin, her campaign manager and fellow activist, to check on the family, Dickerson recalled. This came with a wave of support from other civil rights workers who assisted the family with finding a home in Drew.

At the time, Main Street in downtown Drew had retail stores, grocery stores and even “nickel and dime stores,” Dickerson remembered. 

More than 60 years later, the same street in the 77% Black town of 2,000 people is different. Today, there are not many businesses. There’s Stafford’s Deli and Dickerson’s nonprofit We2Gether Creating Change, which operates out of several buildings on the street. In the town, there’s no grocery store. It closed in 2012. There’s only one Dollar General, which has some frozen foods. In Sunflower County, where Drew is located, 22.8% of people reported food insecurity in their household in 2023.

Dickerson noticed that many children in her programs often came to class hungry. Although she provided food, it still wasn’t enough. Along with other organizers, she created a group called Drew United for Progress. During a community discussion, residents repeatedly expressed a need for a grocery store.

“(They said), ‘We can’t buy an apple. We can’t buy a banana. We can’t buy any vegetables,’” she said. “’We have to hire somebody to take us out of the community to pay them $10 to get there, pay them $10 to get back and that takes away from the money we have to put on food.’”

They then formed the Drew Collaborative, which included experts to research the feasibility of a store. The market analysis found the town was too small to support a grocer. Instead of pursuing a supermarket, the collaborative launched the Grocery Online Ordering Distribution Service (GOODS) in 2021.

Residents of Drew, Ruleville, Parchman and Rome are able to place food orders online. The food is stored at the National Guard Armory for delivery or pickup. This initiative was initially funded by HOPE Credit Union in the Mississippi Delta. The nonprofit provides iPads and education on how to order food because of limited broadband and digital literacy concerns.

The program expanded to Shaw, about 27 miles from Drew. With the rising cost of food, more families need assistance. There are still some people who are left behind, said Chiquikta Fountain, former director of Delta Hands for Hope, which shepherds the program in Shaw. 

“On a state level, we have a legislature that doesn’t value what it means for children and communities to be food secure,” she said. “They’re not working hard enough to make sure that people who make a living wage are able to buy food and not have to play Russian Roulette with what’s going to be a priority this month.” 

In Drew, Dickerson responded by hosting a monthly food pantry. 

This fall, We2Gether Creating Change will launch family gardens, where at least 10 families will have ownership of a plot of land. This project will teach them how to grow their own food, which they can use to feed their families or sell. Each family will also receive a $200 stipend to keep their garden up, and youth workers will get paid to help out in the summer.

Dickerson hopes to evolve this work into garden parties, cooking classes and more. Her biggest concern is that if food insecurity goes unchecked, it will affect the mental well-being of children and their ability to perform well in school.

Her call to action is for people to get involved, especially because the Delta was ground zero for the Civil Rights Movement, and everyone benefits from those sacrifices — from death and loss of jobs to political violence. 

“People need to remember where they really came from and who was on the battlefield, fighting for them to have what they have right now … it was the people that lived in these small communities putting their lives on the line,” Dickerson said. “Don’t forget us.”

Growing the next generation 

Back in Oakland, once business at Farmacy Marketplace is up and running, Mangham drives nearly 63 miles from the Oakland store to Mound Bayou to open her mobile grocery store around noon. 

A few days earlier, she made the 12-hour trek from her residence in Atlanta to Mississippi. It’s part of her weekly routine. She spends a few days in Atlanta and then heads to her beloved home state to manage not one, but two, grocery stores.

It’s a sacrifice she doesn’t mind making.  

Founded by formerly enslaved cousins, Mound Bayou is considered the “jewel of the Delta.” It is known as a self-reliant Black community that provided solace and refuge from  the threats of the Jim Crow South. During the trial of Emmett Till’s murderers, the town became home to his mother, Mamie Till Mobley, the Black press — including Simeon Booker with Jet Magazine — and witnesses.

Mangham’s mobile truck is parked on the site of the now-shuttered Taborian Hospital, which exclusively admitted Black patients and staff during a time when other health care facilities didn’t accept Black folks. It’s across the street from a gas station, and near the high school, which closed in 2018 and now houses the Mound Bayou Museum of African American History and Culture.

Every Friday, the truck is in Mound Bayou from noon to 4 p.m. It is also stationed in Jonestown on Tuesdays and Coffeeville on Fridays.

Thirty minutes after opening, residents trickled in, asking about watermelon and selecting from a variety of frozen meats, fruits and vegetables. On that day, James Edwards Jr., a retired vocational instructor, traveled from his home in Marks to help out with the mobile market. As his wife, Maudy Edwards, assisted customers, James sat in a chair under a shaded tree, greeting and conversing with residents. 

Usually, he’s repairing or cleaning the mobile grocery truck. He makes sure it’s filled with gas and ensures the food is frozen and up to temperature. When he’s not on site helping with the mobile truck, he’s at the distribution center in Lambert or at the stores. 

“It’s been a pleasure to do this because we bring in food to what we call desert communities, where we don’t have the grocery store,” Edwards said. “My wife and I think this is a wonderful thing, and I know it’s gonna grow, but it’s like a young baby, it’s got to be nourished. You gotta be on milk before it grows so and it’s a blessing to Mississippi.”

In Her Shoes received a grant in 2023 to build a chicken processing facility, which will allow Black farmers to make more money by processing their products. The organization is set to break ground on the facility in October.

“Mississippi has a billion-dollar poultry industry, but … there are no private processing facilities for the smaller farmers to be able to get their poultry into local stores,” Mangham said. 

Mangham’s work provides not only a market for farmers to sell their produce and allow residents to purchase fresh foods, but also an avenue to get young people involved. She created an apprenticeship program that pairs students with farmers to learn how to grow produce.

In Bolivar County, where Mound Bayou is located, 24.4% of people reported food insecurity in their household in 2023. Addressing the issue takes more than opening two stores and providing a temporary mobile food truck, Mangham said. She’s looking at other avenues, like partnering with pharmacies to bring in a fresh food kiosk or refrigeration to store meats and vegetables. She’s also working to convert shipping containers into permanent corner grocery stores. 

This work can be overwhelming and exhausting, but Mangham continues because of the community’s support, she said.

“When I see the 75-year-old lady come in and buy all of her groceries, and she doesn’t have to drive … that’s the kind of thing that makes it all worth it,” she said with teary eyes.  

She added that her work has inspired others. “Nobody wants to invest in these rural communities. They don’t want to invest in the people. But just do what’s put on your heart to do, and the rewards will come.”

Associated Press data reporter Kasturi Pananjady contributed to this report. This reporting is part of a series called Sowing Resilience, a collaboration between the Institute for Nonprofit News’ Rural News Network and The Associated Press. Nine nonprofit newsrooms were involved: The Beacon, Capital B, Enlace Latino NC, Investigate Midwest, The Jefferson County Beacon, KOSU, Louisville Public Media, The Maine Monitor and MinnPost. The Rural News Network is funded by Google News Initiative and Knight Foundation, among others.

Before sunrise early Saturday morning in September, bicyclists from across the tri-county area, including Major Taylor Cycling Club members from Memphis, Tennessee, arrive at The Bike Crossing in Ridgeland. 

Arree Williams, Soul City Cycling president, is leading the group of 30 or so riders dressed in colorful, skin-clinging cycling uniforms. Williams shares safety reminders with the group as they double check gear and store away hydration sources and snacks. 

The excitement is palpable as riders ready to complete a morning ride that will course 44 or 53 miles, depending on riding experience. The course runs through a section of Ridgeland, along the Natchez Trace Parkway, then deeper into Madison County.

“I started riding back in 2010,” said Williams. “Back then, there really weren’t a lot of Black people running and biking. I would be out on my bike and noticed I rarely, if ever, saw anybody who looked like me on a bike. If I did, I’d turn around and make my way to them asking all kinds of questions. That’s exactly how I met Cedrick Chaffee. I met his wife Denise too. Before long, we were riding together.” 

Cedrick Chaffee of Clinton is the director of membership for Soul City Cycling. He was a member of the Memphis-based Black Men Run, but running on pavement became hard on his knees. And although he confesses to missing running, he turned to cycling.

“He introduced me to several other riders,” said Williams of Chaffee. “Soul City Cycling was established in August of 2021. From a community standpoint, COVID played an unexpected part in it too. People were looking for a way to escape the seemingly endless sheltering in place, the working and schooling from home, and all that came with that. We got outside. People started buying bicycles and that includes the African American community.”

After an unpleasant riding experience, Chaffee’s wife Denise, discussed Major Taylor Cycling Clubs with her husband and a few friends.

Marshall Walter “Major” Taylor was a road and track bicyclist, and the first African American cycling champion. Taylor, who was internationally famous in the 1800s, won the International Cycling Association (ICA) Track Cycling World Championship in 1899. 

His life and accomplishments are the inspiration for cycling clubs that bear his name and the year 1899 around the world.

“That’s how Soul City Cycling was born,” she said.

“We want to encourage people to get out on bikes,” said Williams, after sharing the morning’s route with the group of riders. “Come out and see what we’re all about. Everybody is welcome. I don’t call us a club, we’re a community. One big, happy, diverse community.”

Contact Soul City Cycling: 

Address: P.O. Box 2670
Ridgeland,  MS 39158

Phone: (601) 942-9532

Instagram: soul_citycycling