Poor People’s Campaign co-chair Rev. William Barber II announced Monday that his organization would be filing a Fair Housing Act complaint against the state of Mississippi for failing to provide clean drinking water to Jackson residents.
Barber announced the news at a Monday evening rally in downtown Jackson. In his return to Jackson after hosting another protest in late September, the reverend marched alongside about 100 city residents from the Smith Robertson Museum, walking a half mile or so to a stage set up outside the Governor’s Mansion.
The Rev. William Barber II speaks at a rally about Jackson’s drinking water on Oct. 10, 2022. Credit: Alex Rozier / Mississippi Today
“The Fair Housing law says you cannot refuse to give people what they need in their private housing, in their rental housing, or in their federally owned public housing, what they need to have a decent life,” Barber told the crowd on Capitol Street. “And we believe that when you deny people access to clean water, you are violating their fair housing rights.”
Barber cited that the federal law protects against discrimination in housing based on a number of factors, including race. Jackson, the largest city in Mississippi, is 83% Black. The federal government created the law as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
The Poor People’s Campaign also echoed other activists speaking out against the possibility of privatizing Jackson’s drinking water system.
Jackson residents protest on Lamar Street over the city’s drinking water on Oct. 10, 2022. Credit: Alex Rozier / Mississippi Today
“Understand that if you privatize the water of Jackson, everything else is up for grabs,” Barber said. “If you privatize the water they’ll take the economic resources.”
Mississippi Today reported in August that state lawmakers had met to consider new options for managing the city’s water system, including privatizing. It’s unclear, however, what the state’s role will be as the federal government steps in. Last week, the Jackson City Council voted to enter a confidentiality agreement with the Department of Justice in discussing a settlement over the water system, WLBT reported.
Mississippi lawmakers spent more than seven hours in early 2022 debating a bill that they said would ban the teaching of critical race theory. They passed it after brushing off the emotional objections of every Black lawmaker and the fact that no state K-12 classroom taught the academic theory.
On the campaign trail and during recent speaking events, several Republican officials have since boasted their hard work and focus on the issue.
But the recently updated Mississippi Code, the state’s book of laws which reflect bills passed during the 2022 legislative session and will soon be distributed across the state, does not include the term “critical race theory” — or even language banning its teaching, experts say.
The new law’s language reads no university, community college or public school “shall direct or otherwise compel students to personally affirm” that “any sex, race, ethnicity, religion or national origin is inherently superior or inferior or that individuals should be adversely treated on the basis of their sex, ethnicity, religion or national origin.”
Gov. Tate Reeves, Speaker Philip Gunn and others have touted that Senate Bill 2113, passed during the 2022 session, prohibits the teaching of critical race theory. The bill created a new section of law at 37-13-2 in the legal code. A general index for the legal code does say, “Critical race theory, prohibition,” and then cites the code section. But the code section itself does not use the term “critical race theory.”
“This law does not prohibit critical race theory, and courts generally are not looking to the index to interpret a statute,” said Yvette Theresa Butler, a professor at the University of Mississippi School of Law and the only person in the state who focuses an entire class on critical race theory.
At the Neshoba County Fair earlier this year, Reeves proclaimed to the generally conservative crowd, “Here in Mississippi we are leading the way and we are driving the conservative movement. We have banned critical race theory, and we have banned vaccine mandates.”
In response to questions about critical race theory not being in the code, Cory Custer, the governor’s deputy chief of staff sent a statement: “Mississippi Today has consistently missed the point on this issue. You’ve been so focused on the label ‘critical race theory,’ that you’ve totally failed to understand that the legislation prohibits teaching the core tenets of this radical indoctrination. It’s almost like you have blinders on. Passing legislation that simply states critical race theory is banned isn’t enough.
“This legislation goes beyond labels and targets the discriminatory teaching that is the foundation of critical race theory – that students are inherently superior or inferior because of their sex, race, ethnicity, religion or national origin.”
But Butler said the language of the controversial law “actually prohibits the exact opposite of what CRT explores. CRT is just another theoretical method that is used to explore the law’s role in perpetuating and remedying inequality.”
“CRT explores the ways the law has been and is still used (even if written in a neutral – non-discriminatory – manner) to perpetuate racial inequality,” Butler said. “Consequently, it is factually inaccurate to say that anyone teaching CRT directs or compels students to adopt a belief that any race (sex, religion, etc.) is inherently superior or inferior.”
Critical race theory has generally been taught as a graduate level class on the university level and is designed to explore the impact of race on various aspects of society. When the bill was being debated earlier this year, state Department of Education officials said no public kindergarten through 12th grade school in the state was offering critical race theory classes.
A critical race theory class will again be offered at the Ole Miss Law School in the 2023 spring semester, Butler said.
Every African American member of the Legislature opposed passage of the bill during the 2022 session. In the Senate, all 14 African Americans walked out before the final vote in an unprecedented move.
While many Black legislators argued that the language of the bill is meaningless, they still voted against it saying they feared that it could make some educators afraid to teach the true history of the state.
Democratic state Rep. Robert Johnson of Natchez, the House minority leader and longtime attorney, agrees with Butler’s interpretation of the law. The law threatens to cut off funding to any school that violates its conditions, though Johnson said there is no enforcement mechanism in the proposal.
“This law does not prohibit the teaching of critical race theory,” Johnson said. “It does not prevent teachers who are brave and want to challenge their students from doing so.”
The bill lawmakers passed earlier this year did not include the term “critical race theory” in its text. The only mention was at the bottom of the final page of the bill where in nondescript type it reads “ST: Critical Race Theory: prohibit.” The Mississippi Legislature’s website also displays what is known as the short title of the bill “Critical Race Theory, prohibit” if the bill is called up.
Various right wing groups and politicians have argued that critical race theory attempts to create racial strife and attempts to place undue burdens on young white children. Butler said that is not the case.
“Unfortunately, I’ve had many students in my Civil Rights class at the law school who are behind,” Butler said. “They received very limited formal education (as did I) about the antebellum era, the causes of the civil war and secession, the reconstruction era, and the civil rights movement. A civil rights class in law school is meant to discuss civil rights statutes and case law and how to use them to address legal injustices.
“While some civil rights history is covered in law school, it is not a substitute for a history class. I am concerned about what the last two years of messaging will do to students’ understanding of, not only history, but the valiant struggle by advocates of many races, sexes, genders, and religions to strengthen our conceptions of democracy, liberty, and equal protection.”
The Jackson Public School District received a “C” rating in the new accountability grades released last week, marking the first time it is not considered low-performing since 2014.
At the school board meeting last week, principals from dozens of Jackson schools were recognized for their efforts in improving grades or receiving top marks.
“I am just completely full,” said JPS board member Cynthia Thompson. “As a parent of Jackson Public Schools and six of my babies graduating, and fighting through the madness that our children were not. They are, always have been, and I saw it from the beginning, and I just thank God that now the world can see it and celebrate with us.”
The district, the second largest in Mississippi, narrowly avoided state takeover in 2017 after several years of being rated an “F.” The state Department of Education had recommended that then-Gov. Phil Bryant declare a state of emergency in the district, but Bryant declined, instead opting to form a new oversight commission.
Across the state, schools have not received new grades since 2019 due to pandemic disruptions. Assessments did not occur in the spring of 2020, and while tests were administered in 2021, no accountability grades were given for student performance.
Proficiency scores for reading and math returned to pre-pandemic levels in Jackson’s school district. History proficiency scores significantly surpassed previous scores, mirroring a statewide trend. Science proficiency scores conversely dipped below 2019 levels, also following statewide trends.
The most significant improvements were seen in growth scores, which measure improvements in student performance year-over-year. The district also saw a 10 percentage point increase in the graduation rate.
Every high school in JPS saw improvements in both their proficiency and growth scores, while many elementary schools only saw improvements in their growth scores.
The district also celebrated Barack Obama Magnet Elementary School being ranked the #1 elementary school in the state.
“Have we arrived?” asked Errick Greene, superintendent of the Jackson Public School District, during a press conference. “Absolutely not. We’re not even close. As proud as we are of what we’ve achieved, we’re not even close to where we will be as we continue our trek toward excellence. But our commitment to excellence is definitely paying off.”
Multiple district officials spoke at the board meeting about the goal to become a B-rated district next year, discussing plans to make it a reality.
Greene, in an interview with Mississippi Today, acknowledged that this new accountability rating is fueled, in part, by improved growth scores, which may be higher than normal as students rebound out of pandemic learning declines. He pointed out that the district anticipated this and that they already have a roadmap to continue improving student achievement.
When discussing how the district reached this point and their strategies moving forward, Greene pointed to new K-8 curriculum, benchmark assessments, ensuring teachers cover every component of a standard to help students reach proficiency, making sure that concepts build on one another, and emphasizing coaching and feedback for teachers and leaders at all levels.
“We hadn’t achieved this previously, so I desperately want to use this level of improvement as proof positive for the community, but also for our team, this is not beyond us,” Greene said. “We’re showing and proving to ourselves and to others that this can be accomplished, so I want to use this time and increased performance as the launching pad for the next.”
We value the thoughts and opinions Mississippi Today readers have on news and other current events, which is why we’ve committed to listening and responding to topics that matter to readers. We want to know what you are curious about so we can get you the answers you need. We’ll prompt readers for questions each month. For October, we ask you:
Six years ago this week, House Speaker Philip Gunn and then-Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves held a surprise news conference to announce their intention to scrap the Mississippi Adequate Education Program formula that determines the amount of state funds each local school district should receive.
Then-Gov. Phil Bryant quickly jumped on board.
Seldom, if ever, has an initiative supported so publicly by what was then the three most powerful people in state government failed so spectacularly.
The legislative leadership quickly contracted with New Jersey-based EdBuild to develop a new funding formula with hopes of enacting it as soon as the 2017 legislative session. Despite the support of the political triumvirate, the plan stalled during the 2017 session.
Not to be deterred, the leadership came back in the 2018 session with a renewed commitment to replace the MAEP. The plan did pass the House but was defeated in the Senate by a combination of all the Democrats, allied with a group of Republicans, much to the chagrin of Reeves, then the presiding officer of the upper chair.
After that stunning defeat, little was heard about the rewrite. During the 2019 state elections, Reeves, who ran and won the office of governor, seldom talked about the need to scrap the MAEP. Gunn and other legislative incumbents running for re-election also were mum for the most part about the need to replace the funding formula.
Crickets all around.
In the new term, after that 2019 election, the issue has not resurfaced. It is of note that Delbert Hosemann, who won the office of lieutenant governor in 2019, was supported significantly by many of the education groups that opposed efforts to replace the MAEP.
When building their case for the rewrite, the state’s political leadership argued the new funding formula would be more efficient in getting to the students the money needed to provide a quality education.
“Doing what’s best for kids, we believe, is increasing funding in the classroom while not increasing funding in the district office,” Reeves said at the time.
But the leadership sent mixed messages. They contended, almost simultaneously, that the new formula would provide more funds for local schools while maintaining that the state could not afford MAEP.
“To fully fund MAEP is impossible if other essential services are to be provided to Mississippians,” wrote House Education Chairman Richard Bennett, R-Long Beach, at the time. But at the same time, Gunn and others were offering charts showing local school districts would get more funds under the new EdBuild formula.
Both could not be true.
The MAEP was considered landmark legislation when it was enacted in 1997. It developed an “objective” formula to determine the amount per pupil needed to provide an adequate education. Each district would be responsible for providing a minimum level of those funds through local property taxes. Wealthier districts would provide a greater share because their property taxes would generate more revenue. The state would provide a greater share of the funding in the poorer districts.
The formula is credited with Mississippi not losing an equity funding lawsuit. The equity funding lawsuits maintained that states were not properly funding poorer districts. Many states lost those lawsuits in the 1980s and 90s, including Arkansas and Texas.
While still considered landmark legislation still to this day, the MAEP has been fully funded only twice since it was fully enacted — the last being in 2007. In that year, nearly all politicians running for office, including incumbent Gov. Haley Barbour, pledged that fully funding MAEP would no longer be an issue. But in 2008, the so-called Great Recession hit and MAEP has not come close to being fully funded since.
For the current school year, the program is underfunded $279.3 million and has been underfunded $3.35 billion since 2008.
State Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, helped write the school funding formula in 2007 and made the motion in the 2018 session that killed the effort to replace the formula.
He said the whole effort to scrap the formula was “to remove an objective method of funding the schools so that people could not identify by how much they (schools) were being underfunded.
“That objective formula was going to be replaced with the speaker saying how much to fund the schools.”
Under the replacement formula, the Legislature, instead of that objective formula, would determine the per pupil amount needed to provide a quality education.
Whether there will be an effort to make the rewrite of the MAEP or its underfunding an issue in the 2023 campaign season remains to be seen.
But what is certain: during the period where the MAEP was underfunded by $3.3 billion, the state Legislature approved tax cuts that will total about $1.5 billion.
While former Gov. Phil Bryant fights a subpoena within Mississippi’s civil suit over welfare misspending, another defense attorney is now requesting he turn over even more records related to NFL hall of famer Brett Favre’s concussion drug company and other welfare projects.
The new subpoena, filed Friday, seeks communication between Bryant and Favre related to the pharmaceutical startup companies Prevacus and PreSolMD — including correspondence Mississippi Today first uncovered and published in its investigative series “The Backchannel” in April. The texts showed that just before they began receiving welfare money from defendant Nancy New’s nonprofit, Favre and Prevacus founder Jake Vanlandingham offered Bryant stock in the company.
“It’s 3rd and long and we need you to make it happen!!” Favre wrote to the governor in late December 2018.
“I will open a hole,” Bryant responded, piggybacking on the football metaphor.
The texts showed Favre also briefed Bryant when the company began receiving funding from the state and that Bryant agreed to accept the stock after he left office – until State Auditor Shad White’s early 2020 arrests derailed the arrangement. Bryant explained to Mississippi Today that he didn’t read his texts carefully enough to appreciate what the men were saying or asking of him.
“I can clearly see why you’re following those trails,” Bryant said. “And it doesn’t look good. Should I have caught it? Absolutely. I should’ve caught it. Was I extremely busy as governor? I can’t even describe to you what it is like on a daily basis as governor. This was not on the top of my list. This was not something that I was looking at every day. I’d get a text and it just kind of glance through it. I’d say, ‘Good.’”
Bryant has not been charged civilly or criminally within the welfare case.
Civil suit defendant Austin Smith, who received nearly $430,000 in welfare contracts, is subpoenaing the Prevacus documents as part of his defense, which argues that the state is denying him equal protection under the law by arbitrarily naming his as a defendant while excluding other individuals he says are just as responsible for the misspending, namely Bryant.
Smith is the nephew of former Mississippi Department of Human Services director John Davis, who was initially charged in 2020 and recently pleaded guilty to several state and federal charges within the welfare scheme. Davis’ crimes relate to welfare money he funneled to professional wrestler brothers Brett DiBiase and Ted DiBiase Jr., sons of famed WWE character Ted “The Million Dollar Man” DiBiase.
Smith is also subpoenaing Bryant for any of his communication related to several other welfare-related projects or alleged events first reported by Mississippi Today, including a fitness program by trainer Paul Lacoste, a virtual reality academy by Lobaki Inc., advertising campaigns with conservative talk radio station SuperTalk and “Families First,” treatment for Bryant’s nephew that the governor and his welfare officials facilitated, and the firing of Debbie Hood, wife of former Democratic candidate for governor Jim Hood.
“Governor Bryant’s personal involvement in these misexpenditures would have communicated to Governor Bryant’s immediate subordinate, John Davis, and to Governor Bryant’s long-time, personal friend, Nancy New, that Bryant did not require TANF (welfare) funds to be used exclusively for the benefit of needy families, but that the governor ratified and approved use of TANF funds for non-TANF purposes,” Smith’s attorney Jim Waide wrote in his June 24 answer to the complaint. “Thus, to the extent that Governor Bryant’s immediate subordinate, John Davis, and close personal friend, Nancy New, were expending TANF funds for non-TANF purposes without ‘full and open competition,’ Governor Bryant is jointly responsible.”
Currently, Bryant is fighting an earlier subpoena from Gerry Bufkin, the attorney representing Nancy New, Zach New and their nonprofit Mississippi Community Education Center. That subpoena seeks Bryant’s communication related to the use of $5 million in welfare funds to build a volleyball stadium at University of Southern Mississippi.
As a result of the court battle, both Bufkin and Bryant’s attorney Billy Quin have released never-before-seen text messages over the last month to support their arguments. Bufkin argues based on the messages in his client’s possession, more communication could exist showing Bryant’s involvement in directing welfare funds. Quin rejects the notion Bryant did anything wrong and asserts that the governor had no idea welfare funds were involved in the volleyball project.
Nancy New’s son and assistant director for her nonprofit, Zach New, pleaded guilty to defrauding the government by paying the USM athletic foundation to build a volleyball stadium and disguising the payment as a lease agreement.
But the welfare misspending scandal, and Bryant’s potential role in it, extend far beyond the volleyball stadium. Waide’s latest subpoena seeks the most comprehensive set of records so far — including any communication between Bryant and Auditor White “concerning whether you (Bryant) are liable for misappropriation by MDHS” — in an attempt to uncover Bryant’s actions within the welfare scandal.
White, who previously ran Bryant’s political campaign and was initially appointed to his position by the former governor, began investigating the welfare case after an MDHS employee brought a small tip of suspected fraud to Bryant, who turned that over to White in June of 2019. Most of the misspending occurred within a federal program called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, known for providing the welfare check to very poor families. Mississippi Department of Human Services, which administers federal safety net funds for the state, is an agency under the direct control of the governor’s office.
Though the largest purchases in the initial 2020 indictments against New and her son were the investments in Prevacus and PreSolMD — companies Bryant was consulting at the time of the arrests, purporting not to have any knowledge that they had received welfare funds — White called Bryant the whistleblower of the case.
White has previously said it would have been Davis’ duty to reject improper funding requests from the governor, not the governor’s responsibility to know the rules and laws around agency spending.
Of communication publicly available so far, Bryant’s texts surrounding the Prevacus deal are perhaps the most explosive.
Vanlandingham, Favre, Nancy New and her sons Zach and Jess New are all defendants in the civil suit brought by Mississippi Department of Human Services. While New has pleaded guilty to several state criminal charges related to the scheme, Favre and Vanlandingham have not faced criminal charges.
The civil complaint alleges they knew that the money they were seeking for Prevacus was coming from the state’s welfare department. Prevacus purported to be developing a pharmaceutical nasal spray called Prevasol that is supposed to reduce harmful swelling and inflammation when used after impact to the head. Vanlandingham has since sold his idea for the medication to Odyssey Group International, an acquisition company the scientist said he is now working with to conduct clinical trials for the drug.
MDHS’s complaint alleges that the agreement between Prevacus and the New nonprofit “falsely pretended” that their purpose was to secure “clinical trial sites” for the drug development to be located in Mississippi.
“The written agreement was a sham, as it concealed the material fact that the actual purpose of the transaction was financially to benefit Defendants Nancy New, Zach New, Jesse New, Jacob Vanlandingham, Brett Favre, Prevacus and PreSolMD.”
MDHS’s complaint, which had to receive approval from the governor’s office before filing, does not mention the former governor in its narrative.
Smith’s subpoena asks Bryant for any of his communication, including texts, instant messages, letters, etc., between Bryant and the following people: Jake Vanlandingham, Brett Favre, John Davis, Teddy DiBiase, Nancy New, Zach New and any employees from MDHS, the governor’s office or the attorney general’s office, containing the terms:
Prevacus
PresolMD
Education Research Program that Addresses Brain Injury Caused By Concussions
MCEC
FRC
It also asks for the following records:
All Documents and Communications that contain information concerning Prevacus including all proposals, offerings, updates, or memoranda of any kind concerning Prevacus and PreSolMD.
All Documents and Communications relating in any way to any ownership interest in Prevacus and PreSolMD that You had, have, or that was proposed or suggested to You by any person.
All Documents and Communications between You, or anyone on Your behalf, or anyone acting upon Your instructions, and the Mississippi Development Authority or any other public or private entity concerning funding for Prevacus or PreSolMD or any of their respective projects, infrastructure, products, or proposals.
All Documents and Communications relating in any way to any personal or ownership interest You have or had in any real property or real property development in Mississippi, including, without limitation, any real property or real property development associated with the name Traditions or any similar name, on which, or in relation to which, a Prevacus or PreSolMD presence, of any kind, was proposed, suggested or considered.
All Documents and Communications between you, Ted DiBiase, Sr., Ted DiBiase, Jr., and Brett DiBiase in which there were discussions concerning how monies might be paid to any of the DiBiases, or any company controlled by the DiBiases. Companies controlled by the DiBiases include, but are not limited to, Price Ventures, LLC, Familiae Orientem, LLC, Heart of David Ministries, Inc.
All Documents and Communications between you and John Davis concerning providing funding for Ted DiBiase, Jr., and Brett DiBiase or Heart of David Ministries, Inc., Familiae Orientem, LLC, Price Ventures, LLC, or any company owned or controlled by any of the DiBiases.
All Documents and Communications in which payments of Federal or State funds or funds of MCEC could be, or were, paid to Paul Lacoste or Victory Sports Foundation, Inc.
All Documents and Communications concerning Tate Reeves’ efforts to obtain funding for Paul Lacoste or for Victory Sports Foundation, LLC.
All Documents and Communications in which a meeting with Paul Lacoste to discuss a contract with him or his company, Victory Sports Foundation, Inc. was planned.
All Documents and Contracts which mention funding for Labocki, Inc., or mention contracting with Lobaki, Inc. and/or Lobaki Foundation, or mention obtaining a contract for Lobaki, Inc. and/or Lobaki Foundation, to be funded by Federal or State monies, or to be funded by MCEC.
All Documents and Communications in which you discussed advertising or authorization of payment for advertising by Telesouth Communications d/b/a Super Talk while you were Governor.
All Documents and Communications in which you discussed treatment for Noah Malone while you were Governor.
All Documents and Communications which you had with John Davis or Nancy New concerning treatment for Noah Malone while you were Governor.
All Documents and Communications in which treatment for Logan Dillon, or payment of treatment for Logan Dillon was discussed while you were Governor.
All Documents and Communications in which the employment and/or termination of Debbie Hood as an employee of FRC was discussed.
All Documents and Communications concerning advertising services to be provided for MCEC or FRC, MDHS, or “Families First” while you were Governor.
All Documents and Communications concerning payment of advertising services for MCEC, FRC, MDHS, or “Families First.”
All Documents and Communications concerning payment of advertising services to Cirlot Advertising from funds belonging to MCEC, FRC, MDHS, or “Families First.”
All Documents and Communications which you had with Steve Davenport concerning advertising services to be done by Telesouth Communications or Super Talk while you were Governor.
All Documents and Communications between you and State Auditor Shad White concerning whether you are liable for misappropriation by MDHS.
A number of challenges continue to burden the mothers and children of Mississippi, especially after the landmark decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed Mississippi’s abortion trigger law to go into effect, banning abortion in nearly all cases.
In the wake of Roe’s overturning, advocates and activists have put even more pressure on state leaders to help rectify problems such as postpartum Medicaid expansion, overall access to health care, infant mortality and more.
On Sept. 27, the Senate Study Group on Women, Children and Families, a committee created by Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, held the first of a series of hearings to ascertain the breadth of these issues.
As reported by Senior Political Reporter Geoff Pender, “46% of Mississippi children are in single-parent homes. One in five children experienced hunger in the last year. Nine out of 1,000 babies in Mississippi die. In the rural Delta, there are 4,000 children for every one pediatrician — statewide that number drops only to 2,000 per — and many counties have no OB/GYN. Many mothers do not receive proper prenatal or postpartum care. Mississippi has alarming rates of premature, low-weight babies being born.”
Organizations representing Black women have criticized the Senate committee for the lack of members who are Black women, with only one out of nine members.
“Black women and babies experience a disproportionate share of the state’s highest-in-the-nation rates of stillbirth, low birth weight, and infant mortality,” writes Pender.
“What we’re asking for here is just a right to life,” said Angela Grayson, lead organizer for Black Women Vote Coalition and advocacy and outreach coordinator for The Lighthouse. “The data is here. The data shows that [extending postpartum Medicaid coverage] is good legislation and that that is what we need here in Mississippi for Black women to be able to go through the childbirth experience and not have the unnecessary burdens of inadequate health care.”
In the United States as a whole, 5.42 per 1,000 live births died before their first birthday. In Mississippi, those figures only continue to rise — 5.7 among white infants, 8.12 statewide and 11.8 among Black infants.
And among the leading causes of infant mortality, while birth defects lead the nation, Mississippi infants mostly face premature birth — the highest rate in the country, pregnancy and delivery complications, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS.
