Mississippi: Poverty And Race Relations In Mississippi

Many believe the federal government is to thank for what Mississippi is today; however, Mississippi isn’t all that wonderful. Mississippi is in a race, a race to the bottom. For several years now Mississippi has finished last in literally everything from health to mortality rates. Mississippi also has one of the highest rates of diabetes, obesity and heart disease in the country. Many blame the state failing on the history of Mississippi and its deep roots buried in violence and poverty. Many Mississippians live in poverty and have negative stereotypes against various races. The Federal government has made several attempts to combat poverty and address race relations in Mississippi; however, none have been completely successful. There are

In 1935, Roosevelt launched a more aggressive series of programs often called the Second New Deal which focused on reform. One of the reforms invented by the government was social security. Social Security is a tax everyone pays in order to assist the elderly and disabled. This was the first time that the government ever felt the obligation to help those who could not help themselves. Social security is still with us today and is very beneficial to those who cannot do for themselves. During this time the government also created the Fair Labor Standards Act which established forty hour work weeks and a minimum wage system. This was very beneficial to those working forty plus hours for little to no pay. The government also passed the Wagner Act which granted workers the right to form unions. Although the government was slowly improving the lives of white Southerner, African Americans were the last to receive benefits and acquire jobs. Most benefits and jobs were being distributed at the local level causing unequal distribution. Statistically, if you were born poor, you die poor. (Lecture Notes

The economy was steadily arising in Mississippi thanks to federal funds and the diversity of agriculture. (Lecture Notes 11/20/14) Jimmy Carter became president in 1976 and during this time, the economy was horrid. During his presidency America faced a major energy crisis, the Iran Hostage crisis and the Camp David Accords. The president and the government was slowly letting down not only Mississippi, but all Americas (Lecture Notes 12/02/14) In 1980 Ronald Reagan was elected president. Reagan supported low taxes and less federal control meaning states such a Mississippi could decide race relations. Reagan used racially coded languages and cut many government programs which highly appealed to Southern Conservative whites. This set up yet another race barrier. In 1988 George H. Bush stepped into office and slowly cleaned up Reagan’s mess. Bush stated “Read my lips, no new taxes” but ultimately was forced to raise taxes. The government was yet again failing. In 1992, Bill Clinton stepped in as president and brought in welfare reforms resulting in an improvement in the economy. There was virtually no unemployment, a strong stock market and energy was available. Thanks to Clinton, the government was doing its best at both combating poverty and race relations for a change. By 2000 George W. Bush was president and the United States was slowly coming back