Mississippi. Believe It.
A few years ago, my family and I were stationed in Michigan with the Coast Guard. I was happy. I love northern climates and am happiest in the cold. For our next assignment, I didn't want to go anyplace warm and humid. So naturally, we got the news that we were being transferred to Mississippi.
My first thought? OMG, I'm going to have to homeschool my son.
Apologies to everyone from Mississippi, but I was suffering from the same thing everyone who doesn't live in Mississippi suffers from: The "Does Mississippi Have Electricity?" syndrome.
Every time I told someone we were moving to Mississippi, they'd get this look of horror on their face, and gasp, "Mississippi? Why?"
Apparently, Mississippians are tired of everyone reacting the same way, and there is now a campaign to improve Mississippi's image.
From a Chicago Sun Times article:
For Mississippian Rick Looser, the last straw came on an airline flight a couple of years ago when a 12-year-old Connecticut boy sitting next to him asked: "Do you still see the KKK on the streets every day?"
That prompted the advertising executive to spend his own money on a campaign to dispel Mississippi's image as a forlorn state of poor, illiterate, racist good ole boys.
"Mississippi has more black elected officials than any other state in the country," Looser said. "The old stereotype of the short, fat, white, bald men in suits smoking cigars just doesn't carry weight."
Looser's campaign — "Mississippi, Believe It!" — doesn't shy from the fact that the state has a segregationist past, or that national studies consistently put it near the bottom in education and near the top in poverty and obesity. But the campaign seeks to show another side.
One of the slogans — "No Black. No White. Just the Blues." — points out the state is the birthplace of the blues and greats like B.B. King, Bo Diddley and Muddy Waters.
Another says, "In Mississippi, We Always Have Our Hand Out. But It's Usually to Give, Not Receive," pointing out that for eight years in a row Mississippians have given more per capita to charity in relation to income than residents of any other state.
The debate over exactly what Mississippi has to offer came to the forefront last month when Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) said to the New York Times: "Mississippi gets more than their fair share back in federal money, but who the hell wants to live in Mississippi?" Rangel apologized days later.
Looser plans to send Rangel a shirt with the slogan: "Yes, we can read and a few of us can even write," part of a campaign to highlight the state's literary giants such as William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Tennessee Williams and John Grisham.
To read the rest of the article, click HERE.
And here is the website, Mississippi. Believe It. Check out their ad campaigns…they're hilarious!
And for the record, I didn't have to homeschool my son, and in fact, his school turned out to be the best one he's ever been to, and he's been in California, Washington, Michigan, and Virginia schools. The one in Mississippi was the most advanced, most structured, and least lax school I've ever seen.
To top it off, I LOVED Mississippi. I don't want to go back, but only because I'm traumatized by the hurricanes. But if not for that, I'd be back there in a heartbeat. The food is awesome, the people are nice, there's a lot to do…the summers suck, but no more than they do here in Virginia. Yes, during one hurricane evacuation, I did drive through a very Deliverance area…honestly, there were outhouses next to the, um, shacks, but I'm sure that was an isolated incident.
I'm sure of it. 
Anyway, check out that website. It's a hoot!
Sharon
