Getting Through Jim Crow: Everyday Strength in Vicksburg

Jim Crow laws tried to strip Black Mississippians of dignity and opportunity. But in Vicksburg, families found ways to stay strong:

Faith as Refuge
Churches like Bethel AME (est. 1864) became sanctuaries where people could gather, learn, and organize without constant surveillance.

Education as Resistance
Despite underfunding, Black teachers created nurturing schools that produced generations of leaders. Education itself was a form of defiance in an era designed to deny opportunity.

Family & Community Care
Extended families and neighbors relied on one another for food, childcare, and survival. Oral traditions, quilting circles, and music carried forward cultural memory and pride.

Through these everyday acts, Vicksburg’s Black community endured and laid the groundwork for the Civil Rights Movement.