Delta Epiphany: RFK in the Mississippi Delta

In 1967, while visiting Mississippi as part of the Senate subcommittee on poverty, Robert Kennedy cradled hungry children, talked with mothers about how they fed their families and examined empty refrigerators. Although he was only in the Delta for a day, Kennedy, the people he encountered, Mississippi and the nation felt the impact of that journey for much longer. What he found in the Delta both shocked and motivated Kennedy to work for significant changes in the nation’s food aid policy. It was a crucial step toward his decision to run for the presidency a year later.

Drawing upon archival research and interviews, Meacham’s presentation outlines Kennedy’s journey through Mississippi and what he saw and heard, concluding with how Kennedy’s visit affected food aid policy, what has changed there and what has not changed since his visit.

Speakers Expertise:

Ellen Meacham is a Tennessee native, longtime resident of Mississippi, and a career journalist and journalism instructor at her alma mater, the University of Mississippi. She is the author of “Delta Epiphany: Robert F. Kennedy in Mississippi” and has been a working journalist for more than two decades. Meacham is uniquely positioned to write about the South and Mississippi. She is a former fellow with the American Association of Newspaper Editors, selected as one of only 20 journalism professors in the nation. Her experience as a newspaper reporter has given her extensive contacts within the state’s political and journalistic circles. In addition, her master’s degree in Southern Studies, a multidisciplinary program at the University of Mississippi, supports her understanding of the politics, economics, culture, and the people of the South and the Mississippi Delta. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, USA Today Online, American Heritage Magazine Online, The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi, The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tennessee and The Advocate in Baton Rouge, La., She has also been featured on “Hardball with Chris Matthews” on MSNBC, the BBC, Ireland’s Newstalk Radio, Newsmax television, “Marketplace with Kai Ryssdal” and on numerous other public radio shows. She lives in the tiny town of Taylor (near Oxford, Mississippi) with her family, where she is a member of the town’s board of aldermen. Read more about her at ellenmeacham.com. Recent work: What Mississippi Taught Bobby Kennedy About Poverty https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/12/opinion/what-mississippi-taught-bobby-kennedy-about-poverty.html Robert F. Kennedy in Mississippi https://www.americanheritage.com/robert-f-kennedy-mississippi 50 Years Ago RFK Exposed Hunger in Mississippi Delta https://www.clarionledger.com/story/opinion/columnists/2017/04/10/50-years-ago-rfk-exposed-hunger-mississippi-delta/100296752/ Echoes of JFK’s 1957 call for party unity offer lessons for today https://www.clarionledger.com/story/opinion/columnists/2016/10/21/jfk-echoes/92307032/ RFK Would See Familiar Patterns in Missississippi Covid Response https://hottytoddy.com/2020/04/14/column-rfk-would-see-familiar-patterns-in-mississippis-covid-19-response/ Mississippi Braces for Massive Cuts in CHIPS Program https://spotlightonpoverty.org/spotlight-exclusives/mississippi-braces-massive-cuts-childrens-health-insurance/