A month-long series of programs honoring African American history in Mississippi, culminating in the keynote address from Hon. Constance Slaughter-Harvey on February 27.
After serving as student body president and graduating from Tougaloo College with a degree in political science, Slaughter attended law school at the University of Mississippi. In 1970, amid death threats and constant prejudice, she became the first African American woman to receive a law degree from the school. She subsequently worked for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights under Law as a staff attorney and represented the families of two students who were killed by highway patrolmen during the Jackson State University massacre. Slaughter-Harvey filed the desegregation lawsuit against the Mississippi State Highway Patrol that resulted in the hiring of African American highway patrolmen.
