Education will remain a key in moving Mississippi forward, former Gov. William Winter said in Itta Bena Thursday.
Winter, a Grenada native, spoke at the Thompson/Hamer/Henry/Evers Mississippi Executive Academy for Public Leadership and Robert G. Clark Leadership Lecture Series’ Conference.
The event featured several speakers and workshops on how to improve education in the Delta.
“The Mississippi I knew and grew up in is so radically different from the Mississippi we live in now,” Winter said. “Understand we are never going to be the state we ought to be until everyone gets the opportunity to an education.”
Winter co-founded the Executive Academy with Joseph Stevenson, Mississippi Valley State University provost and senior vice president for academic affairs.
The organization is devoted to educating public leaders to help respond to the state’s opportunities and challenges.
Winter said racial disparities are still found in the Delta.
“There are many places in this state where it is virtually impossible for a black child to get a fair education,” he said.
For a long time education in Mississippi was discouraged and frowned upon, but things are changing, he said.
“I thank God that we have awakened from that system,” he said. “Yet, as far as we have come, we still have so far to go.”
He said the opportunities and resources needed for a successful state are plentiful in the Delta and just need to be utilized.
“For goodness’ sake, let’s take advantage of the cultural resources we have available to us here,” Winter said.
Stevenson said that he felt good about the conference and was excited to see the organization moving forward.
“We want to see leaders come out and obtain the skills they need to take back to their communities,” he said.
Stevenson said they want to teach a variety of skills on campus and in the Delta communities.
“This is the the first institute of its kind in this state,” he said. “It’s going to be an invaluable resource for the Delta.”
Stevenson said that he hopes to involve the faculty of Mississippi Valley soon.
“I think every faculty member should spend a quarter of their time out in the Delta,” Stevenson said.
He said the time should count toward their tenure process.
Currently, the faculty is too overburdened, but “these faculty members are a great resource, and they should be out in the community,” Stevenson said.
