--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am a lifelong Mississippian. I remember…" description: "\"I am a lifelong Mississippian. I remember Jim Crow, 'colored' and 'white' water fountains, and my mother's inability to try on a dress in a store becau..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/093/mike-espy-6672_jim-crow_i-am-a-lifelong-mississippian-i-remember_409084.jpg" --- # I am a lifelong Mississippian. I remember Jim Crow… ![“I am a lifelong Mississippian. I remember Jim Crow, 'colored' and 'white' water fountains, and my mother's inability to try on a dress in a store because no white woman would buy it if she put it back.” quote by Mike Espy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/093/mike-espy-6672_jim-crow_i-am-a-lifelong-mississippian-i-remember_409084.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/093/mike-espy-6672_jim-crow_i-am-a-lifelong-mississippian-i-remember_409084.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/093/mike-espy-6672_jim-crow_i-am-a-lifelong-mississippian-i-remember_409084.jpg) > “I am a lifelong Mississippian. I remember Jim Crow, 'colored' and 'white' water fountains, and my mother's inability to try on a dress in a store because no white woman would buy it if she put it back.” [Mike Espy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-espy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Personal experience of segregation shaped awareness of systemic racism and its everyday impacts. **In simple terms:** Segregation left lasting social scars. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge lingering inequities. Themes racism history social justice Mood determined hopeful Type political motivational When to use this quote - education reform - policy advocacy - community dialogue - historical preservation Key Concepts systemic oppression civil rights Questions to Reflect On - How does history inform current policy? - What actions can dismantle lingering segregation? A Different Perspective Progress may be uneven; some may deny past injustices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Jim crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jim-crow/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [As a teenager growing up during Jim Crow, all I wanted to do was leave Mississippi. But I came back and raised my own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-espy/as-a-teenager-growing-up-during-jim-crow-all-i-wanted-to-do-was-leave/) [Mike Espy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-espy/) > [The Voting Rights Act of 1965 brought an end to the ugly Jim Crow period in American history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-murkowski/the-voting-rights-act-of-1965-brought-an-end-to-the-ugly-jim-crow/) [Lisa Murkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-murkowski/) > [We've come a long way from the days of Jim Crow, and yes, we elected a black president, but racism lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-beckel/we-ve-come-a-long-way-from-the-days-of-jim-crow-and-yes-we-elected-a/) [Bob Beckel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-beckel/) > [“A new civil rights movement cannot be organized around the relics of the earlier system of control if it is to address meaningfully the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/a-new-civil-rights-movement-cannot-be-organized-around-the-relics-of/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Let us look at Jim Crow for the criminal he is and what he has done to one life multiplied millions of times over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosa-parks/let-us-look-at-jim-crow-for-the-criminal-he-is-and-what-he-has-done/) [Rosa Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosa-parks/) > [Michelle Alexander's brave and bold new book paints a haunting picture in which dreary felon garb, post-prison joblessness, and loss of voting rights now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lani-guinier/michelle-alexander-s-brave-and-bold-new-book-paints-a-haunting/) Lani Guinier > [The perpetuation of slavery, the exile and extermination of American Indians, and the passage of Jim Crow laws weren't carried out at the bidding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/the-perpetuation-of-slavery-the-exile-and-extermination-of-american/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [As a southerner born after the epic events of the civil rights movement, I've always wondered how on earth people of good will could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/as-a-southerner-born-after-the-epic-events-of-the-civil-rights/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [You cannot be responsible for Jim Crow. You can not be responsible for racism. This is much more a problem for the person exercising…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raoul-peck/you-cannot-be-responsible-for-jim-crow-you-can-not-be-responsible-for/) [Raoul Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raoul-peck/) > [“Felon disenfranchisement laws have been more effective in eliminating black voters in the age of mass incarceration than they were under Jim Crow…These figures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/felon-disenfranchisement-laws-have-been-more-effective-in-eliminating/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Since the nations founding, African Americans repeatedly have been controlled through institutions such as slavery and Jim Crow, which appear to die but then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/since-the-nations-founding-african-americans-repeatedly-have-been/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [Racism is not just slavery and Jim Crow. It is the daily violence that is enacted on our communities each and every day we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cori-bush/racism-is-not-just-slavery-and-jim-crow-it-is-the-daily-violence-that/) [Cori Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cori-bush/) > [The welfare state has done to Black Americans what slavery (and Jim Crow and racism) could not have done. . .break up the black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stossel/the-welfare-state-has-done-to-black-americans-what-slavery-and-jim/) [John Stossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stossel/) > [“Jim Crow repeated the old strategies of the reptilian powers of the air: to convince human beings simultaneously and paradoxically that they are gods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-d-moore/jim-crow-repeated-the-old-strategies-of-the-reptilian-powers-of-the/) [Russell D. Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-d-moore/) > [“It is also clear that structural racism is beating down the black chef. It started with segregation; black chefs in the South were either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-w-twitty/it-is-also-clear-that-structural-racism-is-beating-down-the-black/) [Michael W. Twitty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-w-twitty/) ## More by Mike Espy > [If you're going to get elected to anything in Mississippi, you have to pay attention to and court the black vote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-espy/if-you-re-going-to-get-elected-to-anything-in-mississippi-you-have-to/) [Mike Espy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-espy/) > [What better symbol of unity, what better symbol of growth, than to have Mike Espy in the United States Senate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-espy/what-better-symbol-of-unity-what-better-symbol-of-growth-than-to-have/) [Mike Espy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-espy/) > [I am an African American public official operating in an environment dominated by Caucasians. That is not too dissimilar from what I had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-espy/i-am-an-african-american-public-official-operating-in-an-environment/) [Mike Espy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-espy/) > [I really don't need anyone to come to Mississippi to generate a vote for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-espy/i-really-don-t-need-anyone-to-come-to-mississippi-to-generate-a-vote/) [Mike Espy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-espy/) > [There are some farmers who have been terribly discriminated against by the USDA. They've suffered tremendous losses and pain and anguish, and they deserve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-espy/there-are-some-farmers-who-have-been-terribly-discriminated-against/) [Mike Espy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-espy/) > [While we march in the streets making our voices heard, we must also march to the ballot box. That's where the real change happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-espy/while-we-march-in-the-streets-making-our-voices-heard-we-must-also/) [Mike Espy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-espy/) > [We made mistakes in 2018, as a candidate and as a campaign. I had not campaigned in 25 years, and people forgot me, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-espy/we-made-mistakes-in-2018-as-a-candidate-and-as-a-campaign-i-had-not/) [Mike Espy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-espy/) > [I'm the proud father of three Black children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-espy/i-m-the-proud-father-of-three-black-children/) [Mike Espy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-espy/) > [There's no way that I could be a congressman in a California district at 32.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-espy/there-s-no-way-that-i-could-be-a-congressman-in-a-california-district/) [Mike Espy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-espy/) > [It's hard to pick yourself up and go vote for a candidate if you don't have any sense that that candidate could have an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-espy/it-s-hard-to-pick-yourself-up-and-go-vote-for-a-candidate-if-you-don/) [Mike Espy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-espy/) > [You've got to know what you need to correct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-espy/you-ve-got-to-know-what-you-need-to-correct/) [Mike Espy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-espy/) > [I am dedicated to expanding Medicaid in Mississippi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-espy/i-am-dedicated-to-expanding-medicaid-in-mississippi/) [Mike Espy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-espy/) > [I'm a frustrated artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-espy/i-m-a-frustrated-artist/) [Mike Espy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-espy/) > [The United States has taken pride in maintaining the 'safest food supply in the world.' And we can still have it, as long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-espy/the-united-states-has-taken-pride-in-maintaining-the-safest-food/) [Mike Espy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-espy/) > [I want to make the point that, even though we had a troubled experience, we moved on from that. I moved on from that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-espy/i-want-to-make-the-point-that-even-though-we-had-a-troubled/) [Mike Espy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-espy/) [Explore all 98 Mike Espy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-espy/) ## More Jim crow quotes > [“It is also clear that structural racism is beating down the black chef. It started with segregation; black chefs in the South were either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-w-twitty/it-is-also-clear-that-structural-racism-is-beating-down-the-black/) [Michael W. Twitty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-w-twitty/) > [“Jim Crow repeated the old strategies of the reptilian powers of the air: to convince human beings simultaneously and paradoxically that they are gods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-d-moore/jim-crow-repeated-the-old-strategies-of-the-reptilian-powers-of-the/) [Russell D. Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-d-moore/) > [The welfare state has done to Black Americans what slavery (and Jim Crow and racism) could not have done. . .break up the black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stossel/the-welfare-state-has-done-to-black-americans-what-slavery-and-jim/) [John Stossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stossel/) > [Racism is not just slavery and Jim Crow. It is the daily violence that is enacted on our communities each and every day we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cori-bush/racism-is-not-just-slavery-and-jim-crow-it-is-the-daily-violence-that/) [Cori Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cori-bush/) > [Since the nations founding, African Americans repeatedly have been controlled through institutions such as slavery and Jim Crow, which appear to die but then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/since-the-nations-founding-african-americans-repeatedly-have-been/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Felon disenfranchisement laws have been more effective in eliminating black voters in the age of mass incarceration than they were under Jim Crow…These figures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/felon-disenfranchisement-laws-have-been-more-effective-in-eliminating/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [You cannot be responsible for Jim Crow. You can not be responsible for racism. This is much more a problem for the person exercising…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raoul-peck/you-cannot-be-responsible-for-jim-crow-you-can-not-be-responsible-for/) [Raoul Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raoul-peck/) > [As a southerner born after the epic events of the civil rights movement, I've always wondered how on earth people of good will could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-meacham/as-a-southerner-born-after-the-epic-events-of-the-civil-rights/) [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) > [The perpetuation of slavery, the exile and extermination of American Indians, and the passage of Jim Crow laws weren't carried out at the bidding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/the-perpetuation-of-slavery-the-exile-and-extermination-of-american/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [Michelle Alexander's brave and bold new book paints a haunting picture in which dreary felon garb, post-prison joblessness, and loss of voting rights now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lani-guinier/michelle-alexander-s-brave-and-bold-new-book-paints-a-haunting/) Lani Guinier > [Let us look at Jim Crow for the criminal he is and what he has done to one life multiplied millions of times over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosa-parks/let-us-look-at-jim-crow-for-the-criminal-he-is-and-what-he-has-done/) [Rosa Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosa-parks/) > [“A new civil rights movement cannot be organized around the relics of the earlier system of control if it is to address meaningfully the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/a-new-civil-rights-movement-cannot-be-organized-around-the-relics-of/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [We've come a long way from the days of Jim Crow, and yes, we elected a black president, but racism lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-beckel/we-ve-come-a-long-way-from-the-days-of-jim-crow-and-yes-we-elected-a/) [Bob Beckel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-beckel/) > [The Voting Rights Act of 1965 brought an end to the ugly Jim Crow period in American history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-murkowski/the-voting-rights-act-of-1965-brought-an-end-to-the-ugly-jim-crow/) [Lisa Murkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-murkowski/) > [“Today my elation over Obama's election is tempered by a far more sobering awareness. As an African American woman, with three young children who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/today-my-elation-over-obama-s-election-is-tempered-by-a-far-more/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) [Browse all 180 Jim crow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jim-crow/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am a lifelong Mississippian. I remember Jim Crow, 'colored' and 'white' water fountains, and my mother's inability to try on a dress in a store because no white woman would buy it if she put it back.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mike Espy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-espy/i-am-a-lifelong-mississippian-i-remember-jim-crow-colored-and-white/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Jim crow" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-espy/i-am-a-lifelong-mississippian-i-remember-jim-crow-colored-and-white/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/093/mike-espy-6672_jim-crow_i-am-a-lifelong-mississippian-i-remember_409084.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/093/mike-espy-6672_jim-crow_i-am-a-lifelong-mississippian-i-remember_409084.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/093/mike-espy-6672_jim-crow_i-am-a-lifelong-mississippian-i-remember_409084.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I am a lifelong Mississippian. I remember Jim Crow, 'colored' and 'white' water fountains, and my mother's…” — Mike Espy", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mike Espy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-espy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I am a lifelong Mississippian. I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-espy/i-am-a-lifelong-mississippian-i-remember-jim-crow-colored-and-white/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-espy/i-am-a-lifelong-mississippian-i-remember-jim-crow-colored-and-white/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```