Floor SpeechNeutral2026-06-09

HONORING MRS. MARY SMITH-BLACKMON

TaxesEnvironmentCrime & Justice

Context

On 2026-06-09, Representative Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS-2) delivered a floor speech titled "HONORING MRS. MARY SMITH-BLACKMON" in the House.

Full Text

HONORING MRS. MARY SMITH-BLACKMON

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 97 (Tuesday, June 9, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 97 (Tuesday, June 9, 2026)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E547] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] HONORING MRS. MARY SMITH-BLACKMON ______ HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON of mississippi in the house of representatives Tuesday, June 9, 2026 Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor Mrs. Mary Smith-Blackmon of Canton, Mississippi, whose courage and perseverance helped shape the story of school desegregation in our State of Mississippi. In 1965, Mary Smith-Blackmon made history by transferring from Rogers High School, an all-Black school, to Canton High School which had previously been all white. Her courage marked a significant turning point in the fight to desegregate public education in Mississippi and helped pave the way for greater education equity across the state. From the moment she stepped onto campus at Canton High School, Mrs. Smith-Blackmon was met with open hostility. Alongside her peers, she faced harassment from the students, isolation within classrooms, and a school environment designed to make them feel unwelcome. Despite being targeted, ridiculed, and humiliated, she returned each day with strength and determination, refusing to let adversity stand in the way of her education. Eventually, she became the only one of the three black students to remain at Canton High School, carrying the weight of integration largely on her own. In May 1966, she graduated with honors, becoming the first African American student to graduate from an all-white Canton High School. Her accomplishment in Canton, Mississippi, was not only a personal victory, but a milestone in the long struggle for educational equity in our State. It reflected both the painful realities of integration and the extraordinary strength required of those who led it. After graduation, Mrs. Smith-Blackmon continued her education at Tougaloo College and Jackson State University, where she studied education. She returned home to Canton, Mississippi, and devoted more than 30 years to teaching, mentoring, and uplifting generations of students in the very community where she once endured such hardship. Her story reminds us that progress in Mississippi did not come easily or without sacrifice. It came through resilience. Mr. Speaker, today we honor Mrs. Mary Smith-Blackmon for her historic achievement, lifelong dedication to education, and her enduring legacy as a pioneer of school desegregation in our State of Mississippi. I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing her remarkable life and contributions to Mississippi. ____________________

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HONORING MRS. MARY SMITH-BLACKMON Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 97 (Tuesday, June 9, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 97 (Tuesday, June 9, 2026)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E547] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] HONORING MRS. MARY SMITH-BLACKMON ______ HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON of mississippi in the house of representatives Tuesday, June 9, 2026 Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor Mrs. Mary Smith-Blackmon of Canton, Mississippi, whose courage and perseverance helped shape the story of school desegregation in our State of Mississippi. In 1965, Mary Smith-Blackmon made history by transferring from Rogers High School, an all-Black school, to Canton High School which had previously been all white. Her courage marked a significant turning point in the fight to desegregate public education in Mississippi and helped pave the way for greater education equity across the state. From the moment she stepped onto campus at Canton High School, Mrs. Smith-Blackmon was met with open hostility. Alongside her peers, she faced harassment from the students, isolation within classrooms, and a school environment designed to make them feel unwelcome. Despite being targeted, ridiculed, and humiliated, she returned each day with strength and determination, refusing to let adversity stand in the way of her education. Eventually, she became the only one of the three black students to remain at Canton High School, carrying the weight of integration largely on her own. In May 1966, she graduated with honors, becoming the first African American student to graduate from an all-white Canton High School. Her accomplishment in Canton, Mississippi, was not only a personal victory, but a milestone in the long struggle for educational equity in our State. It reflected both the painful realities of integration and the extraordinary strength required of those who led it. After graduation, Mrs. Smith-Blackmon continued her education at Tougaloo College and Jackson State University, where she studied education. She returned home to Canton, Mississippi, and devoted more than 30 years to teaching, mentoring, and uplifting generations of students in the very community where she once endured such hardship. Her story reminds us that progress in Mississippi did not come easily or without sacrifice. It came through resilience. Mr. Speaker, today we honor Mrs. Mary Smith-Blackmon for her historic achievement, lifelong dedication to education, and her enduring legacy as a pioneer of school desegregation in our State of Mississippi. I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing her remarkable life and contributions to Mississippi. ____________________