HONORING THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN MISSISSIPPI HIGHWAY PATROL TROOPERS

On 2026-07-14, Representative Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS-2) delivered a floor speech titled "HONORING THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN MISSISSIPPI HIGHWAY PATROL TROOPERS" in the House.

HONORING THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN MISSISSIPPI HIGHWAY PATROL TROOPERS

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 114 (Tuesday, July 14, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 114 (Tuesday, July 14, 2026)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E687] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] HONORING THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN MISSISSIPPI HIGHWAY PATROL TROOPERS ______ HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON of mississippi in the house of representatives Tuesday, July 14, 2026 Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a very pivotal time within the Mississippi Highway Patrol. In 1970, Willie L. Morrow and Jerome Mangum, with representation from the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, filed suit against the leadership of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. The case, Morrow v. Crisler, challenged the Department's long-standing exclusion of African Americans from employment as Mississippi Highway Partol troopers. At the time, the Mississippi Highway Patrol, established in 1939, had never employed a Black state trooper. Evidence presented in federal court demonstrated a pattern and practice of racial discrimination in hiring and recruitment. The court found that African Americans had effectively been excluded from trooper positions. Federal judges ordered the Department of Public Safety to eliminate discriminatory practices and adopt affirmative measures to recruit qualified Black applicants. Following court orders issued in 1971, by early 1972, the Department began actively recruiting African-American candidates for positions within the Mississippi Highway Patrol. Recruitment efforts were directed toward Black communities, colleges, military veterans, and other qualified applicants throughout Mississippi. Applications from African-American candidates were processed for admission into the next Highway Patrol training class. On June 18, 1972, five African-American men entered Cadet Class No. 12 at the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers Training Academy in Pearl, Mississippi, to train as Mississippi Highway Patrol troopers. Their admission followed federal court rulings in Morrow v. Crisler, which challenged discriminatory hiring practices within the Mississippi Department of Public Safety. The class was the first in the history of the Mississippi Highway Patrol, organized in 1939, to include African- American cadets. Of the five men admitted--James Cheeks, Walter C. Crosby, Sr., Arthur Marble, Richard ``R.O.'' Williams, and Lewis Younger, Jr.--three graduated on September 1, 1972: Walter C. Crosby, Sr., R.O. Williams, and Lewis Younger, Jr. They became the first African-American troopers in the history of the Mississippi Highway Patrol. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the integration of the Mississippi Highway Patrol and the men who helped pave the path for future generations of African-American officers. ____________________