From Emmett Till to Robert Johnson, the Delta powered Scott Colom's historic Senate bid
Senate upset ran through the Mississippi Delta — where Emmett Till was abducted, Fannie Lou Hamer fought for the ballot and the blues became an American art form.
Key points
- Leflore and Tallahatchie counties: Emmett Till was abducted near Money in Leflore County in 1955.
- By the numbers: An Axios analysis of AP county returns found Colom ahead in 16 of the 18 counties in the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area.
- Driving the news: The Associated Press projected the race for Colom on Wednesday, handing Democrats a historic upset over Republican Sen.
Coahoma County: Home to Clarksdale and the famed crossroads associated with the legend that bluesman Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil.
What they're saying: "Mississippi voters made history because they refused to be intimidated, discouraged, or counted out," NAACP president Derrick Johnson said in a statement.
Additional details
- In DeSoto County, which falls within the heritage area but outside the Delta's historic heartland, Colom led by about 3,300 votes.
- Zoom in: Colom's electoral map traces some of the most painful and defining chapters of Black American history.
- Statewide, Colom led Hyde-Smith by about 4,700 votes out of more than 962,000 counted when the AP called the race Wednesday — a margin of roughly half a percentage point.
- Johnson said Mississippi voters showed up despite efforts to remove voters from the rolls.
- As late as the spring of 1965, only 155 Black residents had registered to vote in the county, according to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.
How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →
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