Known today as the “Black Belt,” the southeastern United States was once covered by an ancient sea—one that continues to ...

Black citizens make up 36% of the population in Mississippi and 27% in Alabama. King first rose to prominence in the 1950s as the leader of the boycott against the segregated bus system in ...

Some other southern states at one time also had a joint holiday, but have ended that practice, leaving only Alabama and Mississippi with a single day honoring both King and Lee. Black lawmakers in ...

Alabama and Mississippi in the 1980s adopted Martin Luther King Day as a state holiday, adding it to their existing day honoring Lee. Black lawmakers in Alabama and Mississippi have made multiple ...