This study looks at black empowerment in five rural Mississippi towns with black mayors by analyzing the impact they have had in attempting to alter the socioeconomic status of blacks in their respective towns. The following indicators were used to measure the political effectiveness of black mayors in reordering the socioeconomic status of blacks: (1) distribution of governmental services to the black community; (2) employment and economic development; (3) housing; and (4) health care. This study was initiated because of the recent changes in the political position of blacks in Mississippi and the American South in general. It was also Chief Oliver Anderson. 34 In May 1979, United States District Court Judge Orman R. Smith, Jr., awarded Crowe $10,000 in damages. And six months later Crowe was awarded $11,000 in attorney's fees and $1,363.97 in expenses for the suit he brought against city officials after he lost in the 1973 municipal election. A third case is pending in federal court alleging that Crowe was deprived of the right to be on the ballot in the 1977 city election, an election in which he ran for Alderman. The current suit further alleges that Mound Bayou officials denied many residents the right to vote in the 1977 municipal election. In addition, the suit charges that officials rigged the city voting machines to reject ballots that were not marked for a slate of candidates controlled by Mayor Lucas; as a result over 1,100 votes were invalid. The final intrablack conflict to be mentioned centers around a move to change the name of the local high school from John F. Kennedy Memorial High School back to its original name - Mound Bayou High School. In 1963, immediately; after the death of President John F. Kennedy, the Interview with Milburn Crowe, 10 March, 1980. undertaken because of the need to question those social scientists who accept the usual assumption that voting and black empowerment are prior conditions for changing the socioeconomic status of blacks in the American South. The findings of this study, however, reveal that voting and black empowerment will bring few changes in the socioeconomic makeup of the black community. In fact, the economic plight of black constituents and the fiscal situations of political subdivisions controlled by blacks will, in many cases, worsen.

This study investigates my experiences as a rural Mississippi secondary mathematics teacher. The culture surrounding accountability testing and rural education as well as student perceptions of my mathematics instruction and classroom management were investigated. With recent educational legislation such as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, teachers and students are experiencing education differently than teachers and students of the past. Through this basic interpretive case study, I sought to increase the limited research surrounding student perceptions of rural mathematics instruction and accountability testing and to provide a descriptive image of teaching in this rural school. The students, administrators, and test-based accountability were shown to have strong influences on mathematics instruction. The use of math manipulatives, competitive games, and reward systems were perceived as beneficial to many students. Some students? perceptions regarding cooperative learning and technological implementations were not as definitive or as positive as the engaging instruction. Disruptive behaviors, poor classroom management, administrative organization, and standardized test preparations caused instructional time to be lost. Inconsistencies in scheduling, instruction, and management were shown to influence the instructional climate. Teacher preparedness to teach students of differing cultural, ethnic, and economic backgrounds was shown to create various challenges in classroom instruction. The rural characteristics of this school minimized course offerings, increased individualized instruction, and presented monetary issues that were challenging and also beneficial to the students and teachers. As for accountability testing, teachers and administrators in this school tended to accept the testing culture with some disagreements, while students believed state assessments motivated them to perform better in class despite increasing certain levels of anxiety before and after the assessments. The implications of this study describe how teaching and learning in this school were filled with obstacles both teachers and students had to overcome in order to improve student achievement. Several recommendations for this school, future educators, and state and national departments of education are provided. Finally, this study provides an in depth look at the small details that make teaching in this rural school an everyday challenge.