Rev. Dr. Dorothy Sanders Wells made history on July 20 when she was formally installed as the newest bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi, becoming the first Black person and the first woman to hold the position. Wells has held the position since being elected in February 2024 and has been active in the role since May, but it now becomes formally acknowledged by the church with her installation. 

According to Al.com, Wells doesn’t focus on the historical significance of her appointment, instead, she wants the congregation she serves to showcase radical love and hospitality to their neighbors. “If it ends when our time together ends on Sunday mornings, then we have already missed the message,” Wells told the outlet. “That should be the beginning. When we walk out the doors, that becomes the beginning of us showing that radical love and hospitality.”

According to USA Today, Wells replaces Brian Seage, who guided the state’s Diocese through the COVID-19 pandemic and the Jackson, Mississippi, water crisis. Shortly after Wells’ election, Seage told the outlet, “This is a historic moment and this marks a new chapter in our history. It’s the first time we have elected a woman and the first time we have elected an African American as the bishop of the diocese. I think this speaks dramatically for this movement within our church.”

The installation was presided over by Michael Curry, who was the first Black person to be the presiding bishop of the Catholic Church and gained worldwide acclaim for his sermon at Prince Harry and Megan Markle’s wedding in 2011. 

Wells’ election came after Sharma Lewis became the first Black woman to serve as bishop of the Mississippi United Methodist Church in 2022.

After her election, Wells told USA Today, “I am truly humbled by the confidence that the council has placed in me, and I am so looking forward to working with the good people of the Diocese of Mississippi. We are reading all kinds of statistics and reports about declining church attendance and declining church engagement, but we know God is in the midst of all of this and I am looking forward to exploring with this Diocese all of the ways we can continue love God and love one another and serve our neighbors and care for the people around us.”

Wells hails from Mobile, Alabama, and earned a degree in vocal performance from Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. She also holds a Juris Doctorate from the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis, a master’s degree in divinity from Memphis Theological Seminary, and a doctorate in ministry from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University.

Wells expressed her desire to engage with the community and familiarize herself with the various congregations in Mississippi, telling USA Today, “When we had our meet and greets when I was able to get to know some of the people in the Diocese, I said then that I really want to get out into the districts.”

Wells added, “I want to meet people. I want to meet clergy and I want to meet lay folks in these different convocations. I want to see what is happening in their ministry, and I want to get some good conversations going so that we can be good relationship builders together and be about the business of exploring the ways that we can serve God.”

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Mississippi State is entering a special kind of season as they are officially in the Jeff Lebby head coaching era.

Lebby, who was hired back in November of 2023, had a short window to recruit his freshman class. One of those in the class is Gulfport high school alum Kai McClendon. Sports 25 had the chance to speak with Lebby on how his freshman class came together and what he likes most about the former Admiral football star.

“I was really proud of our staff to go and sign the class that we signed in the matter of 12 or 13 days,” he said. “We have so great, great young talent inside the building, which I am really excited about. There are a lot of guys inside that freshman class like Kai who had a great senior year, and then you look up and he doesn’t have a ton of opportunities and then ends up playing for us here at Mississippi State, which is a credit to him and how he played as a senior.”

With President Joe Biden officially backing away from his 2024 Presidential Campaign, Mississippi leaders from party chairs to elected officials have weighed in mixed opinions about the decision.

Most notably, state Democrats who support Biden early on in the race, such as Congressman Bennie Thompson and State Democratic Party Chair Cheikh Taylor thanked Biden for his service and are looking forward to a united party after the August Democratic National Convention.

In Mississippi, there is only one U.S. Congress member that is a Democrat. The party also holds a minority in the state Legislature and boasts no elected statewide offices.

Biden’s announcement comes only a week after his opponent, former President Donald Trump, was shot during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, and about a month after Biden’s poor performance during a presidential debate against Trump.

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After that night, those within Biden’s party began to call for him to respectfully bow out, according to reporting by USA Today and others. Several Mississippi Democrats still supported Biden at the time, such as Thompson and Taylor, to name a few.

Here is how state leaders and elected officials responded to the news as it unfolded Sunday afternoon.

State Democratic leadership

Thompson posted to X, formerly Twitter, not long after the announcement was made by Biden.

Thompson said it is time for the party to unite and support Vice President Kamala Harris, who Biden endorsed to take his place Sunday.

“As Democrats, we have faced a lot lately, and although I wish President Biden would be leading the Democratic ticket, I am committed to supporting our nominee,” he wrote. “We have to unite; democracy depends on it!”

Taylor declined to say who he would endorse as the next candidate. However, the party’s executive committee plans to meet this week to decide a new nominee. He added to Thompson’s words with a call for unity at the convention to beat back Trump.

In the Mississippi Legislature, House Minority Leader Robert Johnson, D-Natchez, and Senate Minority Leader Derrick Simmons, D-Greenville, both thanked Biden for his efforts as President and plan to support Harris if she is the nominee chosen at the Democratic National Convention in August.

“I’m grateful that the President was not selfish and thought about what is the best way to protect our democracy, and what’s the best way to to defeat Donald Trump in November,” Johnson said. “…I didn’t necessarily agree with that. But if he made that choice, he made it because he thought it was best for the country to have a candidate that could make sure that we protect democracy, and that candidate will come out of the Democratic Party.”

“As a strong supporter of President Biden, and his policy that we have seen and that have been successful and beneficial to all Americans over the last four years, I believe that we have a great chance of continuing those policies increasing our chances for reelection by his endorsement of Kamala Harris,” Simmons said.

Other Mississippi legislators’ response

District 3 Republican Rep. Michael Guest also posted about Biden’s decision, saying that bowing out doesn’t go nearly far enough and that Biden should resign now.

“During his time in office, the Democratic Party has covered up Joe Biden’s inability to serve as President,” Guest wrote. “We saw in the debate he is not able to handle the duties of the office and by him dropping out of the race today, Biden admits he is not able to do the job…For the good of the country, he should step down and resign immediately.”

Other Republican House Representatives Trent Kelly and Mike Ezell had not spoken publicly about the announcement as of 3:30 p.m. Sunday.

Republican Sen. Roger Wicker took to X as well, quoting Greek poetry to say that Biden did what was right.

“Biden made the right choice: ‘Old age hath yet his honor and his toil,’ ‘Death closes all: but something ere the end,’ ‘Some work of noble note, may yet be done…’- Ulysses,” Wicker wrote.

Sen. Cindy Hyde Smith as of 3:30 p.m. had not responded to Biden stepping down.

Statewide offices and leaders:

Of the Mississippi statewide office holders, all being held by Republicans, no one had kind words for the President.

Gov. Tate Reeves took the decision as proof of Trump’s strength.

“Have you ever seen a politician so strong and talented he made his opponent quit in the middle of the race? I have: Donald J. Trump,” Reeves wrote.

State Auditor Shad White simply reposted a few words he wrote on July 18, saying that Democrats have lied about Biden’s capability to maintain his office and his faculties.

“Democrats lied to you for years about one of the most important things: whether President Biden was mentally equipped to be president,” he wrote. “If they force him off the ticket, they will be admitting they have lied. Don’t forget this when you hear them talk about anything else under the sun.”

Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and House Speaker Jason White’s offices did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and neither of them had made a public statement as of 3:30 p.m.

Other state officials such as Secretary of State Michael Watson, Agriculture Commissioner Andy Gipson, Attorney General Lynn Fitch and State Treasurer David McRae had not yet said anything about the Biden decision as of Sunday afternoon.

Grant McLaughlin covers state government for the Clarion Ledger. He can be reached at gmclaughlin@gannett.com or 972-571-2335.