Mississippi
Women advocate for paid leave, equal pay – Mississippi Today
Mothers and advocates with the Black Women’s Roundtable gathered at the Capitol Thursday and called on the Legislature to prioritize women and children this year.
Speakers asked lawmakers to act on a range of issues from midwifery care to child care, but all their priorities centered around making women more financially secure in the poorest state with the worst maternal health outcomes.
Advocates brought with them “money bags,” which they said would be placed on the desks of all lawmakers.
“Inside those money bags are coins that represent access to child care, access to health care, higher wages for families and the need to move paid family and medical leave,” said Robin Jackson, director of policy advocacy for the Mississippi Black Women’s Roundtable. “We are not asking you anymore – we are telling you ‘Secure the bag for Mississippi families.’”
Shequite Wilson-Johnson, a mother of five and assistant professor at Mississippi Valley State University, spoke about her struggle to birth her children safely and with job security – even when she worked her way up the social ladder.
Wilson-Johnson was a teenager when she had her first baby. By her second child, she was in college, working up until the day she gave birth. With her third, she was married. With her fourth, she had a master’s degree, and with her fifth, a doctoral degree. But she never got paid time off, and she was laid off twice after giving birth – including with her last child.
“Understand this: No matter how hard I worked, no matter how hard I tried, no matter the education I had, no matter the standard of life, I was still told, ‘You don’t matter,’” Wilson-Johnson said.
There are currently two bills moving through the Legislature that would create the state’s first paid parental leave mandate for state employees. The bills wouldn’t help people like Wilson-Johnson, but they would be a start, and might encourage the private sector to follow suit and “do the right thing,” said Rep. Kevin Felsher, R-Biloxi, and author of the House’s bill.
But it isn’t just about the money. Studies show that paid maternity leave drastically benefits the health of mothers and babies – including reducing postpartum depression and infant mortality, and increasing bonding and breastfeeding.
There are a dozen states that mandate paid parental leave across both private and public sectors. But the majority of states offer paid parental leave to state employees.
Sen. Angela Turner-Ford, D-West Point, voiced her support for paid leave during the press conference.
“Our state does lag behind, whether it’s welcoming a newborn, caring for an elderly loved one, or managing a personal health crisis,” Turner-Ford said. “… Come back next year if we have not passed this legislation, hold us responsible, make us do more.”
Wilson-Johnson, of Indianola, also struggled to find adequate and affordable child care for her children, even when she worked at a child care center – a common plight for mothers everywhere.
Two out of five child care workers in America make so little they need public assistance to support their families. In Mississippi, there are so few child care employees willing to work under the industry’s conditions that it’s affecting every other sector of the job market, with moms staying out of work because they can’t find a safe day care in which to place their children. It’s costing Mississippi $8 billion, according to a report from the Mississippi Early Learning Alliance.
Bills aimed at allocating funds from the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families block grant, or TANF, to create child care vouchers for needy parents died in committee.
Advocates commended lawmakers for passing 12 months of postpartum Medicaid coverage in 2023, calling it “a win” – but emphasized the need to do more, and quickly. Mississippi, the state with one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the nation, was among the last states to ensure that these mothers could continue their Medicaid coverage for a year after they gave birth – the time during which most maternal deaths occur.
In fact, between 2018 and 2023, the Mississippi Legislature only passed four bills related to maternal health, according to a study by researchers at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann told Mississippi Today he recognizes the need for legislative action supporting women, and that’s why he founded the Women, Children and Families Study Group, a Senate committee tasked with reviewing the needs of women and children in the state, in 2022. He said more maternal health bills were passed in the last two years than ever before.
“This session, I hope to build on that progress by passing bills for paid maternity leave for state employees and enhancing postpartum depression screening to ensure more effective and efficient care,” Hosemann said.
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A group of monkeys being transported on a Mississippi highway that escaped captivity on Tuesday after the truck carrying them overturned did not carry a dangerous infectious disease, a university has said.
The truck was carrying rhesus monkeys, which typically weigh around 16lb (7.7kg) and are among the most medically studied animals on the planet.
Video shows monkeys crawling through tall grass on the side of Interstate 59 just north of Heidelberg, Mississippi, with wooden crates labeled “live animals” crumpled and strewn about.
The local sheriff’s department initially said the monkeys were carrying diseases including herpes, but Tulane University said in a statement that the monkeys “have not been exposed to any infectious agent”.
All but one of the escaped monkeys were killed, the Jasper county sheriff’s department said in a post on Facebook, warning that the monkeys were “aggressive”.
They were being housed at the Tulane University National Biomedical Research Center in New Orleans, Louisiana, which routinely provides primates to scientific research organizations, according to the university.
The crash happened about 100 miles (160km) from the state capital of Jackson. It was not clear what caused the truck to overturn.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Mississippi State’s hope of reaching six wins and going to a bowl game this season are on life support.
The Bulldogs have lost their last four games, all SEC games, and in heart-breaking fashion, too. Two of those losses were overtime games and another was lost on last minute interception.
Mississippi State needs a win, not just for its bowl game aspirations, but also to give the fanbase something to cheer about instead of calling for a coaching change.
“One, thank you for the support, the atmosphere and the energy. And Saturday was as good as it gets,” Bulldogs’ coach Jeff Lebby said Monday when asked about what his message to the upset fans. “You’ve all heard me talk about how much I appreciate our community and our connection and the passion, the love that people have for Mississippi State. I love that. That’s one of the greatest things about our university.
“I hate that (the fans are) not getting to enjoy (wins). My hope is that we have the ability to go take care of business and go get a tough, hard win on the road on Saturday. And then come back home to another great crowd.”
Fortunately, Mississippi State’s opponent this week represents the most winnable SEC game left on its schedule, even if Lebby won’t admit that’s what Arkansas is.
“No, not in the least bit,” Lebby said. “We’re playing the best two and six football team in the country this week. They’ve got a quarterback that is elite at everything that he does. They have played really well offensively. Auburn did a really good job defensively the other day, creating some turnovers. Arkansas struggled in the red zone a little bit.
“But their ability to score and play great offensively is very well documented. And then defensively, they’ve played better. They haven’t been great against the run, but they were better this past week.”
But that doesn’t change the fact the odds for the Bulldogs this week are the best they’ll be the rest of the season.
Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
Spread
Mississippi State: +4.5 (-112)
Arkansas: -4.5 (-108)
Moneyline
Mississippi State: +158
Arkansas: -192
Total
Over: 67.5 (-110)
Under: 67.5 (-110)
Another week of the 2025 Mississippi high school football season has come and gone, and High School On SI has all of the latest computer rankings for each classification as of October 27, 2025.
High School On SI’s formula was created using its own linear algebra-based ranking algorithm inspired by the Colley Bias-Free Ranking Method. Colley’s Method was created by Wes Colley, Ph.D., an astrophysicist at the University of Alabama at Huntsville. He devised his algorithm in order to help address the subjectivity and controversy regarding BCS college football selections in the 1990s and early 2000s, using a method that used no subjective variables.
Which teams took the top spot in each division? Here are High School On SI’s latest Mississippi high school football computer rankings, as of October 27, 2025:
1. Calhoun City (7-1)
2. Simmons (7-0)
3. Biggersville (7-2)
4. Stringer (7-2)
5. Nanih Waiya (6-2)
6. Leflore County (6-3)
7. South Delta (7-2)
8. Taylorsville (5-4)
9. Noxapater (5-4)
10. West Tallahatchie (6-2)
11. Bogue Chitto (6-3)
12. Salem (6-2)
13. Ethel (6-3)
14. West Lowndes (4-3)
15. Leake County (4-5)
16. Lumberton (4-4)
17. Byers (5-3)
18. Richton (4-5)
19. Tupelo Christian Prep (5-4)
20. Sebastopol (3-6)
21. Okolona (3-7)
22. Potts Camp (3-4)
23. Shaw (1-6)
24. Falkner (3-5)
25. Vardaman (2-7)
View full Class 1A rankings
1. Wesson (9-0)
2. Baldwyn (8-1)
3. East Webster (8-1)
4. Charleston (5-2)
5. Heidelberg (5-2)
6. Clarkdale (7-2)
7. Bay Springs (6-2)
8. Water Valley (7-2)
9. Loyd Star (8-1)
10. North Side (7-1)
11. Lake (6-3)
12. Myrtle (7-2)
13. Hamilton (6-3)
14. Eupora (6-3)
15. Amite County (6-2)
16. Hatley (6-2)
17. Kemper County (3-4)
18. Mize (3-6)
19. Bruce (6-3)
20. Velma Jackson (4-5)
21. East Marion (4-4)
22. North Forrest (4-5)
23. Enterprise Clarke (2-7)
24. Philadelphia (1-7)
25. Collins (3-5)
View full Class 2A rankings
1. Union (9-0)
2. Raleigh (8-1)
3. Noxubee County (6-3)
4. Kossuth (6-2)
5. West Marion (6-3)
6. Choctaw County (5-4)
7. Magee (6-2)
8. Hazlehurst (4-3)
9. Presbyterian Christian (6-3)
10. Tylertown (6-3)
11. Quitman (5-4)
12. Aberdeen (5-4)
13. Winona (4-4)
14. Belmont (6-3)
15. Seminary (4-5)
16. Yazoo County (5-3)
17. Humphreys County (5-4)
18. Booneville (4-5)
19. North Panola (4-4)
20. Jefferson Davis County (3-5)
21. O’Bannon (5-3)
22. Coahoma County (3-5)
23. Franklin County (4-5)
24. Independence (4-4)
25. Thomas E. Edwards (4-4)
View full Class 3A rankings
1. Columbia (9-0)
2. Senatobia (8-1)
3. Kosciusko (8-1)
4. Louisville (6-2)
5. Clarksdale (6-1)
6. McComb (7-1)
7. North Pontotoc (7-1)
8. Leake Central (7-2)
9. New Albany (7-2)
10. Rosa Fort (6-1)
11. Pass Christian (8-1)
12. Forest (7-2)
13. Corinth (6-2)
14. Itawamba Agricultural (6-2)
15. Poplarville (5-3)
16. Choctaw Central (6-2)
17. Morton (5-3)
18. Greenwood (6-3)
19. Shannon (6-3)
20. Newton County (5-4)
21. West Lauderdale (4-4)
22. Mendenhall (4-4)
23. Greene County (6-3)
24. Forrest County Agricultural (5-3)
25. Richland (5-4)
View full Class 4A rankings
1. West Point (8-0)
2. Brookhaven (6-2)
3. New Hope (6-2)
4. Lanier (9-0)
5. South Jones (7-2)
6. Sumrall (6-3)
7. Holmes County Central (6-3)
8. Cleveland Central (4-3)
9. Lafayette (4-4)
10. Purvis (5-3)
11. Vicksburg (5-3)
12. Stone (5-3)
13. Pontotoc (4-4)
14. Northeast Jones (4-4)
15. Laurel (2-6)
16. Florence (3-5)
17. Natchez (3-5)
18. Vancleave (3-5)
19. Wayne County (2-6)
20. North Pike (1-7)
21. Provine (2-7)
22. East Central (1-7)
23. Caledonia (1-7)
24. Columbus (1-7)
View full Class 5A rankings
1. Picayune (7-1)
2. Warren Central (6-2)
3. Ridgeland (7-1)
4. South Panola (5-3)
5. Grenada (6-2)
6. West Jones (7-2)
7. Lake Cormorant (6-2)
8. Terry (7-1)
9. Hattiesburg (6-2)
10. Callaway (5-4)
11. Center Hill (4-4)
12. Neshoba Central (4-4)
13. Pearl River Central (4-3)
14. Greenville (4-4)
15. Pascagoula (3-5)
16. Saltillo (3-6)
17. Canton (3-5)
18. Hancock (3-5)
19. George County (3-5)
20. Gautier (3-5)
21. Olive Branch (1-7)
22. Forest Hill (1-8)
23. Long Beach (1-7)
24. Jim Hill (1-8)
View full Class 6A rankings
1. Ocean Springs (7-1)
2. Tupelo (8-1)
3. Oxford (7-1)
4. Starkville (6-2)
5. D’Iberville (7-1)
6. Gulfport (6-2)
7. Petal (6-3)
8. Oak Grove (6-3)
9. Germantown (5-3)
10. West Harrison (6-3)
11. Hernando (6-2)
12. Horn Lake (5-3)
13. Northwest Rankin (5-3)
14. DeSoto Central (6-3)
15. St. Martin (6-3)
16. Clinton (4-4)
17. Madison Central (4-4)
18. Brandon (3-5)
19. Pearl (3-5)
20. Southaven (3-5)
21. Biloxi (2-6)
22. Meridian (2-6)
23. Lewisburg (2-6)
24. Harrison Central (1-7)
25. Murrah (1-8)
View full Class 7A rankings
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