¶ Overview
Hyde-Smith had a long history of embracing a history that was insensitive to Black Mississippians. At a campaign event, Hyde-Smith claimed that if the man who introduced her invited her to a public hanging that she would be in “the front row.” Her comments drew condemnation from Mississippi's Black community and when asked about it, she claimed that the expression didn't have a “negative connotation.”
Hyde-Smith repeatedly embraced confederate history including posing in with a confederate hat.
Hyde-Smith attended an all white segregation academy that was founded when the state had to integrate the public schools.
¶ Hyde-Smith Used Racially Insensitive Language And Embraced Confederate History
¶ Hyde-Smith Claimed That She Would Go To A “Public Hanging”
¶ Hyde-Smith At A Campaign Event Said About The Man Who Introduced Her “If He Invited Me To A Public Hanging, I’d Be On The Front Row”
HEADLINE: 'Public Hanging' Remark By Mississippi's Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith Draws Rebuke Ahead Of Runoff [PBS News, 11/12/18]
[VIDEO] Hyde-Smith At An Event Claimed That If They Man Who Introduced Her Invited Her to A Public Hanging That She Would Be In The Front Row. “If he invited me to a public hanging I’d be on the front row.” [Public Hanging Comment, 11/11/18]
- At An Event, Hyde-Smith Said About The Man Who Introduced Her “If He Invited Me To A Public Hanging, I’d Be On The Front Row.” According to PBS News, “In the brief video, shot Nov. 2 in Tupelo, Hyde-Smith says after a man introduces her to a small crowd: ‘If he invited me to a public hanging, I'd be on the front row.’” [PBS News, 11/12/18]
¶ Hyde-Smith Dismissed And Dodged Questions About Her Remarks
Hyde-Smith Claimed That Her Remark Was “An Exaggerated Expression Of Regard” And That “Any Attempt To Turn This Intro A Negative Connotation Is Ridiculous.” According to PBS News, “ She said Sunday that the remark was ‘an exaggerated expression of regard’ for a friend who invited her to speak, and ‘any attempt to turn this into a negative connotation is ridiculous.’” [PBS News, 11/12/18]
Hyde-Smith Refused To Answer Question About Her Comments. According to PBS News, “A white Republican U.S. senator in Mississippi, a state with a notorious history for lynchings, says she will not answer questions about a video that shows her at a campaign event praising a cattle rancher by saying she would attend a ‘public hanging’ if he invited her to one.” [PBS News, 11/12/18]
Hyde-Smith Claimed That Her Comments Were “Twisted” And “Used As A Political Weapon.” According to NPR, “‘My comments were taken and twisted and used as a political weapon against me by my opponent,’ Hyde-Smith said.” [NPR, 11/21/18]
¶ Hyde-Smith Received Pushback
The President Of The NAACP Claimed That Hyde-Smith’s Decision To Joke About A Hanging In A State Known For It’s Violent History Against African Americans Was “Sick.” According to PBS News, “‘Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith's shameful remarks prove once again how Trump has created a social and political climate that normalizes hateful and racist rhetoric,’ Johnson said Sunday. ‘Hyde-Smith's decision to joke about 'hanging,' in a state known for its violent and terroristic history toward African Americans, is sick.’” [PBS News, 11/12/18]
Walmart Pulled Their Donation From Hyde-Smith Due To Her Comments. According to Politico, “ Several companies, including Walmart, have requested that their donations to Hyde-Smith’s campaign be refunded because of her “public hanging” comment, which she said was a joke. Walmart donated $2,000 to Hyde-Smith’s campaign on Nov. 18. ‘Sen. Hyde-Smith’s recent comments clearly do not reflect the values of our company and associates,’ the retail giant tweeted Tuesday morning. ‘As a result, we are withdrawing our support and requesting a refund of all campaign donations.’” [Politico, 11/20/18]
Executive Director Of The Mississippi’s NAACP State Chapter Said “The Act Of Lynching Is Not Joking Matter.” According to NPR, “ After the remark went viral, the outrage came quickly from civil rights activists like Corey Wiggins, executive director of Mississippi's NAACP state chapter. ‘The act of lynching is not a joking matter,’ Wiggins said.” [NPR, 11/21/18]
¶ Hyde-Smith Supported The Confederacy
¶ 2001: Hyde-Smith Proposed A Senate Bill In Mississippi To Rename A Stretch Of Highway To “Jefferson David Memorial Highway”
HEADLINE: Cindy Hyde-Smith Has Embraced Confederate History More Than Once In Her Political Career [Washington Post, 11/22/18]
Hyde-Smith Proposed A Senate Bill In Mississippi To Rename A Stretch Of Highway To “Jefferson David Memorial Highway” Despite Davis Having No Known Ties To Her District. According to the Washington Post, “ Starting her second year as a Mississippi state senator, Cindy Hyde-Smith arrived at the State Capitol in Jackson in 2001 to file one of her earliest pieces of legislation. Senate Bill 2604, as she proposed it, would have renamed a stretch of highway to the title it had in the 1930s: Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway. While the president of the Confederacy did have ties to the state — representing it in the Senate before resigning when Mississippi left the Union — he had no known ties to her district.” [Washington Post, 11/22/18]
¶ 2014: Hyde-Smith Touted The Home Of The Confederate President Jefferson Davis’ House And Had A Caption That Read “Mississippi History At Its Best”
HEADLINE: Photo Surfaces Of Cindy Hyde-Smith Posing With Confederate Artifacts [CNN, 11/20/18]
HEADLINE: Dixieland’s Favorite Senator, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Sported Confederate Garb In 2014 [Intelligencer, 11/20/18]
HEADLINE: Embattled Hyde-Smith Posted Photo Of Herself In Confederate Hat [Politico, 11/20/18]
Hyde-Smith Posted A Picture Of Herself Wearing A Confederate Hat With The Comment “Mississippi History At Its Best.” According to Politico, “ Mississippi Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith posed for a photo wearing a Confederate soldier’s hat and holding a rifle in a Facebook post that surfaced Tuesday. Hyde-Smith took the photo during a 2014 visit to the Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library. ‘Mississippi history at its best!’ Hyde-Smith exclaimed.” [Politico, 11/20/18]
- Hyde-Smith Touted The Home Of The Confederate President Jefferson Davis’ House And Had A Caption That Read “Mississippi History At Its Best.” According to NPR, “ Just hours before the debate, photos from 2014 also surfaced on Facebook of Hyde-Smith touring the home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, with a caption that said, ‘Mississippi history at its best!’” [NPR, 11/21/18]
Hyde-Smith Wearing A Confederate Hat. [Intelligencer, 11/20/18]
¶ 2016: Hyde-Smith Awarded A Confederate Heritage Group The Price For Best Community Float In A Parade
Hyde-Smith Awarded Confederate Heritage Group, Dixie Alliance, The Price For Best Community Float In A Parade She Oversaw As Commissioner Of Agriculture. According to the Washington Post, “In 2016, she awarded a Confederate heritage group called Dixie Alliance the prize for best community float in a parade that she oversaw as commissioner of agriculture.” [Washington Post, 11/22/18]
¶ Hyde-Smith Attended An All White Segregation Academy
HEADLINE: Hyde-Smith Attended All-White ‘Seg Academy’ To Avoid Integration [Jackson Free Press, 11/23/18]
¶ Hyde-Smith Attended And Graduated From A Segregation Academy
Hyde-Smith Attended A White School Who Opened The Year That Desegregation In Mississippi Happened. According to Jackson Free Press, “Fifteen years after school integration become the law of the land, the Supreme Court ordered the immediate desegregation of public schools in 1969, and Mississippi Gov. John Bell Williams ordered that public schools integrate when students returned from Christmas break in early 1970. ‘So let us accept the inevitable that we are going to suffer one way or the other, both white and black, as a result of the court's decree,’ he said at the time. It is no coincidence that the academy Hyde-Smith attended opened the very year after the highest court’s ultimatum, as did others around the state. The day he announced his compliance, Williams made it a priority to focus on private schools as an alternative for white students whose parents were not keen on their children sharing classrooms with black children. The Legislature even approved private-school vouchers for white families to offset the costs of sending their kids to whites-only private schools.” [Jackson Free Press, 11/23/18]
Lawrence County NAACP President Wesley Bridges Claimed That Lawrence County Academy Started Because People Didn’t Want Their Kids Going To School With Minorities. According to Jackson Free Press, “‘Lawrence County Academy started because people didn’t want their kids going to school with minorities,’ Lawrence County NAACP President Wesley Bridges, who also serves on the local public school board, told the Jackson Free Press on Saturday. ‘That’s been evident.’ ‘Cindy Hyde-Smith was a product of that school,’ he added.” [Jackson Free Press, 11/23/18]
¶ Hyde-Smith Was A Cheerleader Who Took A Picture With The School’s Mascot Dressed Up As A Confederate Solider And Holding A Confederate Flag
Hyde-Smith Was A Cheerleader Who Took A Picture With The School’s Mascot Dressed Up As A Confederate Solider And Holding A Confederate Flag. According to Jackson Free Press, “A group photo in the 1975 edition of The Rebel—the Lawrence County Academy Yearbook—illustrates the point. High-school cheerleaders smile at the camera as they lie on the ground in front of their pom-poms, fists supporting their heads. In the center, the mascot, dressed in what appears to be an outfit designed to mimic that of a Confederate general, offers a salute as she holds up a large Confederate flag. Third from the right on the ground is a sophomore girl with short hair, identified in the caption as Cindy Hyde.” [Jackson Free Press, 11/23/18]
