Mississippi's troubled civil rights history has made it hard enough for the state to emerge from the shadows of the past.
This latest incident of a black man found hanging from a tree in Claiborne County has now brought up new concerns, in and outside the state, that enough hasn't been done to bring races together in Mississippi and eliminate hate crimes.
"Perception what people think, a lot of people already have their mind made up," says Neddie Winters, President of Mission Mississippi. "This just helps them reaffirm that wrong connotation about Mississippi."
Winters says instead of protesting, people should focus on improving race relations.
"A black man hanging in Mississippi - the logical conclusion for those outside of Mississippi and inside Mississippi is that there's some sort of foul play racial wise and I think we ought to wait until all the facts are in."
There's no dodging the shadows of Mississippi's history when it comes to race, but community leaders say residents can help shape the future and how others see our state.
"It tells us that Mississippi still has a long way to go in terms of perception," says Derrick Johnson, President of NAACP in Mississippi. "Anytime you have an incident where an African American is hung from a tree, it conjures up history of the past in the state of Mississippi. I think our policy leaders in our state should do more to alleviate that history."
Those community leaders tell us they're asking the residents of Port Gibson, and across the state, to be patient and pray while officials conduct their investigation
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