CLEVELAND, Miss. — A Mississippi Freedom Trail marker has been unveiled at Delta State University to commemorate the 1969 student sit-in that helped advance equality for Black students on campus.
The marker stands in front of Kethley Hall, formerly the university’s administration building, where the sit-in took place more than five decades ago.
During the 1960s, Delta State was undergoing significant change as the university began admitting its first Black students. In 1969, students staged a sit-in at the building to demand equal treatment and improved conditions on campus.
The demonstration led to the arrest of 52 students, but it also became a pivotal moment in the institution’s history and the broader civil rights movement in the Mississippi Delta.
Community members, university officials and local leaders gathered for the unveiling ceremony to reflect on the impact of the protest and the progress made since that time.
Leighton Aldridge, mayor of Mound Bayou, said the moment also honored the legacy of his mother, Shirley Washington, who was the first Black student to enroll at Delta State University in 1966.
“My mother, Shirley Washington, she was the first black to enroll here at Delta State in 1966. With this sit-in that happened in 1969, she was apart of that, and she was just trying to make a difference,” Aldridge said. “As it was stated, they had requests of just trying to be treated with respect and honor, and to do different things just like all of the rest of the students here on the campus.”
Aldridge said the sacrifices made by students during the protest continue to influence progress today.
“They went through a lot, and even after the sit-on, they still went through a lot,” Aldridge said. “As you can see, today in 2026, there was a different and we’re still making a difference here today and things are progressing and getting better.”
Mississippi Commissioner Willie Simmons said the marker will help ensure the events are remembered by future generations.
“You know, we have a tendency to forget history if we don’t write it down,” Simmons said. “So the fact that we had as many as we did here today participating and we can record that history, hopefully we can catch up. Individuals will come in the future and read this and understand whose shoulders they’re standing on.”
Simmons said the marker also represents a broader commitment to unity and progress throughout the Mississippi Delta.
“It says that we’re going to recognize everybody,” Simmons said. “And everybody in the delta has the opportunity to participate in moving the delta forward… We’re collectively coming together and dealing with individuals not strictly based upon their race, not based upon their political party, not based upon their religion… but based on the fact that they’re Delta residents. And we want to make sure that we empower the Delta well. So the future’s bright.”
The marker now serves as a permanent tribute to the students whose actions in 1969 helped move Delta State University toward greater equality.
