1. The Mississippi state flag was first adopted on December 22, 1860. The design of the flag remains controversial due to its incorporation of the Confederate battle emblem.

2. On December 22, 1817, the Mississippi Territory was admitted as the 20th state of the United States. The state was named after the Mississippi River, which flows along its western border.

3. The first African American mayor of a major city in the state was elected on December 22, 1977. Richard Arrington Jr. was elected as the mayor of Birmingham, Alabama, which is located just across the state line from Mississippi.

4. Famed Mississippi blues singer B.B. King was born on December 22, 1925, in Itta Bena, Mississippi. King is known for hits such as "The Thrill Is Gone" and "Lucille."

5. On December 22, 1955, the first integrated bus trip took place in Mississippi. A group of African American and white passengers rode together on a Greyhound bus from Montgomery, Alabama, to Jackson, Mississippi, in defiance of segregationist laws. The trip was organized by civil rights activist Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Improvement Association.