1. On February 22, 1803, the United States Congress approved the creation of the Mississippi Territory, which included what is now Mississippi and Alabama. This decision led to the settlement and eventual statehood for Mississippi.

2. On February 22, 1861, Mississippi became the second state to secede from the United States and join the Confederacy, sparking the American Civil War. Mississippians went on to play a significant role in many major battles of the war.

3. February 22, 1960 marked the first "sit-in" demonstration in Mississippi, when a group of African-American college students from Tougaloo College in Jackson staged a protest at the whites-only Woolworth's lunch counter in Jackson. This act of civil disobedience helped galvanize the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi and across the nation.

4. In 1987, February 22 was declared "Eudora Welty Day" in honor of the Mississippi-born author's achievements in literature. Welty, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, wrote extensively about life in the American South and is considered one of the great literary voices of the 20th century.

5. On February 22, 2019, Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant signed into law the "Mississippi Human Trafficking Act," one of the toughest anti-human trafficking laws in the country. The law increased penalties for trafficking, provided more support for victims, and established a statewide Human Trafficking Council to coordinate efforts to combat trafficking in Mississippi.