1. In 1964, civil rights activists James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman were murdered by members of the Ku Klux Klan in Neshoba County, Mississippi. The tragic event, also known as the Mississippi Burning, highlighted the deep racial tensions and violence in the state during the Civil Rights Movement.

2. On June 16, 1858, Mississippi Senator Albert G. Brown delivered an impassioned speech in defense of slavery in the United States Senate. Brown argued that slavery was a positive good and essential to the economic prosperity of the South, sparking controversy and debate across the nation.

3. In 1896, the Supreme Court handed down the landmark decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, which upheld the principle of "separate but equal" and legalized racial segregation in public facilities. The case was brought by Homer Plessy, a black man who was arrested for sitting in a "whites-only" train car in Louisiana, but its impact was felt across the South, including Mississippi.

4. On June 16, 1946, Jake Ayers, a black World War II veteran, filed a lawsuit against the state of Mississippi challenging the unequal funding of black and white schools. The case, Ayers v. Fordice, would not be resolved until 1992, when the Supreme Court ruled that Mississippi had failed to provide adequate educational opportunities for black students.

5. Mississippi native Eudora Welty, one of America's most beloved writers, was born on June 16, 1909. Welty's novels and short stories explored the complexities of Southern life and culture, and her work earned numerous accolades, including a Pulitzer Prize in 1973. Welty remained an active voice in Mississippi's literary community until her death in 2001.