Includes bibliographical references (pages 217-235) and index.

Introduction Prologue: Setting the Stage: The History, Struggle, and Strength of Mississippi Part I: How Racism Becomes a Structural Problem Chapter 1: Racial Hierarchy, Race Narrative, and the Structures that Sustain Them Chapter 2: Beyond the Black/White Binary: Confronting Invisibility and the Harms of "Othering" Chapter 3: Keeping it Real: Pathways to Authentic Connections Spotlight - Sharing Stories to Advance Racial Healing Part II: The Harms of Racial Injustice Chapter 4: Structural Racism in Black Maternal Healthcare Spotlight - Partnering to Improve Outcomes for Postpartum Women Chapter 5: The Health Harms of Incarceration and Punishment Chapter 6: Immigrant Health: Inequity and Fear Spotlight - Creative Approaches to Support Immigrant Families Chapter 7: Climate Crisis, Environmental Justice, and Racial Justice Part III: Strategies to Advance Racial Equity Chapter 8: Learning the Lessons of History Spotlight - Youth Changing the Narrative on Health Chapter 9: Fair Housing, Equitable Communities Spotlight - Creating a Healthy, Livable Community Chapter 10: Transforming Research and Evaluation Spotlight - Racial Equity and Social Justice in City Health Department Practices Chapter 11: Racial Justice Through Civic Engagement: A Look at Voting and the Census Epilogue- RWJF Looks Toward the Future Spotlight - Building on Past Work to Seize a Moment

"From racial hierarchies to authentic storytelling, the narrative of Mississippi is one of contrasts that parallel and amplify larger national trends in many ways. To study Mississippi, where RWJF held its fifth annual Sharing Knowledge conference in March 2020, is to learn how structural racism was built, venerated, and fiercely defended in the United States to maintain the status quo of non-White disenfranchisement. Yet the story of the state is also one of strength, rooted in a people who have worked collectively and in community to fight a system designed to punch back"--