Mississippi commemorates wade-ins that integrated beaches

BILOXI, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi has unveiled a new historical marker commemorating the “wade-ins” that led to integration of its Gulf Coast beaches. The original marker in Biloxi stood for about a decade before a hurricane knocked it down in 2020. A Black physician from Biloxi, Dr. Gilbert Mason Sr., organized the 1959, 1960 and 1963 wade-ins to challenge the exclusion of Black people from public beaches. White spectators attacked the peaceful demonstrators back then. His son, Dr. Gilbert Mason Jr., was among the people who gathered Sunday for a ceremony at the new marker. Like the original marker, it recognizes the leadership of his late father.