Opponents of Mississippi’s anti- critical race theory law fear whitewashing of history

In Republicans' fevered imaginations, schoolchildren are browbeaten into admitting they are racist

On the southern steps of the Mississippi state capitol last week, a group of protesters gathered in front of a bronzed casket.

It was empty, but for piles of paper, strewn across the inside. They were printouts of dozens of bills that have died in the state legislature in recent months; a bill to expand healthcare coverage for new mothers; a bill to help provide healthy food options in rural and underserved communities, a bill to restore voting rights to formerly incarcerated people.