Entertainment
13th Amendment gets official OK in Mississippi
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20 Feb 2013
- Written by Carrie Healey/The Grio
After 148 years, Mississippi has finally ratified the 13th Amendment, which bans slavery.
Dr. Ranjan Batra, associate professor of neurobiology and anatomical sciences at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, saw Steven Spielberg's acclaimed film "Lincoln" last November and was moved to search into Mississippi's past, according to the "Clarion Ledger."
The 13th Amendment received the three-fourth's vote it needed to pass from Congress in January 1864.
In the following years, the states that voted against ratifying the amendment took measures to pass it.
While researching, Batra noted an asterisk beside Mississippi that represented the state having ratified the amendment in 1995, but it was never made official by a U.S. archivist.
Drawing inspiration from Lincoln, Batra contacted the office of Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann.
Hosemann agreed to file the paperwork, and the ratification became official on February 7, 2013.
Click here to read the full story on the Clarion Ledger.
(Follow Carrie Healey on Twitter @CarrieHeals.)
