Mississippi Clarion Ledger
JACKSON, Miss. – Former Mississippi Gov, William Winter, a crusader for public education and racial harmony, has died. He was 97.
Winter died Friday night at his home in Jackson.
Winter served as governor from 1980 to 1984, and in 1982 ushered the passage of the Education Reform Act, the state s first comprehensive education overhaul.
Asked about his legacy by the Clarion-Ledger, Winter said: In general terms, I have tried to use the opportunities I have had to make this a better place than when I came along. We are all in this together.
For more than 50 years, Winter served as a member of the Mississippi State Department of Archives and History’s board of trustees, and he was instrumental in the founding of the Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation at the University of Mississippi.
âMississippi has lost a giantâ: William Winter leaves behind an impactful legacy William Winter (Source: William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation/Associated Press) By Justin Dixon | December 19, 2020 at 12:31 PM CST - Updated December 21 at 7:07 AM
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Mississippiâs former governor, William Winter, leaves behind a impactful legacy as people across the state react to the news of his death on Saturday.
He died Friday night at the age of 97.
Winter will be remembered for pushing Mississippi lawmakers to enact the Education Reform Act of 1982, serving as co-chairman of a national commission on racial reconciliation created by President Bill Clinton in the 1990s, and encouraging the change of the Mississippi flag in 2000 and 2001.