Before it even began, there was a bond between Millsaps and Mississippi's historically black colleges. Major Millsaps arranged a land swap between the Jackson College For Negros and some land he held, putting what would become Jackson State University in what was the center of the city, and Millsaps' idea for a new Christian college, on the outskirts of town, dangerously near the insane asylum. The larger piece of land allowed Millsaps to later construct the first golf course in Mississippi history. It also put the gates of the new college at the entrance to what was then called "Silk-Stocking Row."
After the debacle of what happened at Ole Miss, Millsaps would be the first white Mississippi college to voluntarily open its rolls to non-white students two years later. During the same time, a period of understanding and cooperation between Millsaps and Tougaloo opened up. It was not universally well received. This was the first real test of my dad's young leadership.
Dad's perspective on race was formed at a young age when he met Ivan Allen, Jr. at a National Office Products Alliance convention. Besides being a fellow stationer, Allen would run for and win the mayorship of Atlanta on the basis of his philosophy that "there are simply too many negros in Atlanta for us to prosper unless they do too." This idea that beating down the black man kept everybody down became part of my early diet.
The idea that Millsaps professors and students should cavort with their counterparts at Tougaloo caused irritation in some quarters. My dad, a few key players, and most of the church believed it should continue, even if they personally didn't see any sense in it. It would not be long after that Galloway would split into two churches over similar issues. Ultimately, some disgruntled souls would take the issue to the bank, where official Trustmark sources said, "This liberal teacher bullshit doesn't really matter. We're not getting involved." With that, the issue was settled.
There were a few times when teachers would have to be reminded that Millsaps paid their salary, not Tougaloo, and a few students had to be reminded that Tougaloo awarded no quality points to Millsaps students unless they were enrolled in a class, but on the whole, the Millsaps-Tougaloo cooperation was a success and continues to this day.
Building Millsaps to the north was probably the first big nudge to developing Jackson to the North East. The Major's primary concern seems to have been that it was more than twenty percent bigger and had better drainage. He would soon build a home nearby.
