The first biography of this pivotal figure, William F. Winter and the New Mississippi is available from UPM. The book traces Winter’s life and influences from his boyhood days in Grenada County through his service in World War II through his long career in public service. Author Charles C. Bolton shines new light on one of Mississippi’s best known and least understood public policy heroes.
Winter's political career spanned the 1940s through the early 1980s, from his
initial foray into Mississippi politics as James Eastland’s driver during his
1942 campaign for the United States Senate, as state legislator, as state tax
collector, as state treasurer, and as lieutenant governor. Finally, Winter
served as governor of the state of Mississippi from 1980 to 1984.
During the tumultuous civil rights battles that dominated Mississippi
life in the post–World War II decades, Winter was a voice of reason and
compromise. He represented the earliest embodiment in Mississippi of the white
moderate political leadership that emerged throughout the “New South” in the
aftermath of the civil rights reforms of the mid-1960s. His leadership played a
pivotal role in ushering in the New Mississippi: a society that moved beyond
the racial caste system that had defined life in the state for almost a century.
Winter has remained active in public life in the years since retiring
from politics. During the last twenty-five years, Winter has worked with a
variety of organizations to champion the issues that have always been central
to his vision of how to advance the interests of his native state and the South
as a whole: improving the economy, upgrading the educational system, and
facilitating racial reconciliation.
William F. Winter and the New Mississippi serves as a testament to one of
Mississippi’s greatest leaders and one of the most important politicians in
twentieth-century.
Charles Bolton will be talking
about and signing copies of his book at the following times and locations:
- Tuesday, October 8, 5 p.m. at Square Books in Oxford, MS
*Governor Winter will also be on hand to sign books at this event
- Wednesday, October 9, 5 p.m. at Lemuria Bookstore in Jackson, MS
*Governor Winter will also be on hand to sign books at this event
- Thursday, October 10, 5:30 p.m. at Main Street Books in Hattiesburg, MS
- Monday, October 14, 2-6 p.m. at the Margaret Reed Crosby Memorial Library & Cultural Center in Picayune, MS
- Tuesday, October 15, noon at History is Lunch in The Old
Capitol Museum
*Governor Winter will also be on hand to sign books at this event
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