Jackson Jambalaya

All the people in the video seemed to be so, well, Caucasian. Where were the other people? Supreme irony that NOW from the time you drive onto the property until the time you leave the pay-booth, everybody you see is African American.

I'd like to ask if your research reveals (or does not consider) whether all of the landowners listed as having sold their land were white.

2:43 - Umm, it was 1963 in Jackson, Mississippi. Of course everybody there was white.

Say it ain't so, 6:08. Whatever are you implying?

Pretty sure land owner #1 was white.

I was 9 years old and thrilled by the Blue Angels....

Does the research reveal that these people, particularly the governor, had already owned the land or that they purchased it just as the plan was being finalized?

I wonder if the state grab at the airport is related to the fact that the economy of the state is floundering? They need the tax revenue.

I wonder if the state grab at the airport is related to the fact that the economy of the state is floundering? They need the tax revenue.

You obviously have not been paying attention to any of the reporting on the matter.

Barnett bought it in 1953. I don't see any mention of any new airport until 1955. That was when the military started threatening to move out their planes.

Sort of strange that he bought it then it was chosen as the site of the new airport. Just a lucky man.

Not strange at all. The new airport wasn't even a glean in anyone's eye in 1953. And this site wasn't even an idea until 1957 and not the selected site then.

I don't give a damn about Barnett and certainly am not an apologist for him. But in this case it appears that he happened to own land that the City of Jackson (not the state, BTW) wanted. Just as dozens of other folks were. Doesn't look like they got a real bargain out of the airport deal either at these prices. Certainly wasn't a get rich quick process for them.

Of course the ones that profited were the landowners that were adjoining the needed land.

An amazing coincidence, I am sure.

From the prices stated on the list, it doesn't appear that anyone got rich from this sale. If I were to guess, I would say it was taken by imminent domain. Compare those prices today to what those parcels sold for at that time.

1963? That ceremonial champagne was illegal.

Maybe someone should compare the price that was paid earlier against the price that was paid when it was chosen to be the site of the new airport. Comparing the price then and now is sort of stupid.

Great idea @10:00. Why don't you do that for all of us. And while you are at it, go ahead and check who owned all the land, what they paid for it and how much it sold for - the roads across the state; don't forget the interstates; and bridges; and drainage easements and ROWs. Oh, yes - the levees down the MS River, Pearl and all those rivers in the Delta too. Other airports can't be left out.

Oh, also - can't forget. Research all that land that is now covered by the Ross Barnett Resivoir. Surely someone there bought some land and sold it later and made some money off it.

You could go all the way back - check out the land where the Old Capitol, and yes the New Capitol before when it was a prison. See who made some money off those land deals for public projects.

Or - of course - do you just want to focus on the Jackson Airport because surely since it has to do with Jackson you figure someone did something wrong there - even in the 50's.

On the other hand - you could just get a life.

10:00; 'Price' is irrelevant to the conversation, as I understand the drift. Whether politicians bought up the land and then sold it to the people for an airport is the issue, I think. I'm not sure Barnett was that smart, but someone who was advising him might have been.

The position of State Bank Comptroller is no longer in existence; but, back then, he was a close ally of Barnett. Ross was organizing dove hunts at Parchman but others were watching his bank accounts for him.

Barnett was not an elected official when this all occurred. Don't know why some folks (or maybe just one) keeps on trying to make an issue out of the fact that he owned a parcel of land -one of several - that happened to be in the area that was selected for the airport.

From what I read, Barnett bought the property in 1953. Damn he must have been a lot smarter then than he was eight years later as a Governor - to have been omnipitent enough to buy this piece of property where an airport that wasn't even under consideration at the time would eventually be sited.

Yes - a lot of good developers do this and are quite successful. Check out all the property down Lakeland Drive between the Pearl and Airport Road. A few folks bought that land when it was nothing but swampland and no road existed. Ten or fifteen years later they owned land alongside a new road but still no activity. Having the ability to hold on to it they made several more millions to add to their bank accounts. But doesn't make it wrong - just good investing.

But there is nothing to make me believe that the ignorant country lawyer from Carthage bought a piece of land close to Jackson so he could make a few thousand dollar. Nor do I see a reason to question any of the other couple of dozen land owners that probably included a few more politically connected than this unelected individual that you are so enamored with in this instance.

@8:30, I'm sure they bought that champagne under William Winter's Black Market Tax program - you know, the one where he was the country's highest paid elected official during that period (56-60). But of course, once they found out the champagne was an illegal substance was when they decided they should bust the bottle (on the plane) to get rid of that demon rum!

Some people must think that the idea of an airport did not exist until the day it became public. Probably still believe in the easter bunny and the tooth fairy.
It doesn't take a very smart person to buy up property that they know is going to be used by some city in the near future. It only take a crooked person and he seems to fit the bill.

@10:00. See you are back at 11:36. Why don't you take up the investigation that was suggested and check all public infrastructure over the past half century - or century if you really want to do a good job. See who all had property, when it was bought, and what the 'profit' was from the project.

Realize you are fascinated because a 'future' elected official happened to have property in the development area. Just don't understand why you don't wonder about all the other property owners in the area - at the time that list probably included a lot more influential people than the guy that was elected Governor five years after the project.

As suggested above - get a life. Move into reality. Climb aboard the black helicopter that is landing in your back yard. Whatever.

No one really has to do an investigation. It was a crooked deal. Very common back in those days in Mississippi. Still very common today. Some people are just not intelligent enough to notice some things. That is the reason it continues to happen in the most illiterate state in the U.S.

Please, pray tell, how this was a crooked deal. Just because you say it was is far from convincing. Why don't you load up and go join your partner, The Donald, who thinks he can make things so just because he says so.

This was a very typical public works project. They were going to build a new airport that would require a couple thousand acres of land, and it had some specific requirements. Just because a guy that LATER became Governor, but at the time was nothing but an ordinary citizen, owned part of the land does not convince anyone except imbicles like you that it was 'a crooked deal'. I agree with 12:48 - time for you to move on. Your brain is too fried.

You can fool part of the people some of the time but you can fool 4:10 all of the time.
Some people believe anything a crooked politician does is legal just because he is a crooked politician.

I believe 4:10's point was the crook you are trying to point to wasn't a politician at the time this deal went down. But some folks are too dumb to understand those little details.

He was a crook at that time and was a politician at that time. Just some people don't have common sense. A politician doesn't become one the first day they let it be known they are running for office.
The planning for an airport does not start the day it becomes official.