Contact: Maridith Geuder
Mississippi's first African-American congressman since Reconstruction is donating his official papers to Mississippi State.
Mike Espy, who represented Mississippi's 2nd District 1987-93, is providing the university with papers from his congressional career, as well as those touching on his service as the first black U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.
A formal presentation ceremony at Mitchell Memorial Library will be held later this fall.
Espy had never held public office before his 1986 election to Congress. During his Capitol Hill tenure, he served as national vice chair of the Democratic Leadership Council and as vice chair of the Democratic Caucus.
"This is a significant addition to Mississippi State University's congressional collection, and we are honored to have Mr. Espy's papers," said President Malcolm Portera. "They will enhance the outstanding scholarly resources available at Mitchell Memorial Library."
Espy said he hopes the papers will inspire students across the state. His daughter, Jamilla, is a junior English major at Mississippi State.
"My political career has had both peaks and valleys," he said. "Perhaps students can draw inspiration from the high moments and learn lessons from the low ones. I'm happy to add whatever value I can to Mississippi State's already fine archives.
"I am humbled and honored that Mississippi State has asked to storehouse and exhibit my papers," he added.
Espy's papers join a growing list in the library's congressional collection that already contains those of former Sen. John C. Stennis, former Reps. G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery, David Bowen and Charles Griffin, and current Rep. Chip Pickering. The collection also includes papers of Wiley Carter, former administrative assistant to Sen. Thad Cochran, and Wayne Weidie, current chief of staff to Rep. Gene Taylor.
Espy is a graduate of Howard University and the University of Santa Clara School of Law. He began his career as an attorney representing the indigent through Central Mississippi Legal Services.
After serving as Mississippi's assistant secretary of state 1980-84, he worked as an assistant attorney general for a year before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1986. He served in that office until President Bill Clinton named him Secretary of Agriculture in 1993.
As the 25th agriculture secretary, Espy is credited with reorganizing a $65 billion-dollar agency, negotiating multilateral trade treaties to give greater access to foreign markets for U.S. agricultural products, and establishing the groundwork for changes in the 1995 farm law.
He now is a member of Butler, Snow, O'Mara, Stevens and Cannada, the state's largest law firm. He also serves as senior adviser for the Advisory Board for the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy and as director of Feed the Children.
Espy continues to serve as a consultant to food charities and as an adviser to foreign heads of state on food, commodity, trade, nutrition, rural development, and related issues.