Historian · Biographer · Writer
DerrionArrington
Black political power, governance, and civil rights in Mississippi.
About
Derrion Arrington is a historian, biographer, and writer whose work centers on Black political power, governance, and civil rights in Mississippi. A native of Laurel, Mississippi, he lives in the Jackson metropolitan area.
He is the author of two forthcoming biographies. Robert G. Clark, Jr. and the Rise of Black Politics in Mississippi (University of Illinois Press) traces the career of the first African American elected to the Mississippi Legislature since Reconstruction. A second book, under contract with Yale University Press for its Black Lives series, tells the story of the internationally acclaimed soprano Leontyne Price.
His scholarship began with the Laurel Black History Project, which he founded to document the Black freedom struggle in his hometown of Laurel and Jones County. The project has produced three volumes—Standing Firm in the Dixie, The Poultry Plantation, and The Full Wagon—and his essay on the origins of Laurel’s movement appeared in Study the South, published by the University of Mississippi.
Arrington serves as Strategic Communications Officer at the ACLU of Mississippi and Director of Movement History for the Young Democrats of Mississippi. His journalism on Mississippi politics, civil rights, and public affairs has appeared in The Mississippi Independent and other state outlets.
A graduate of Tougaloo College and Tulane University, he received the Mississippi Historical Society’s Award of Merit in 2025.
Books
Robert G. Clark, Jr. and the Rise of Black Politics in Mississippi
Robert G. Clark Jr. was the first Black Mississippian elected to the state legislature since Reconstruction. Through four decades in public office, he helped build the institutions, coalitions, and political infrastructure that transformed Black Mississippians from a disenfranchised population into a governing force in state politics.
Leontyne Price: The Making of an American Soprano
Leontyne Price’s journey from Laurel, Mississippi, to the Metropolitan Opera was rooted in the churches, schools, teachers, families, and community institutions of Black Mississippi. This biography tells the story of the people and institutions that nurtured one of the greatest voices of the twentieth century and examines what her life reveals about Black achievement in the age of segregation.
The Laurel Black History Project
Three community-history volumes recovering the Black freedom struggle in Laurel and Jones County—the work recognized by the Mississippi Historical Society’s Award of Merit.
Writing
Selected essays and encyclopedia entries on Black politics, civil rights, and Mississippi history. Ongoing reporting and commentary appear on Substack.
- Black Women, Sanderson Farms, and the Strike for Better ConditionsBlack Perspectives
- Dorothy Porter, Archives, and the Preservation of Black StudiesBlack Perspectives
- Benjamin E. MurphMississippi Encyclopedia
- Meridian Civil Rights MovementMississippi Encyclopedia
- Ralph BostonMississippi Encyclopedia
Honors
