in Tallulah, near the Mississippi border, five Italian Americans were lynched for the attempted murder of Dr. Ford Hodge. A vigilante mob hanged three shopkeepers, and two bystanders who were Italian Americans. Even in Erwin, Mississippi, some Italians were killed in 1901. Actual integration In the twentieth century, mainly after World War I, Italians started to be accepted and integrated very well into the Mississippi society. The food and restaurant industry was one of the areas where they had their biggest results and economic success. The seafood (and small shipyard) industry of Biloxi was owned mainly by the family of Andrew H. Longino – governor of Mississippi from 1900 to 1904 – who was the first governor of a US Southern state with Italian roots. According to Charles R. Wilson, one of the most prominent Italian families in Mississippi, the Bruninis of Vicksburg, produced a respected Catholic religious leader, the late Joseph Bernard Brunini, who was bishop of the Natchez-Jackson Diocese from 1966 to 1984. Bishop Brunini successfully promoted the integration of black people & other minorities in the 1980s. See also Italian diaspora References Bibliography Canonici, Paul. The Delta Italians: their pursuit of "the better life" and their struggle against mosquitos, floods, and prejudice. Publisher P.V. Canonici. New Orleans, 2003 Magnaghi, Russell M. "Louisiana's Italian Immigrants Prior to 1870". Louisiana History magazine (Winter 1986), pp. 43–68. Sowell, Thomas. Ethnic America: a history. Publisher Basic Books. New York, 1983 Walton, Shana. Ethnic Heritage in Mississippi: The Twentieth Century. Publisher Univ. Press of Mississippi. Jackson, 2012 External links Photos and excerpts from a book about Italians from the Mississippi delta "Italians." Mississippi Encyclopedia, University of Mississippi. "The Killing of Italians in Mississippi." (Direct PDF Link) The New York Times. Italian Festival of Mississippi European American culture in Mississippi Mississippi Italian-American history History of Mississippi