It was not until 1884 , after the flood of 1882 , that the state created the Mississippi-Yazoo Delta District Levee Board and started successfully achieving longer term plans for levees in the upper Delta . Despite the state 's building and reinforcing levees for years , the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 broke through and caused massive flooding of throughout the Delta , homelessness for hundreds of thousands , and millions of dollars in property damages . With the Depression coming so soon after the flood , the state suffered badly during those years . In the Great Migration , hundreds of thousands of African Americans migrated North and West for jobs and chances to live as full citizens
Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
Mississippi