1. On June 17, 1963, civil rights leader Medgar Evers was assassinated in Jackson, Mississippi. Evers was a prominent figure in the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement, and his murder sparked outrage and contributed to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

2. In 2015, on June 17, a gunman opened fire at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Nine people were killed in the racially motivated attack, which shocked the nation and led to renewed calls for gun control and greater efforts to combat hate crimes.

3. June 17 is also the anniversary of the opening of the Natchez Trace Parkway, a scenic road that runs through Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee. The parkway was constructed in the 1930s as a way to preserve and promote the history and natural beauty of the region.

4. On June 17, 1861, Mississippi became the second state to secede from the Union and join the Confederacy during the Civil War. The state played an important role in the war, and many significant battles and events occurred there.

5. In 1910, on June 17, the first game of the Mississippi State Fair Baseball League was played in Jackson, Mississippi. The league was created to promote baseball in the state and attract fans to the fairgrounds, and it quickly became a popular summer attraction.