1. On November 8, 1898, in Yazoo City, Mississippi, a grand jury charged African American leaders with inciting a race riot. These leaders were subsequently sentenced to prison, marking a low point in race relations in Mississippi during the Jim Crow era.

2. In 1951, University of Mississippi basketball standout Johnny Crawford scored a school-record 45 points in a game against Rhodes College. Crawford would go on to become one of only two Mississippi players to win SEC Player of the Year honors twice.

3. November 8, 1957, marked the opening of the Mississippi Coast Coliseum in Biloxi. The venue was designed to host concerts, sporting events, and other public gatherings, and is still in use today.

4. In 1973, a magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck Mississippi on November 8. Although relatively minor in terms of damage, the quake was unusual for its location in the eastern part of the state, which is not typically prone to seismic activity.

5. On November 8, 2011, Mississippi voters passed Amendment 26, which declared that life begins at conception and effectively banned abortion in the state. The amendment was controversial at the time and faced legal challenges, but as of 2021 it remains in effect.