Hope Mississippi
A bimonthly podcast educating Mississippians about the needs of fellow citizens, encouraging residents to work together to change the trajectory of our families and children, and sharing success stories.
Hope Mississippi
Hope Rising: Stories From the State Bar- Part One
At the 2025 Mississippi State Bar Convention, former State Supreme Court Justice Dawn Beam interviewed over 20 people in 3 days to bring you a special 7-part series of her Hope Mississippi podcast.
In part one, Dawn hosts three compelling conversations that showcase how hope manifests in unexpected places.
Podcast producer Hillary Kane reveals the behind-the-scenes magic that brings these stories to listeners. Reminding us that everyone possesses unique gifts to contribute. Whether polishing audio or practicing law, our individual talents can amplify messages of hope when directed toward community challenges.
Dean Jim Rosenblatt shares his remarkable journey from southwest Mississippi farm boy to Army JAG Corps officer to Mississippi College School of Law leadership. His philosophy of lifelong mentorship, appearing at everything from bar exams to weddings, demonstrates how consistent encouragement creates lasting hope. Through programs like adoption clinics, law students transform families while still in school, proving that legal professionals can impact thousands rather than dozens.
Judge Vincent Davis's story is one of transformation through education. After losing his mother at a young age, teachers "adopted" him, with one persistent educator repeatedly telling him he should become a lawyer. That voice eventually led him to law school despite his initial lack of interest. His most profound moment as an assistant district attorney came when pursuing justice for a murder victim's family in a case others considered unwinnable, bringing hope through accountability when it seemed impossible.
Hope Mississippi's Mission: The sobering reality remains: one in four Mississippi children lives in poverty, and one in five experiences food insecurity. These statistics aren't just numbers—they're our collective challenge. Through these conversations, we discover that Mississippi's transformation occurs through individual commitments to mentor, encourage, and be present for others. The small acts of hope accumulate into the broader "miracles" we celebrate.
Join us for new episodes on the 1st and 15th of each month as we continue sharing stories of transformation from across Mississippi. Each story reminds us that when we contribute our unique gifts, Mississippi rises together.
When you need some hope and inspiration to build collaboration, Hope.
Speaker 2:Mississippi is your salvation. One in four kids live in poverty.
Speaker 1:One in five are food deprived. Build collaborations and build hope with those who are struggling. Hope Mississippi. Hello, and welcome back to another edition of Hope Mississippi. I'm Dawn Beam hosting this and I could not be happier today than to be at the Mississippi Bar and to welcome Hilary Kane. Hello, Hilary.
Speaker 2:Hello Ms Dawn. It's so nice to be with you face-to-face, irl, in real life.
Speaker 1:Hilary was very instrumental in helping me kick off this podcast. So, hillary, could you tell the audience just a little bit about yourself?
Speaker 2:this. I'm just a facilitator and when I found out what you're doing, I just considered it an honor that you would allow me to help y'all forward your mission, which is very worthy, and the statistics, even in your opening bumper music, are astounding and shocking and I really admire what you are doing and your organizations are doing.
Speaker 1:Well, you're so kind you know. I would remind the audience that Hope Mississippi is a part of Hope Rising Mississippi, which is a nonprofit, that our goal is to spread hope across Mississippi to the darkest areas. One in four of our kids live in poverty. One in five are food deprived. We can't ignore that statistic, and it takes all of us, as Mississippians, working together to change those statistics. And so this little podcast is just our way of reminding folks of the challenge but also celebrating the victories that are going on in individual lives as well as across Mississippi. Now, hillary, you are one of the most creative people I know. What happens, folks is, I do a podcast and then I send it to Hillary and she does her magic. For those that are wondering about podcasts, because it's new to many of us, can you just tell us what it takes to put that podcast out into the world?
Speaker 2:Sure. So we get the audio feeds, ideally an individual feed for each speaker so I can raise and lower and master the levels, and then I basically make sure that mouth noises coughing, breathing, those types of things that people really don't want. No one wants to hear that. I remove that, I tighten gaps and then I make sure the music comes in and out at the right places and I just basically polish the amazing product that I'm given. And your podcast is very easy to edit. Everyone is very polite. You have incredible guests. It's just like I said it's been an honor to get to put my fingerprints on this project.
Speaker 1:You know this is just a reminder to me that we all have certain gifts. You're a lawyer and you do some amazing things and trademarks and copyrights and that area of the law but you also, that creative side of you, helps other folks realize their dreams of doing podcasts Well thank you.
Speaker 2:I think that you may be able to attest to this, but there are so many lawyers that are just drama kids all grown up. There are a lot of really creative people in the law. I'm so proud of Dawn right now because she's checking her levels on the mixing board. She's really become quite the pro. She barely needs me working myself out of a job. It's just a labor of love, really, and I enjoy every episode and I listen to it many times and I also use a little bit of the AI magic for the mastering and it just levels it out and makes it more enjoyable for the listener. So there's no super loud, louds and really low, lows that they can't hear.
Speaker 1:Well, I so appreciate your help with communication, because that's really the key. When we all understand the challenges that we face, then we can be a part of the solution. Right?
Speaker 2:Absolutely, and Mississippi has made incredible leaps and bounds in education. Isn't that exciting?
Speaker 1:Yes, it's called Mississippi Miracle, and we have certainly made tremendous progress. It's great to not only not be on the bottom but be leading the way in our country in education, but we can do that in so many other areas. We want to hear great stories of how lawyers and judges are bringing hope all across Mississippi. Lawyers and judges are bringing hope all across Mississippi. We want folks to tell us their story, either how they've seen hope in the courtroom or how they've overcome obstacles in their own life and have found hope, how their community is working together to spread hope. Here at the Bar, we have lawyers from small towns as well as our larger cities, and so we want to know what's working across our state. Also, we want to acknowledge that there are challenges in Mississippi, and we want to talk about how we can bring hope all across Mississippi. We're looking forward to your joining us for these special episodes as we bring it to you from the Mississippi Bar in Sandestin, florida. Thank you so much, hilary.
Speaker 2:Thank you for having me. It's my absolute honor and pleasure, hope.
Speaker 1:Mississippi is your salvation. Hello, this is Dawn Beam, coming to you from the Mississippi Bar Convention and I have the honor of sitting with Dean Jim Rosenblatt. Give the audience a hello for us.
Speaker 4:Hello, justice Beam, good to see you.
Speaker 1:Well, it's great to see you and you know, anytime I see you, I know I'm in the right place. Dean Rosenblatt goes all over the state encouraging lawyers that have graduated from Mississippi College and you know, when I think of hope, I'm reminded of professors and teachers that have invested in us. Could you just give us a little bit of background of what you have done in your life, and I know it's been amazing.
Speaker 4:First of all, I know there's a biblical passage that relates to hope. They say of all those, though, love is better, but I think hope is right up there with love.
Speaker 1:Absolutely. I couldn't agree more.
Speaker 4:Well, I was raised on a farm in southwest Mississippi and went to a county high school and then off to Vanderbilt for undergrad and Cornell to law school. And while I was in law school I went through the ROTC program and so I was commissioned after two years and entered active duty, stayed in the Army JAG Corps for 30 years and retired on a Friday and started as a dean of our law school on the following Monday. I was a dean for 11 years and a professor for the last 10. So I enjoy very much working with law students and aspiring lawyers. It's inspiring to be around them.
Speaker 1:I couldn't agree more the excitement of being around lawyers making a difference every day in folks' life. Let's talk a little bit just about the law and the opportunity that individuals maybe, if they're thinking about going to law school, the opportunity they have to make a difference not only in the lives of individuals but to make a difference in our state.
Speaker 4:Well, just to use an example, there are a number of former teachers who come to the law school and a teacher will typically say I know I had an impact on the lives of 26 students, but now I can have an impact on the life of 26,000 people by virtue of my legal work, and a lot of them were motivated by the desire to have an impact not only on their local community but even statewide, and so we have a lot of our graduates who are in politics or judges and doing things that do have an impact on people's everyday lives.
Speaker 1:I'm reminded of the parable of the talents, and also the parable of how Jesus took the little boy with a few fish and loaves and fed the 5,000. And the reality is that I know you're a believer, and so we know that when we give, when we serve to make a difference in the world, whether that be a lawyer or a professor or whatever that it is. God's math is incredible, isn't it?
Speaker 4:It really is, and I think a classic example of that is the work that our students do with the adoption clinic and to see the families that come together. Some of them even sport their own T-shirts announcing the adoption. But the difference that makes in the lives of not only the children but the families that adopt them. And our students get to do that through a clinical program while they're still in school and then get to do that while they're out in practice as well. So that's the family law area is one area that really touches people's lives and a number of our students come to us having been affected by family law in some way as a child. Perhaps their parents divorced, Perhaps they were involved in a custody dispute and it's generated their interest in law and wanting to carry on that work.
Speaker 1:You know, I'm reminded of an MC law student that I mentored a bit, and she was a former foster child herself and she said I want to make a bit. And she was a former foster child herself and she said I want to make a difference. And so, yes, law is a great way to help improve our system of protecting children and also strengthening families. Let's talk just a little bit, too, about the importance of others stepping up to do their role. Everybody's not called to be a lawyer, but we all can do something. So, whether that be a parent who might be willing to foster or a former foster child, that can make a difference in the system. Talk a little bit about that.
Speaker 4:Well, everybody has an ability to impact other people's lives. Sometimes it's a simple caring word or a bit of encouragement along the way that can turn someone's life around in an unknowing way. But lawyers really have the ability, through the legal system, to leverage their impact and I'm very pleased to see not only what our law schools and our law students do, but we have a wonderful legal community in Mississippi, legal community in Mississippi. I think it's very special and the opportunity for our students to interact with judges and lawyers, to be part of the system even when they're in law school, is a tremendous benefit and starts them going in the right direction. You know, both law schools have a program that's administered by the bar, a professionalism program at the start of law school and judges and lawyers come in. They interact with the students during their orientation. It's just so wonderful to see that outreach and that support the bar provides the legal education process in Mississippi.
Speaker 1:It's so important that you be equipped all along the way. I told you that recently I interviewed my former band director, who was director of bands at Ole Miss for 35 years, and the two of you. One thing that you have in common is that when a person graduates, you're not finished with them. Mr Wilson, he has followed many of his students through the years to encourage them. Life is difficult. None of us are immune from difficulties, and I am reminded how you follow former law students at MC all over the country. Tell us a little bit about that.
Speaker 4:It's not just him. Let's see law students. I support law students in general. My first opportunity to do that after graduation is to go to the bar exam and coming out of the bar exam I give the folks coming out a high five, regardless of where they went to school out of state or in state and they'll come to me 10 or 15 years later and said I was really down after that first day of the bar exam. You gave me a high five and it just made a difference and gave me some confidence. So I love to stay involved in our students' lives. I can't tell you the number of weddings and funerals I've been to over the years, but it's a way to reach out and provide a continuing level of support that comes from the law school to our graduates today and you can make it so, and one principle of that is that people can come alongside you to encourage you and to cheer you on.
Speaker 1:And, dean, you certainly fulfill that for so many people and I can't tell you, as a mother, who you have encouraged my son along the way. I can't thank you enough for that. Can you talk just a little bit about your own life and who may have been your cheerleader, that person that encouraged you along the way?
Speaker 4:Well, I have several along the way. My 4-H leader was a great encourager of me and I love the lessons I learned from there, whether it was raising chickens or judging livestock. I had some wonderful teachers. We were a small country school and our science department was a little weak, but we have some older women who taught us literature and English and made us go to the board and diagram sentences, and that was inspirational to me. And to be able to stand up in front of a class and have to recite poetry gave me a level of confidence too.
Speaker 4:And then, as an undergraduate student, I was a philosophy major and it was a small department, so I had a level of confidence too. And then, as an undergraduate student, I was a philosophy major and it was a small department, so I had a lot of interaction with our folks there. One of our university officials encouraged me to go on to law school and to expand my reach in looking at law schools. And then throughout the military, I had countless mentors who supported me along the way. I think the military is known for bringing along and developing folks, whether it's a drill sergeant with a basic trainee or a staff judge advocate talking to his younger attorneys. So all along the way I've had people that have moved me along the way. I love the old example If you see a turtle sitting on top of a post, the turtle didn't get there by himself, and that's certainly true in my case.
Speaker 1:I think that's true for all of us. So, as we close out this interview, a challenge to those listening to be the change you want to see in the world.
Speaker 4:Well, I would encourage all people to be a challenge and to be a supporter of others. It doesn't take much, it doesn't require money. It can simply be a pat on the back or a hug or a word of encouragement, and it might be something more than that along the way, but it's very simple to be an encourager and promoter of hope along the way. I'm so pleased to see you doing this and I hope that you can generate the hope that will move us all forward.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much for sharing your time with us, Dean, and for being a blessing to so many of us in Mississippi.
Speaker 4:Great to be with.
Speaker 1:Hope Mississippi is your salvation. Hello and welcome back to the Mississippi Bar Convention where I am sitting here visiting with Judge Vincent Davis. Hello, Judge Davis.
Speaker 3:Hello, justice Bing, good to see you again.
Speaker 1:Good to see you Now. We were talking about your family and how you became a judge. Tell us a little bit about where you grew up and just a little bit about Judge Davis.
Speaker 3:Well, I actually grew up in southwest Mississippi. I was born in Prentiss. However, my family moved from Prentiss to Natchez, probably when I was around one or two years old, maybe, and we stayed in Natchez for just a little while and we probably stayed there until I was around five and then from there we moved to Fayette. Well, I started school in Fayette and then in the second grade. Early in the second grade, my mom passed and at that point it was just my father, myself and an older sister living there. I had other siblings who remained in Natchez to finish school there. All of my siblings have basically moved away, but I have remained in southwest Mississippi, in the Natchez-Fed area.
Speaker 1:Now, for those that are listening, you're a Chancery Judge in south Mississippi now, but just tell us a little bit about growing up teachers, those that really encouraged you along the way.
Speaker 3:Well, growing up, a large part of my support group, I guess, were teachers. As I have told others in the past, I never really intended to be an attorney. That was not what I wanted to do. After I finished college I was actually working for a year doing something else, but in the back of my mind I kept hearing a specific teacher kept telling me that I needed to be an attorney, that you need to be an attorney because she thought that I would just argue with a stop sign, and that one particular occasion I proved to her that that was an error in the textbook and my mom having passed and she was a teacher, so the other teachers just sort of adopted me and helped my father to, I guess, rear me. And so my support group growing up were many of my teachers. And because I heard that voice of that particular teacher saying that I should be an attorney, one particular day I was just sitting around doing nothing. I just wondered what would happen had I decided to go into the law. I wondered what I would have made had I decided to take the LSAT. But you know, what I'm just going to do is just as a challenge. And so I took the LSAT and I didn't make the score I wanted. And when that happened the competitive part of me said oh no, I'm not going to accept this, and I took it again and did much better.
Speaker 3:The next thing I know I was being contacted by the law school admissions services about a fellowship program, the Council on Legal Education Opportunities, saying that you know, if you're interested, we have this fellowship program and it's designed to introduce you to law, to see how you would do. I still had no interest in the law. I still had no interest in the law period. But I was sitting around one day and I got bored and the little application card was just the size of a postcard and at that time stamps only cost a quarter. And the information they said well, you know, it was something like last year. We had maybe 3,000 people to apply. We accepted about 200. I said, well, I would never get accepted. You know, I just filled it out, put it you've been accepted to the Council of Legal Education Opportunities. You are to report to Emory University on June, the 6th, for example on 1986, to begin the fellowship program.
Speaker 3:I had never thought about being a lawyer. I went to my employer and he encouraged me to please do it. You can get a leave of absence. I decided to do it. I had not even applied to any law schools. I had no idea where I was going At that point my father had died. He died when I was a junior in college. The only support I had, I guess, were my siblings. A couple of them were doing fairly well, but I did not want to rely upon them financial support. Along came Mississippi College School of Law and offered a scholarship, and the next thing I know, I was in law school.
Speaker 1:Wow, that is a fabulous story. The name of this is Hope Mississippi, and I'm mindful of all these teachers that you talk about, that encourage you along the way, and that one teacher in particular that said you need to go to law school. To those that are listening, let's take a minute just to say thank you to our teachers.
Speaker 3:I just want to thank all the teachers first of all for everything that you do. We know that you're unappreciated and extremely underpaid. Hopefully, one of these days your pay will catch up with what you do. Just on yesterday I saw there was a teacher in my home county, jefferson County, who's on Facebook saying that he hates to beg, that he had a Walmart wishlist where he was trying to get supplies for his students, and I said to myself that I'm going to make sure that I contribute to that.
Speaker 3:Teachers should not have to go into their pockets to do those kinds of things. But unfortunately, you know, in rural areas where you have limited resources, teachers do that kind of thing, not because they have to they're not required to do it but they do it because they love what they do and they love the children, and it's because of people like that that our communities are what they are, people like that that, you know, our communities are what they are. If we did not have teachers that care, I'm afraid that we would have more poverty, more crime in the areas that we live in, and the fact that they're doing these kinds of things, I guess they are contributing to society in ways that they don't have to, and so I just like to thank them, and you know, for what they do and encourage them for doing that.
Speaker 1:You know I'm reminded of the Mississippi miracle, of how Mississippi has come a long way with education. But it really takes all of us, those folks that step up and do provide the school supplies or encouragement, tutoring, mentoring, whatever we can do. All of us can do something to invest in our kids and certainly both of us are a product of that. We stand on the shoulders of lots of folks that were willing to pour education and care into us. Now you graduated law school and then you went on and practiced law for a time period. You ended up as an assistant district attorney. Tell us a little bit about that and how you saw hope in that.
Speaker 3:Right. I practiced law from 1989 until 1995. In 1994, the district attorney at the time, alonzo Sturgeon, called me to his office one day. I didn't know I did what he wanted. He asked me if I would be interested in filling the vacancy that was created by one of his former assistant district attorneys, forrest L Johnson, having been elected circuit judge in that area. Sure, you know, I'll take it. You know I would like to be able to do that.
Speaker 3:So I started employment as an assistant district attorney in the 6th Circuit Court District in January of 1995, tried a lot of cases and I stayed there for about seven years and during my time there I saw where there was an opportunity to really help people, to help people who could not otherwise help themselves, who relied upon you when I say you, I'm referring to the system to get them justice, to help provide safer streets, because we all want to be able to live in an environment that we feel safe. Because if we don't feel safe, we're not going to feel like we have any hope. We're not going to have hope that things can get better, because I don't think we're going to see all those negatives Things can get better because I don't think we're going to see all those negatives.
Speaker 3:And so you know, one particular instance that I will always remember, that I felt was my most rewarding day being an assistant district attorney was this one occasion where we had a defendant who was charged with murder. He had murdered someone over a 25 cent pool game. You know the way it works when you're shooting pool, you put a quarter on the table. That's how you determine who gets next, and they were arguing about whose quarter was next. I got next, but it ended up being that someone lost their lives over a quarter. But the facts were not necessarily on our side. And you know we had a heavy docket. The office was understaffed and I had a great district attorney that I worked with and he made the decision that maybe this is one of those cases that we may need to just retire to the files until we can get some more evidence, and so on and so forth. And we had another murder case in another county. We always tried our cases in teams and for some reason, something was going on where we did not have enough personnel to have two teams at the same time. I don't know what was going on. I don't know if someone was out ill or what the situation was, and we may have been under time constraint, that if we didn't try the case within the two and a half days it was going to get dismissed or whatever. I don't remember what it was. But we called the family in and tried to explain to the mother that we just didn't really have the facts and we were thinking about just retiring the case to the file. And I could just see the devastation all over that mother's face. We sort of left it at that and after she left out the district attorney, I could tell that he was perplexed and so he just had a candid conversation with me asking me what do you think? What do you think? Because, again, we had a great relationship, he was a great DA and I told him look, I think I can do it. I guess you could say the little engine that could. I think I can, I think I can. Let me try it. We don't have anything to lose, because if it's that bad we're going to lose it anyway.
Speaker 3:So he went to the other county to try the more serious murder case, because that was a case with someone who was going to be a witness in a drug transaction case and they got killed to prevent them from testifying and I think they may have even gotten run over by a vehicle. But again, that's a long time ago and I may have the facts a little wrong, but anyway, I tried the case against a very prominent, very good defense attorney. I was by myself, first time I had ever done that and in the end I ended up getting a conviction. The district attorney showed up towards the end but he decided to just stay out of it because you could tell that I had gained a rapport with the jury. You could kind of look at juries and tell you know how you're doing.
Speaker 3:And in the end, after the conviction came back, the district attorney was standing in front of me as we were receiving the family. They shook his hand and thanked me, but then his mama, when she got to me, she just started crying and just hugged me. This is someone I didn't even know and that said to me that I made a difference in the life of somebody that day, that I made a difference in our judicial system. That day judicial system, that day that you know it gave hope to that family and to others who were interested, who may have been watching the case that you can get justice in small towns, it doesn't really matter. Now, sometimes people perceive justice as it depends upon who you know, or how connected you are, or you know, if you hire the right attorney you can get off of anything. That day, that hook and those tears meant more to me than that check I got at the end of that month.
Speaker 1:I can certainly relate to that. It's just rewarding to be a part of the judicial system and to be a part of doing right, doing the right thing, and you certainly did the right thing that day. And you know our system is dependent on people being held accountable. When we know we're going to be held accountable, it will dictate our actions, and so that's so important.
Speaker 2:We hope you've enjoyed this special episode of Hope Mississippi. Stories from the State Bar. Look for episodes on the 1st and 15th of every month.
Speaker 1:Hope Mississippi, the State Bar. Look for episodes on the 1st and 15th of every month.
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