Mike Espy

the honorable Mike Espy

Politician, former Secretary of Agriculture, former Congressman

Mike Espy was the Secretary of Agriculture under President Bill Clinton and served as a U.S. Representative of Mississippi. (1)

Espy began his political career working in several state government positions. He served as the first black Assistant Secretary of State, managing the Mississippi central legal services division from 1978 to 1980. For the next four years, Espy served as Assistant Secretary of State for the public lands division. From 1984 to 1985, Espy was Assistant State Attorney General for the consumer protection division. Espy also drew national attention within the Democratic Party when he served on the rules committee for the 1984 National Convention. He became a U.S. Representative in 1987 and was re–elected three times. After he won a fourth term in Congress, he was promoted to head the U.S. Department of Agriculture by President Clinton. (1)

Espy spoke at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards, May 21st, 2018, and gave a brief welcome alongside Patricia Duff and Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney.

Twitter: @MikeEspyMS

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Read more:

Matt Viser & David Weigel, ‘Mississippi runoff: Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith wins racially charged election over Democrat Mike Espy’, The Washington Post, 27 November 2018

Eugene Scott, ‘President Trump thinks Mike Espy doesn’t ‘fit in’ in Mississippi. Why?’, The Washington Post, 27 November 2018

Karen Hinton, ‘Mike Espy isn't taking the bait, and it just might work: He still has a chance to become Mississippi's first black senator since Reconstruction; here's why’, New York Daily News, 15 November 2018

Geoff Pender, ‘Who is Mississippi Senate candidate Mike Espy?’, Clarion Ledger, 23 October 2018

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(1) Material from the History, Art, & Archives website for the United States House of Representatives.