This chapter serves as an overview of the book, beginning with the social climate of Mississippi in the aftermath of the 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education decision. From there, the chapter includes a discussion on the role of the press in this turbulent and violent time period, which more often than not acted as an arm of racist organizations like the Citizens’ Council and the Sovereignty Commission in an effort to protect the way of life that segregation had built. The part college athletics played in the Closed Society is also addressed, as are the various challenges to Mississippi’s white way of life, specifically the unwritten law, and the press reaction to the potential of integrated athletics.