The Indianola Affair started in 1902 when local residents opposed her postmaster position due to her race.
The year 1902 marked the beginning of the Indianola Affair, when white residents of Indianola, Mississippi, organized a campaign to oust Minnie Cox from her postmaster position due to racial prejudice. This controversy highlighted the systemic racial discrimination African Americans faced and set the stage for a showdown between the President of the United States and local supremacist ideologies. It was this resistance that ultimately resulted in a landmark presidential intervention in support of equality.