Aaron Shirley is an American physician and civil rights activist, born in Gluckstadt, Mississippi in 1933. He is Chairman of the Board for the Jackson Medical Mall Foundation, and an associate professor in pediatrics at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He is a graduate of Tougaloo College and Meharry Medical College. For a long time, Shirley was the only black pediatrician in the state of Mississippi. He wasn't dedicated to non-violence; upon hearing that the Ku Klux Klan was heading to his home, he warned the local police that his sons knew how to shoot. He also was known for installing wells to provide clean drinking water and for traveling the countryside to care for sick babies. He is married to Ollye Shirley; they have four children. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine, and Citizens' Health Care Working Group. In 2010, Shirley founded the HealthConnect program. Modeled after a similar program in Iran, the program sends doctors and nurses to poor rural homes to help prevent unnecessary ER visits. [More at Wikipedia]

Mississippi