The Sunflower County Courthouse may soon be getting a historical marker, although the decision on whether or not to allow it has been deferred until after the start of the new year.
Sunflower County Board of Supervisors President Glenn Donald told Cassie Sade Turnipseed, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of History, MVSU that the members would converse about the matter and decide where to put it, if they decide to grant her group permission.
At its Dec. 17 meeting, Turnipseed sought the consent of the county board to allow a newly formed historic site group that she represents, permission to erect a marker, of a yet to be determined style, either on the courthouse steps or the adjacent grounds that would designate the county structure as a historic site.
Board Attorney Johnny McWilliams said the county lawmakers have the authority to grant Turnipseed’s request, however, “This board has the final say so on what it is, how much you will pay, what it says, the whole thing,” McWilliams said.
Turnipseed said her premise for marking the site is derived from the stand made on the steps of the courthouse for voter’s rights in the early 1960’s by the late Fannie Lou Hamer. “There is no marker or placard or signage here in this city, in Indianola, concerning Fannie Lou Hamer and the fact that she took her historic stand on these very steps,” Turnipseed said.
District 3 Supervisor Dennis Holmes brought up the fact that the current courthouse structure is not the actual courthouse that Hamer visited. He surmises that the present structure was built in 1965, which was after Hamer’s noted stand for voter’s rights. Turnipseed was resolute that regardless of the date, “The significance of the Sunflower County Courthouse is what needs to be documented.”
Turnipseed also asked for a letter from the board stating that they are in support of the project. Donald told her they would take up the matter again at their third Monday meeting in January.
In addition to that marker, Turnipseed is asking the county lawmakers to identify and allocate a public spot where a monument that identifies the 12 recorded persons who lost their lives due to lynchings in Sunflower County, can be set up.
The memorial, a predesigned and constructed pillar, is part of a monument placement program sponsored by the Equal Justice Initiative. The proposed pillar is presently a temporary element within the National Memorial for Peace and Justice located in Montgomery, Ala..
The Alabama memorial includes 805 hanging steel rectangular pilars, representing each of the counties in the United States where a documented lynching took place.
According to Turnipseed, Mississippi is ranked number one with the highest number of lynchings in the country, 654 across the state with 12 here in Sunflower County.
She asserted that by allowing the marker to be erected on a public space, the county leaders would show that they are taking a stand for justice and righteousness.
She reckoned that a show of support would echo like a voice that testifies, “That was never right. We were wronged by having such a great number of assaults on our citizens,” Turnipseed said.
The MVSU professor said as far as she knows, Sunflower County would be the first county in this state to accept its monument pillar. Turnipseed contends that since the placement of the pillars in the various counties will receive national attention, it would be a blemish on the county and the state. “It would be a glaring error on our part, I think, if we are not a part of this some how,” she said.
In her discourse, Turnipseed mentioned the recent statement that was made by newly-elected Mississippi Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith where Smith, while on the campaign trail, said if one of her supporters invited her to a “public hanging” she would be “on the front row.”
“Mississippi does need to make some sort of a positive statement. Take a position that this is not reflective of all of us and what we all believe,” Turnipseed said.
She called the Hyde-Smith incident “seriously embarrassing,” but acknowledged that everyone may not be of the same opinion, “And who gets offended, that’s on them,” she added. She insisted that the county board, especially, should be concerned by how the rest of the world perceives Mississippi.
According to Turnipseed, the EJI project will ship the monument for Sunflower County once a spot has been selected and approved.
“It would basically be no cost to the county, except that they (EJI) would want to be able to publicize that Sunflower County is in fact participating in this national monument that documents the story of lynchings,” she said.
That decision was also reserved for the January meeting.
