Greetings absolutely awesome Enterprise-Tocsin readers and welcome to another informative episode of the evolution of Allen and the resurrection of Rodney.
I meant the chronicles of Allen Hawkins.
I’ll like to take this opportunity to congratulate my older sister Regina Hawkins on winning the JMA Mississippi Gospel Radio Announcer of the Year Award.
Regina is not only one of the most recognizable voices in the state of Mississippi, she’s also sort of the most-seen Mississippian in the modern era. You see, the woman image with the little girl holding the shopping basket on the back of most of the Dollar General trucks is actually Regina.
That image of her backside is seen all over America, making her the most viewed Mississippian on the planet.
Now to deal with the elephant in the room and thank the over 100 citizens that personally expressed their concerns about my absence in the E-T newspaper. I am totally deeply moved and appreciate all the love and support. I have this condition infused with depression that overwhelms me and forces me to seek out loneliness.
The price of being the translator of translations and the corrector of the congregation. If only I had stayed in my mother’s womb for a few minutes longer or never fell off the house a few times.
Now for this week’s column. I decided to go back to the beginning.
Hebrew, Islamic and Christian traditions tell in the creation story that it was the first woman Hawwa (Eve) who convinced Hadith/ Adamah (Adam) into eating of the forbidden fruit. In Greek religion Pandora, the first mortal woman, was given a jar by the divine and forbidden to open it.
However, she opened it anyway and released all the evils of the world causing the existence of all wars, famine, sickness, etc., The Greeks called both Eve and Pandora “KALON KAKON” meaning beautiful evil.
It’s because of this for thousands of years women have been considered second to men. Even though in the Christian Bible, after the arrest of Jesus, his men ran, fled and hid in fear, but the women stood by him and begged for both mercy on him as well as begged for his body after death.
However, thousands of years later the ratification of the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, giving women the right to vote in America, shifted this misogynistic balance and set women on a course beyond the stars.
In 2019 then-mayor of Indianola Steve Rosenthal decided to celebrate and honor the achievements of some of the wonderous women of Sunflower County. But the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to those plans and it wouldn’t be until 2021 (2 years later) that he would enlist the help of Judge Lisa Bell, Greenville businessman Drew Newsom, Elvis Pernell, Judge Gwen Pernell and myself to help put together a reception for the honorees.
The small reception honored County Justice Court Clerk Patricia Strong, County Circuit Clerk Carolyn Hamilton, County Tax Assessor/Collector Cynthia Chandler, Chancery Clerk Dr. Gloria McIntosh, District 5 Supervisor Gloria Dickerson, Medical Examiner Heather Burton, County Prosecutor Gwendolyn Jimison, 9th District Court Judge Debra Giles, Justice Court Judge Gwendolyn Pernell, Justice Court Judge Lisa Bell and Municipal Court Judge Kuykendall Murry.
