CREATE Foundation announces the election of four new Board of Directors, as well as the appointment of a new Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer.
Joining the Board of Directors are Robyn Tannehill, Mayor of Oxford; Jason Brooks, CPA with Watkins, Ward & Stafford in Houston; Phil Faulkner, former owner of NauticStar Boats in Amory; and Kirk Lewis, President of Blue Springs Metals in Tupelo.
“CREATE is extremely proud of those who have accepted leadership positions as an officer and as members of our board. Our board gives our donors and partners across the region the confidence and trust necessary for CREATE to be successful in fulfilling its mission. Their leadership will build upon the leadership of those who came before them to enable CREATE to continue to be the oldest and largest community foundation in Mississippi.” Mike Clayborne, President of CREATE.
CREATE also welcomes the election of new officers. Bryan Wilson, retired manager and partner of Tacoma AG, LLC, has been appointed to Chairman, and Lisa Hawkins, owner of Room to Room Furniture in Tupelo, has been named Vice-Chairman.
Mary Childs, president of The People’s Bank in Ripley, has been appointed to Treasurer, and David Rumbarger, President and CEO with Community Foundation Development has been appointed to Secretary.
We bid farewell to our retiring members Robin McCormick, Partner with Watkins, Ward & Stafford, PPLC in West Point, and Sandy Williams, president of Coca Cola Bottling Works Corporation in Corinth. Williams has been named emeritus director.
The slate of Board of Directors for 2020-2022 are presented below.
Tupelo – The 2020 Summer Coronalympics is right around the corner, and it includes 2 Tupelonians participating in various competitive sports.
Angie Thompson is a laundry warrior and has overcome loads of roadblocks to get to where she is today. She will be participating in the folding competition, along with 30 other athletes.
“I’ve dedicated several decades of my life to this sport and since I’ve recently become unemployed, laundry has been my life, my art, and my soul,” she said. “It’s just such an honor to represent my country and Tupelo.”
The Reaching Race is one of the more competitive sports. Ryan Andrews of Tupelo is the athlete to watch in this category.
“One day my phone dropped on the floor and I didn’t want to get up, so I contorted my body to try to reach it. When I finally did, when I overcame that physical barrier, that’s when I knew. This is my life’s calling. I’m just thankful there’s an outlet and appreciation for my expertise,” he said.
A new addition this year is the sport of Beat Beep, a game that requires skills in timing and focus. Athletes will warm up a hot pocket and must open the microwave door after the timer strikes 1, but before it beeps. The winner will win the hot pocket.
Other sports include indoor parkour, toilet paper collecting, and zoom staring competition, and hand sanitizer balloon fights.
The virtual opening ceremony will take place over zoom, where everyone will light their own candles at the same time, which must remain lit throughout the entirety of the Coronalympics. The athletes will all wear masks with their country’s flag on it.
Protesters listen to speakers while in front of the Governor’s Mansion during the Black Lives Matter protest in downtown Jackson, Miss., Saturday, June 6, 2020.
Thousands of Mississippians gathered Saturday afternoon in downtown Jackson for a peaceful protest against police brutality, inequities in the criminal justice system and state-sponsored Confederate symbolism.
A multi-racial crowd of at least 3,000 people — which some believe is Jackson’s largest demonstration since the civil rights movement — packed the streets for the protest in the hot June sun. Chants of “I can’t breathe!” and “Black lives matter!” and “No justice, no peace!” echoed down Capitol Street outside the Governor’s Mansion as organizers rallied the crowd.
A group of 15 activists — college students and young professionals — organized the Black Lives Matter Mississippi protest in the wake of the killings of George Floyd in Minnesota, Breonna Taylor in Kentucky and Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia. In planning the event, organizers took inspiration from key figures of the civil rights movement.
“Bob Moses reminded us that when you want to look at America, you gotta look where? At Mississippi,” said Maisie Brown, an 18-year-old activist who was a co-organizer of the protest. “If Mississippi is ready for change, then everybody is ready for change.”
Brown continued: “America thought that our humanity was a question. And for the past 12 days of unrest across the United States, we’ve answered that question. Our humanity is not up for discussion, it’s not up for debate, and we will no longer beg anybody to make sure we can live a fruitful and equal life.”
The event began at the Governor’s Mansion at 3 p.m. with speeches from organizers and guest speakers. The crowd later marched through the downtown streets toward the Mississippi State Capitol and then returned to the mansion. Toward the end of the protest around 4:45 p.m., organizers outlined their call to action, asking people to donate to the Black Lives Matter bail fund, hold their community leaders accountable, vote, and educate themselves.
Separately, the group had a list of demands that include removing Confederate symbols and memorabilia, reopening the Ricky Ball case, decreasing the state’s prison population, and centering public health in decisions involving schools returning in the fall because of the coronavirus. The full list can be viewed here.
After protesters wound their way through downtown Jackson and returned to the Governor’s Mansion, the protesters remained silent for eight minutes and 46 seconds, the amount of time Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin held his knee on George Floyd’s neck last month.
Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today
Protesters hold signs as they march during the Black Lives Matter protest in downtown Jackson, Miss., Saturday, June 6, 2020.
Thousands of handmade signs were on display Saturday, which bore phrases like “your silence is violence,” “defund police,” “my melanin is not a threat,” and “I can’t breathe.” With temperatures on Saturday surpassing 90 degrees, organizers passed out free water and snacks to attendees.
There was virtually no visible police presence during the entirety of the protest. Uniformed Mississippi Highway Patrol officers watched from inside the gated confines of the Governor’s Mansion — some handed out water outside the entrance — and Capitol Police watched carefully from the doors of the Capitol as protesters marched by.
Jennifer Riley Collins, the Hinds County administrator who unsuccessfully ran for attorney general in 2019, spoke to the crowd and took direct aim at Mississippi public officials who have drawn ire for their actions in recent weeks: Attorney General Lynn Fitch for her decision to dismiss the Ricky Ball case, Petal Mayor Hal Marx for his social media comments about George Floyd’s death, and Madison County Prosecutor Pamela Hancock for her comments suggesting she hopes a “deadly strain” of the coronavirus spreads among rioters that she later suggested was “kind of a joke.”
“We hear your words when you try to say, ‘It’s just a joke,’” Riley Collins said. “My life, our life, black lives are not a joke.”
One key focus of protesters was Mississippi’s state flag, which is the last in the nation containing the Confederate battle emblem. Several times during the rally and the march on Saturday, under the shadow of the state flag at both the Governor’s Mansion and the Capitol, protesters chanted: “Change the flag!”
Near the end of the event, organizers thanked the protesters and encouraged them to stay civically engaged. They specifically mentioned the Nov. 3, 2020, general election, and several people were distributing voter registration forms.
After the last speaker finished, protesters danced in the streets as others left downtown.
Hundreds of people turned out for a protest in Jackson Saturday that by some estimates will likely be one of the largest in state history.
Hundreds of people showed up for a Black Lives Matter protest in downtown Jackson on Saturday, and Mississippi Today will provide regular updates throughout the day.
The Black Lives Matter Mississippi protest began at the Governor’s Mansion on Saturday at 3 p.m. The crowd, which would grow into one of the largest protests in the state’s history, began at the mansion before moving a few blocks north to the Mississippi State Capitol. The protesters were scheduled to return back to the mansion.
The protest — like others across the country — comes in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota. Millions of Americans are protesting police brutality and inequities in the criminal justice system.
The organizers of the Jackson event released a list of demands this week that include removing Confederate symbols and memorabilia, reopening the Ricky Ball case, decreasing the state’s prison population, and centering public health in decisions involving schools returning in the fall because of the coronavirus. The full list can be viewed here.
Mississippi Today will update this post throughout the day. Follow Editor-in-Chief Adam Ganucheau, Deputy Managing Editor Kayleigh Skinner, and photojournalist Eric Shelton, who will be on the ground during the protest.
The Mississippi state trooper K-9 unit searches downtown Jackson in preparation of the Black Lives Matter protest Saturday, June 6, 2020. @MSTODAYnewspic.twitter.com/Ii50b1Wizh
The Black Lives Matter protest in downtown Jackson starts at 3 pm in front of the governor’s mansion. Organizers have said they expect at least 300-500 people, there’s a decent crowd here already. pic.twitter.com/sLdVUTjuAP
Starting by chanting “no justice, no peace.”@jarriusadams shares protocols with the crowd, and now everyone is singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” pic.twitter.com/zKs5USAJBO
Here’s a crowd shot from both sides of the block. I’m not going to try to guess a number, but wayyy more than the 500 that organizers predicted. pic.twitter.com/PwKIGCMCal
Protesters have begun marching toward the Mississippi State Capitol. There are at least 2,000 people here. I’ve never seen a protest this large in Mississippi. pic.twitter.com/PNEMrFqdWT
The crowd is in a moment of silence for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, the amount of time George Floyd was on the ground with a police officer’s knee on his neck. pic.twitter.com/w1LHp4aR0W
I pray for a safe protest today and that the protestors be heard. And I support their First Amendment right to address their grievance against the government. May we live up our words — equal justice under law.
Photographer Rory Doyle shares a collection of photographs of the Mississippi River paired with words by John Ruskey of Quapaw Canoe Company.
After a trip to the banks of the Mississippi River in Bolivar County last week, I reflected on how much the river and its tributaries have meant to me as a working photographer. My gratitude for having the river in my backyard has grown in the recent months, when wild and safe spaces have become even more significant. Numerous assignments have taken me to the river — documenting canoe expeditions, camping trips, commercial fisherman, aerial perspectives and beyond. With each opportunity, my appreciation and respect for the Mississippi deepens. On a number of occasions, I’ve been fortunate to share these experiences with writer Boyce Upholt and John Ruskey, founder of the Quapaw Canoe Company. I reached out to Ruskey and asked him to write about his relationship with the river during these unprecedented times. Read his words below the photo gallery.
“Pandemic Paradise” by John Ruskey
even amongst the calamity suffered by humanity
the cycles of life in the grand batture of the lower mississippi
seem to be continuing on unchecked and unchanged
in the great floods
both man and nature suffer
but in plagues and pandemics nature benefits with man’s suffering
not gleefully or gloatingly so as a dominant vs sub-dominant might do
but overwhelmingly so in flowing fabrics of flowing tapestries
the never-ending cycles of life that sometimes hide underground
like the 17-year cycle of cicada
or the leopard frog waiting moisture deep in cracks of dank, dried mud
the turtle in the deep pool
the hard-cased honey locust seed passed through coyote poop
patiently awaits the golden opportunity
to croak or crack its shell and spread it wings
to procreate in the wild profusion only possible in the land of plenty
the conquistadors came looking for the gold
not realizing it was everywhere around them locked into the sandy silt
carried by the big river from the wide open outspread arms of a continent
contained between the breasts of the rockies and the appalachia
what fool’s gold were we lustfully drawn towards when COVID-19 caused a general collapse in our systems and our ambitions were silenced?
even amongst the chaos of civilization
nature’s creation fully flow forward far over the levee
in the valley of the monster river
the dragon, catfish river
the powerful and magnetic and magical and magnificent
mississippi river
creatively wrenching life
and rendering muddy scenes within the depths of our cottonwood kingdom
the wilderness of willows
The muddy mulberry madness
in full budding bloom
the butterflies and birds and buds in concerted celebration
tree frogs making the forest swell and contract with their trilling reedy song
least terns arriving from south america to cavort and carve
their shallow nests in the middle of sprawling sandbars
i followed the cries and tracks of coyotes, fox, mice, skunk, rat or muskrat, beaver, river otter, bald eagle, white pelican, greater egret, great blue heron, canada geese, deer, several snakes, sliders, box turtles, mississippi map turtles, lots of butterflies, viceroys, sulphurs, tiger swallowtails and monarchs, and many moths like the nessus sphinx moth, and many other insects coming to life notably bees and bumblebees, the mosquito makes its return, and the pesky buffalo gnat is busy buzzing around, and many, many other birds, the songbird migration is on, the white pelicans have already come and gone, but other waterfowl take their place. we’re not alone.
In episode 26, We talk about cases of mass hysteria throughout history in our first episode of “itty bitty mysteries”. Get ready for some crazy stories.
All Cats is part of the Truthseekers Podcast Network.
In episode 26, We talk about cases of mass hysteria throughout history in our first episode of “itty bitty mysteries”. Get ready for some crazy stories.
All Cats is part of the Truthseekers Podcast Network.
In episode 26, We talk about cases of mass hysteria throughout history in our first episode of “itty bitty mysteries”. Get ready for some crazy stories.
All Cats is part of the Truthseekers Podcast Network.
David Horton expresses emotion while speaking to a group of protesters during the Attorney General Lynn Fitch protest in downtown Jackson, Miss., Friday, June 5, 2020.
A crowd of about 150 protesters repeatedly chanted three words — “No free kill!” — on Friday afternoon outside Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office after her decision last week to drop the manslaughter charge of a white police officer who killed a black man in 2015.
“We’re not asking permission,” organizer Danyelle Harris of the Poor People’s Campaign said of the rally. “We demand answers. This is not a pep rally. We mean business.”
Former Columbus Police Department officer Canyon Boykin was indicted in 2016 by previous Attorney General Jim Hood after shooting and killing Ricky Ball, a 26-year-old black man, during a traffic stop in 2015. During the incident, Boykin and the accompanying officers did not turn their body cameras on. Few details have been released publicly about what happened that night.
The administration of Hood, a Democrat, was actively prosecuting Boykin when Fitch, a Republican, was elected in November 2019. Fitch was the first Republican elected to the position since the 1800s.
In a two-sentence statement, Fitch explained that the evidence in the case indicated “necessary self-defense.”
“The Attorney General’s Office did a thorough and independent review of the thousands of documents in this case file and concluded that there is not evidence on which to prosecute the case against Officer Boykin,” the statement read. “In fact, all evidence, including forensics and the sworn statements of four separate MBI investigators, points to necessary self-defense.”
Along with the Poor People’s Campaign, several groups sponsored Friday’s event, including FWD.us, Black With No Chaser, People’s Advocacy Institute and others.
Speakers passionately appealed to the crowd’s frustration, not just about Ball’s death but about other black Mississippians who lost their lives during police confrontations, including Marc Davis in Petal, Ronnie Shorter in Greenville, Antwun Shumpert in Tupelo, and Jonathan Sanders in Stonewall.
“It is your God-given right as a human being to protect and defend yourself at all costs,” shouted David Horton into a megaphone, his voice choking up. “I am not afraid to stand up for my child. I am not afraid to speak up for my people. I am not afraid to be killed, if it’s for a right cause.
“I am not afraid. You want me to be afraid,” Horton said, facing the attorney general’s building.
Eric J. Shelton/Mississippi Today
Protesters gather outside the Capitol in downtown Jackson, Miss., Friday, June 5, 2020.
Several elected officials, including Columbus District Attorney Scott Colom, Rep. Kabir Karriem, D-Columbus, and Rep. Cheikh Taylor, D-Starkville, spoke at the rally. Karriem spoke about failed attempts in the state Legislature to pass reform around racial justice and criminal justice reform.
“Every day the first thing we do is pray, and then we turn around and do some of the meanest things to people,” Karriem said, specifically calling to shutdown Parchman – the Mississippi State Penitentiary – and change the state flag, which is the last in the nation containing the Confederate battle emblem. “Something’s got to change, folks.”
Lea Campbell, co-chair of the Mississippi Poor People’s Campaign, addressed other white Mississippians about their role in the movement.
“This is about a system of oppression that people that look like me and you built,” she said, “and it’s past time for people who look like me in Mississippi to put some boots on the ground and fight to bring it down.”
The protest, which lasted about two hours, was peaceful throughout, although at one point organizers learned of a white man with a firearm in an adjacent parking lot. Protesters shouted towards the parking lot, but the situation didn’t develop any further.
A letter Rep. Kabir Karriem addressed to Attorney General Lynn Fitch regarding her decision in the Ricky Ball case.
“He has come to intimidate us,” Harris said in the megaphone.
The group had brought a letter addressed to Fitch, but state security didn’t let anyone inside the building.
After moving the rally across the street to the Capitol building, protesters demanded for at least 30 minutes to be let in. Capitol Police blocked their entry. Eventually, Rep. Zakiya Summers, D-Jackson, spoke to the crowd and assured that she would distribute the letter to lawmakers.
“The public needs to know what (Fitch) had access to so we can determine whether or not there was some kind of cause or premeditation that took place in this case,” Summers said.
Harris assured attendees that rallies would continue until they received more details about what happened the night Ball was killed.
“I felt a shift,” Harris said after the rally. “We’ll be back next week and the week after that. We’re not going anywhere.”
