NM Roots & Wings asks for support

Wayne and Rkhty Jones and Larry Ruben spoke before the Marshall County Board of Supervisors recently to seek support for North Mississippi Roots & Wings, a non-profit that promotes black history and heritage and much more.

Wayne Jones is president of the organization, Ruben is treasurer, and Rkhty Jones does research for the group.

Wayne Jones said the organization represents multiple organizations - Gracing the Table, which promotes reconciliation, the Rosa Foundation (owner of the Hugh Craft House), Preserve Marshall County, and a new project that promotes tours celebrating the African Americans who are buried in Hill Crest Cemetery.

Roots & Wings promotes African American History and Culture seeking to improve relations between the races in Marshall County, Jones said.

The organization has been funded by grants from the Mississippi Hills Heritage Area and solicits funds to use as matching dollars for grants.

Jones said the group has held programs at the Marshall County Library, Strawberry Plains Audubon Center, Rust College and the Marshall County Historical Museum.

Ruben said the group has tremendous potential to be an economic engine for the area - offering a center for tourism, study, history and culture and a link to Rust College.

“A study shows what this area has to offer to be a location for African American tourism because of its unique position close to Memphis, Tenn. It will be just like Williamsburg, that celebrated the history of White culture,” he said.

District 3 supervisor Keith Taylor said the county would have to seek Local & Private legislation in Jackson in order to contribute to the non-profit.

The local delegation could introduce a local and private bill in the Mississippi Senate and House, he said.

“Ida B. Wells, my granddaughter did a project on her in DeSoto County,” Taylor said.

“By the way, Rust College and Ole Miss are working out a journalism program,” Ruben said.

“Ida B. Wells was the mother of journalism. Also, there are untold stories. Holly Springs was the center of Reconstruction. She was very active in reconstruction. It was Holly Springs that nurtured her and created her,” Ruben said.

District 4 supervisor George Zinn III agreed.

“Marshall County has a rich history just waiting to be explored,” he said. “There are a lot of cemeteries that have been documented since the 1800s, that are off in the weeds just growing up. To restore them would be such a gift for the county. It’s very important.”

Rkhty Jones said the group has been focusing on these kinds of things for 15 years. There is a genealogy group, a cemetery project researching lesser known cemeteries, an old folks house project, a family history project, and a group researching African American History, she said.

Ruben said the group has a Facebook page but lacks a website.

A person can identify a Black cemetery and a group at Ole Miss will spruce up the cemetery, he said.

“I just hate to see history just to be abandoned,” Taylor said.

“A lot of Southern towns are talking about doing this,” Ruben said. “Holly Springs has more extant slave quarters than any other place in the country. We need to exploit what we have.”

“I’m in agreement with what is said today,” said District 1 supervisor Charles Terry. “Local and Private bills are taking up at the beginning of the legislative session. The county can’t just promote a 501 (c) 3.”

“This is our first step,” said Wayne Jones. “We are going to the city and businesses.”

“We will bring you the documentation required,” Ruben said.

In other business, the board of supervisors:

• approved a Homeland Security Grant for 10 radios. The county asked for 20, said Leland Reed, emergency management coordinator.

• heard Reed propose to purchase a pumper truck with a 100-foot ladder that would serve the industrial parks. The truck alone runs almost $2 million and does not include other equipment necessary to operate it, Reed said. The pumper will serve the county 25 years and it takes two years to have one built.

“So, we have one year to get the money and look for funds for equipment to go with it,” Reed said. “We should have a place for it in two years. This is the big dollar item.”

He said it will cost close to a half million dollars to equip the pumper.

The board approved a motion to order the truck.