This past weekend, as everyone was out shopping for fireworks and groceries for the grill, Representative Alyce Clarke was celebrating her birthday. Her neighbors in the Pecan Park Neighborhood celebrated her special day with ice cream and cake.
We wish Representative Clarke a very happy birthday. Ms. Clarke was born on July 3, 19xx and is a West Jackson resident.
West Jackson resident, Dr. Alferdteen Harrison, will be a special honoree at Saturday's Mississippi Black History Celebration. (Photo: Jackson State University)
There’s an old saying that goes “there are three people in life: those who watch things happen, those who make things happen…and those who wonder “what happened?’” Dr. Alferdteen Harrison is one of those people who MAKES things happen.
When Jackson’s first public school for African Americans, Smith Robertson School, was slated for demolition, Dr. Harrison helped to organize a petition for the building’s salvation. That effort led to a massive renovation of the building which is being used today as a museum that seeks to evoke the African American experience in the Deep South.
When the Lynch Street building that formerly housed the headquarters of the Council of Federated Organizations was at risk at becoming only a memory and not a tangible piece of history, Dr. Harrison wrote the grant that stabilized the structure and led to its eventual renovation. And when Ayer Hall, the oldest building on the campus of Jackson State, was in need of a facelift, Dr. Harrison was there to guide that project as well.
Dr. Harrison’s work exudes a statement that history should be seen, heard, and read. Her lectures to many students, publishing of many written works, and saving of many historically significant structures prove this. A woman such as this must be recognized and shown appreciation for her many good deeds, and on Saturday, January 22, such recognition will be given.
Connecting the Dots Foundation and New Horizon Ministries will host a Mississippi Black History Celebration tomorrow, January 22, and will feature two events. The first event will take place at 9 a.m. in Rose E. McCoy Auditorium and is entitled “Black History with a Mission: From Africa to America”. This session will feature speeches and performances by former Mississippi Governor William Winter, Jim Hill High School Choir, Ballet Magnificat!, Mississippi School of the Arts Chorale, and various veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement. This segment of the celebration is free and open to the public.
At 7 p.m., the celebration will feature the International African Ball at the Jackson Convention Complex. The special honoree for the ball is the aforementioned West Jackson resident, Dr. Alferdteen Harrison.
Other notable figures/groups to receive recognition include Mississippi Representative Alyce Clarke, Dr. John Perkins (both are West Jackson residents), Oleta Garrett Fitzgerald, Reverend Rims Barber, Dr. Dolphus Weary, Owen Brooks, Attorney Constance Slaughter, Flonzie Brown Wright, Reverend John E. Cameron, Sr., and the M.W. Stringer Grand Lodge (Masonic Temple). Entertainment will be provided by the Russell Thomas Musical Experience.
Tickets for the International African Ball are $50 and can be purchased both BeBop Record Shop locations, the Coliseum Box Office, and New Horizon Bookstore.
For more information on this celebration, call 601.813.5045.
P.S. Event sponsors include Liberty Bank, WLBT, NISSAN, Mid-Delta Home Health & Hospice, and Jackson State University.
Make sure to check out the latest issue of the Jackson Free Press. West Jackson resident Curnis Upkins III, West Jackson advocate Bo Smith, JSU’s Center for University-Based Development, Dr. Bill Cooley, the WESToration Initiative, and the West Jackson Blog are all mentioned on pages 14 and 15. Can’t get to a news stand? No problem, just visit the online version.
Attendees make their way into Koinonia Coffee House before the 203K Event.
This past Saturday, Cornerstone Home Lending, JSU Center for University-Based Development, Atmos Energy, Wright Concepts, and Leah Cim Real Estate, welcomed dozens of people interested in revitalizing West Jackson to Koinonia Coffee House. This program, referred to as The WESToration Initiative, involves informing interested people about the possibilities of using a 203K mortgage to fix up one of the many charming homes here in West Jackson.
While rain was in the forecast, Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day to showcase West Jackson. (As a side note, it was also a beautiful day for the Latasha Norman Memorial 5K. It was great seeing so many runners participate in this event and the Metro Parkway was an excellent location for it. If you’re planning a 5K event, you should strongly consider using the Metro Parkway for your course.)
We were prepared to welcome approximately 50 people to the event, but about 80+ people showed up eager to learn about opportunities in West Jackson. You can only imagine how excited our team was! About half the group loaded up into the vans that idled outside to shuttle them through the different neighborhoods of the west side while the other half listened to a presentation by Bo Smith on the benefits of a 203K loan. After touring the West End, West Park, and Pecan Park neighborhoods, the touring group arrived back at Koinonia to trade places with the presentation group.
The committee would like to especially thank Voice of Calvary Ministries for allowing us to use their audio/visual equipment and LeFleur Transportation for coming through for us after we were notified by the trolley company that the trolley that was originally scheduled for the tour had broken down the day before the event.
If you are interested in learning more about the 203K loan among other renovation loans, contact Bo Smith at 601.982.1153 or bosmith@houseloan.com. Oh, and if you weren’t able to participate in Saturday’s event–don’t worry, we’re planning another one for late January. If that’s too long for you to wait (and we hope it is), call Bo to see what you have to do to get an marvelously renovated home in West Jackson now.
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Filed under Beautification, Housing, Residents
Community members, JSU Students, BankPlus representatives, and friends unveil the new University Park Neighborhood Sign. It is hoped that this sign will be a model sign for the neighborhoods in West Jackson. (photo by Aaron Thompson/JSU)
Today, a small crowd assembled to witness the unveiling of the University Park Neighborhood Sign. Clouds plastered the sky as rain drizzled to the ground. Nevertheless, those in attendance were all smiles in anticipation of this occasion. The ceremony was originally planned to take place in the parking lot of BankPlus, but, due to the rain, it was moved indoors to the sanctuary of Epiphany Lutheran Church.
Betty Lyons, president of the University Park Neighborhood Association began the event with a warm welcome on behalf of the neighborhood. She even invited a couple of neighborhood residents to provide some comments. One of these residents had written two books while another revealed that she was a textile artist before she shared a beautiful sample of her work with the audience. It was actually heartwarming to see that such creative people lived in this West Jackson community.
Next, Sargent Perry Martin addressed the crowd with a brief history of the sign. He explained that he grew up in University Park and that there had been a neighborhood sign on the corner of John R. Lynch Street and Dalton Street years ago and that it was a pleasure to see the sign reincarnated on the corner of Dalton and Isaiah Montgomery.
Others who participated in the program include Dr. Angela Gobar (West Jackson Community Builders Institute), Pamela Moore (CBLI and National Community Development Institute), Mayor Harvey Johnson, Jr. (City of Jackson), Dr. Leslie McLemore (Interim President, Jackson State University), and Johnny Ray (BankPlus). All had glowing remarks and excitement about the future of West Jackson.
For more information on the background of the sign, check out our previous blog post. Thank you to all who attended. This is definitely the sign of West Jackson and hopefully another sign of greater things to come!
One thing should be noted: this sign isn’t intended for just one neighborhood. This sign will hopefully be adopted by all neighborhoods in West Jackson. The cost of the sign is approximately $1,700 and it can be customized with the name of your neighborhood.
If your neighborhood association is interested in purchasing one of these beautiful signs, call Curnis Upkins, III at 601.979.5828 or by email at curnis.upkins@jsums.edu. He will be happy to assist you in the process of purchasing and posting a sign for your neighborhood’s entrance. The only caveat is that your neighborhood must be in West Jackson.
Special thanks to Epiphany Lutheran Church for opening their doors to us to shelter us from the rain on such short notice!
Picture of the new sign on a sunny day.
Full shot of the sign unveiling.
Written by Curnis Upkins, III
Filed under Beautification, Residents
Photo by *Micky (Flickr-Creative Commons-Attribution)
Friday has made it, meaning that the weekend is upon us. With Jackson State University’s Homecoming taking place this week, West Jackson will be flooded with proud JSU Alumni…and we’ll be glad to see them! It’s also good to see that Fall has finally paid us a visit with cool temperatures and abundant sunshine for the weekend. Perfect football weather!
This time last week, Capitol Neighbors Association was gearing up for their Harvest After Dark event. CNA hosted the event last Saturday, October 23rd. Below are some photos from their event.
If you host an event in West Jackson, make sure to let us know. We’d love to announce the event on our Facebook Page and Twitter account and we’d also love to post your pictures here on the blog. Send event announcements and photos to curnis.upkins@jsums.edu.
(P.S. Much thanks to Heather Ivery for these photos! Visit the Capitol Neighbors Association website for more pictures.)
Washington Addition Neighborhood Association president, Blonda Mack, shows off a cucumber from the garden.
West Jackson’s Washington Addition neighborhood is featured in the October 2010 issue of Planning Magazine. The article covers a pilot neighborhood gardening program that was initiated this past summer by Jackson State University’s Center for University-Based Development and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Students from the Kids Kollege Summer Program at Jackson State also came by to pitch in. This neighborhood gardens, both located on Booker Street, ultimately produced cucumbers, purple hull peas, squash, tomatoes, and okra that were available for free to the residents who maintained the garden. For more information on the gardens, contact Ms. Mildred Martin, Project Assistant, at (601) 979-5835 or mildred.d.martin@jsums.edu.
Article and additional pictures:
(as appears in the October 2010 issue of Planning Magazine, an American Planning Association publication)
Vacant properties in the Washington Addition neighborhood of Jackson, Mississippi, are narrow but deep, posing an obstacle in revitalizing the blighted community. But this year, local and federal groups had an idea that beautifies while providing components of a healthy diet for residents.
In a first-of-its-kind project, Jackson State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service paired up to transform two vacant 30-by-80-foot lots into gardens planted with okra, squash, peas, and other crops. Residents can harvest the food anytime. The only rule is that they maintain the gardens.
“They turned out really nicely,” project coordinator Mildred Martin of Jackson State says of this summer’s gardens. The university has acquired 80 vacant properties in the neighborhood, and one of her office’s goals is to provide healthy food to residents of a state considered among the most obese in the nation.
“I’ve seen several people get food out of the garden,” says James Earl Jones, a nearby resident who has helped accustom his city-dwelling neighbors to working with the crops. “It has been enjoyable.”
Martin says her office has not measured how much food was yielded, but it was obvious that virtually everything was harvested. The gardens were developed at almost no cost — just a couple of hundred dollars. Volunteers planted them, local farmers lent the tillers, and the NRCS supplied the seeds and the expertise.
Right now, NRCS supports farmers and landowners but does not have an assistance program for urban gardens — something organizer Jeannine May says she hopes will change once federal officials see Jackson’s success. “We would like to see more urban gardens, like these two, sprout around the state and across the country,” she says.
NRCS’s top state official, Homer Wilkes, says the gardens provide a host of benefits, including a chance for residents to work the land. “Sometimes you have to get back to the basics,” he says.
— Justin Fritscher
Fritscher is a reporter for the Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi. He studies urban planning at Jackson State University’s School of Policy and Planning.
Filed under Beautification, Residents, Youth
This evening, neighbors all over the nation will celebrate the annual National Night Out Against Crime. West Jackson’s neighbors are joining the celebration too! Residents from Pecan Park, Poindexter Park, West Park, Washington Addition, Wingfield/Central (Block Club), and Westchester Hills will converge on Claiborne Park to meet their neighbors and to raise awareness about crime prevention. The Jackson Police Department is also assisting with this effort.
If you live in these neighborhoods or are interested in becoming a new neighbor, drop by and meet some of the fine folks who live right here in West Jackson. Claiborne Park is located on Claiborne Avenue between Provine High School and St. Mary Catholic Church.
For more information about National Night Out Against Crime, visit http://www.nationaltownwatch.org/nno/about.html
Filed under Residents
Mrs. Shirley (center) is greeted at her surprise birthday party.
The following event and interview took place on June 16, 2010:
The crowd gathers as music plays and banners are posted–all in anticipation of Mrs. Willie Mae Shirley’s arrival. This celebration is a surprise for a beloved woman who has lived at this very house for 85 years. Today, Mrs. Shirley turns 87, but as she arrives chauffeured in a Ford Crown Victoria, it is evident that she has the spunk and pizazz that could rival those 40 years younger. It is also evident that she is definitely surprised by this event. As she exits the car, the crowd draws near to hug and greet the birthday girl. She approaches a table that has been set up just for her. Right on cue, someone brings a huge birthday cake for her that reads “Happy Birthday Mother Dear.”
The program begins once the honoree is seated. The family explains the purpose of today’s gathering and offers many kind words to Mrs. Shirley. Mayor Harvey Johnson presents a City Council resolution that has been signed by Ward 5 Councilman Charles Tillman in honor of Mrs. Shirley and her neighbors present a proclamation of the same honor.
Next, Reverend Hosea Hines of Christ Tabernacle Church offers a blessing over the food. The crowd makes its way towards the food and I make my way towards Mrs. Shirley. I must learn more, and more is definitely what I receive.
Mrs. Shirley was born on Clifton Street. She only lived there for 2 years as her dad, Peter Davis, worked for Mr. A.L. Dixon as a mortar mixer.
In 1926, Dixon bought a brick yard. Mrs. Shirley’s dad switched from mixing mortar to making bricks. However, since Mr. Dixon moved the brick yard to West Jackson, Mr. Davis walked from Clifton Street to Sheppard Park every day to work–a walk that totaled four miles round trip.
After walking along the railroad track on his daily journey to and from work, Mr. Davis was inspired by God to pick out a plot of land and build a house near the brick yard.
He picked out the spot that Mrs. Shirley lives in today and built a 4 room house for her, her brother, and her mom.
Mrs. Shirley graduated from Lanier High School in 1941. Since this was the only high school for African Americans in Jackson during a time of racial segregation, she had to walk from Everett Avenue to Lanier every day.
Right after graduating from Lanier in 1941, Mrs. Shirley married Willie Shirley. She met her husband one day walking from College Hill Church after attending a Baptist Young People’s Unit (BYPU) meeting. BYPU is now known as the Baptist Training Union. He was coming from his grandmother’s house on Jones Street. His grandmother’s family had built there in 1891. Mrs. Shirley recalls her first encounter with her husband as follows:
He asked me, ‘young lady, what may be your name?’
I told him “my name is Willie Mae. What’s your name?’
He said “My name is Willie! Hmmm…Willie and Willie Mae. Mind if I walk you down the street?”
So he walked me down the street and from then on we started talking. And after I finished high school, in ’41, we got married. And we moved here with my parents. Then after three months he got an apartment, but I could not live in the apartment. He had to bring me back because everyday I’d come back down here–from Banks Street down here, and when my husband got off work, he’d have to come and get me every evening. And he said, ‘I may as well bring you back down here on Eerie Street where I got you from so you’ll be happy!’ We stayed married for 61 years right here at 1720 Everett Avenue.”
Mayor Johnson comes by to offer a kind goodby to Mrs. Shirley–being sure not forget to extend to her a warm birthday wish. “Thank you so much, love you baby” is her response and she continues with her story.
“My community is so precious” she warmly proclaims. Of course, her own deeds show how much the community means to her. She currently serves as Vice President of the Washington Addition Neighborhood Association. In the past, she has served as a poll worker where she was co-manager for her poll site for approximately 15 years before the location moved to Davis Temple where she worked for even more years.
“We try to keep the community up. We do things we think will help each other and stand by each other”
I ask Mrs. Shirley about a Community House located on Booker Street that I had heard of. She explains that the community house project is a result of an initiative started some years ago by Mayor Harvey Johnson. He requested representatives from different neighborhoods and she served as the representative for Washington Addition.
Just as she began to go into detail about the project, Will Shirley, her son, grabs a microphone to make an announcement to those present for the celebration. “All of you who want bar-b-que chicken, it’s in that black truck back there. All you have to do is go get you some bar-b-que chicken.” I look up and see the black truck that he was referring to. Attached to the truck was an enormous portable grill with more than enough capacity to feed the neighborhood–a challenge that this gathering would meet with delight. Mrs. Shirley resumes her story “they had money and I asked for money for Washington Addition to buy us a place to meet. So $15,000 was granted for Washington Addition. We bought a house on Booker Street [to serve as the community house].”
Just as she was completing her sentence, another voice was heard on the microphone. “May I have your attention for a few minutes?,” said Blonda Mack. “I would like to let everybody in the Washington Addition Area know that Washington Addition has been awarded a historical marker by the Department of Archives and History and we will be a State Landmark Community! [The marker will tell the history of] Gowdy, Mississippi and it will be placed on the corner of Valley and Lynch. I’d like to let everybody know that Mrs. Shirley and myself and Dr. Kimberly Hilliard went to the Department of Archives and History with all kinds of letters from Gowdy, Mississippi…I’m here to tell you that Mrs. Willie Mae Shirley has been a milestone in this neighborhood. If it weren’t for her…She’d have an idea and I’d push her and I’d have an idea and she’d push me!…This all led up to Mrs. Shirley and all of the archives that she had of Gowdy, Mississippi!”
This is great news for this community. Gowdy, Mississippi was a community upon which Washington Addition was built. The community was anchored by a cotton seed oil mill, an industry that was very common in Jackson in the late 19th century. This historical marker will tell this story of one of the early communities in West Jackson.
As soon as Ms. Mack completes her announcement, Mrs. Shirley joyfully shouts “LET’S CELEBRATE!” The crowd applauds amid the many prevalent smiles.
After the celebration subsides, Mrs. Shirley continues to explain the community house. Right now, the neighborhood is trying to rehabilitate the house. The structure was vacant when they acquired it.
Mrs. Mack approaches the microphone for one final announcement: “I’d like to have your attention one more time and I hope not to have to be at this mic again,” she pleads. “I’d like you all to know that at that corner where it is Shirley Avenue, it will be a memorial stone for Mr. Will Shirley!” The crowd cheers and applauds. More good news!
Amid the many things that she is proud of when it comes to Washington Addition and West Jackson, Mrs. Shirley does have one major concern. She would like to see more homeowners in West Jackson.
Mrs. Shirley’s great grandchild runs up to her and asks “when you gonna cut the cake?” Her response is a reassuring “we’re gonna soon do it, we’re gonna soon do it.”
Those are the words that I hope to hear from others when asked about moving to West Jackson–a reassuring “we’re gonna soon do it” followed by sold signs.
Photos from the event (Note: sorry, but the battery on my camera died early in the event so most of these pictures are from my phone):
