The Jackson State University community joins people around the city, state and nation in mourning the death of Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba, who died Tuesday at the age of 66.

“I am just stunned and deeply saddened. He was a bright, bright star, a brilliant and caring mayor,” said JSU President Carolyn W. Meyers. “It’s up to us to honor him and continue his work.”

Meyers said JSU students loved Lumumba because he was so visible and his experiences were relevant to them. “He was our mayor in the truest sense of the word. It’s a loss, a terrible loss,” Meyers said. “I think we’ve lost his brilliance, his strategic capability. We lost a person of courage.”

Jackson City Council members elected Council President Charles Tillman as the acting mayor.