A Reflection on Anne Moody Day Celebration 2017

By Jasmine Morris

Guest Post -- Copyright © 2017

#AnneMoody

Note: This guest post is a presentation that was given by my friend and colleague, Jasmine Morris, during the Anne Moody Day Celebration 2017. The event, the first of its kind, was held at 12 p.m., on Sept. 15, 2017, in Centreville, Miss. Anne Moody was born on Sept. 15, 1940. She grew up in Centreville, and she passed on Feb. 5, 2015, in Gloster, Miss.

It was during this ceremony that the town of Centreville honored Anne Moody by issuing a proclamation for Anne Moody Day and by renaming Fort Street, Anne Moody Street. The event was organized by the Anne Moody History Project of MTC/Wilkinson County Correctional Facility in Woodville, Miss., and by the Centreville Board of Aldermen. We were all delighted and more than a little pleased with Morris’ presentation. She delivered it with passion, clarity, and enthusiasm. Below is her reflection of the event and a copy of her Welcome address. Enjoy and share! – Roscoe Barnes III, Chairman, Anne Moody History Project 

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A Reflection on Anne Moody Day Celebration 2017

By Jasmine Morris

This was a glorious moment in history and I was proud to be a part of it. Paying homage to Anne Moody was the least that I could have done. I want to thank the committee who came up with this idea and turned it into reality. And I want to challenge you all to research and learn who Anne Moody was and her courage to change a government that she saw fault in.

I remember in high school when my JROTC teacher, Major Golliday, asked us to research Black History icons outside of Martin Luther King Jr., Medgar Evers, Malcom X, Rosa Parks, etc., because to all, these were the norms. Recently, however, I got to learn about a civil rights activist who did just as much as the aforementioned icons, but was rarely mentioned through history. I wish I had known of her legacy before now. But better late than never. Below is the Welcome I presented at the start of the Anne Moody Day ceremony.

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Centreville officials honored civil rights icon Anne Moody on
Sept. 15, 2017, with a street sign bearing her name.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Welcome to the Anne Moody Day Celebration

Good Evening,

To the city officials, great leaders of this community, family, friends, and all assembled here today.

It brings me great honor to stand before you all and welcome you to this Anne Moody Day Celebration and the unveiling of the new Anne Moody Street sign.

I know many of you have gathered here today in great hopes of an event-filled program to obtain new knowledge, but most of all, to be a witness to a momentous moment in history.

This is a proud occasion, one that I myself and all witnesses standing here today, shall and will remember for a lifetime.

This moment will help you to envision the journey of Anne Moody’s life, her greatest accomplishments, and the legacy she has left behind, but most importantly to recognize Anne for her courageous acts of kindness to bring about change.

I want each of you to feel a warm welcome and a friendly environment. I want you to enjoy yourself, but most of all, I want you to take pleasure and savor this great moment.

After reading Anne Moody’s best-selling book entitled Coming of Age in Mississippi, I would like to close my welcome with a quote stated by the great Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that described Anne to me. And the quote reads, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands at times of challenges and controversy.”

THANK YOU!

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Jasmine Morris is a graduate of Alcorn State University. She works as Deputy Warden Secretary at MTC/Wilkinson County Correctional Facility.

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For more information: 

See the Anne Moody page here.

Questions about the Anne Moody History Project may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III via email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com For updates on Anne Moody history and the on-going work of this community service project, simply follow this blog or follow AMHP on Twitter (@AnneMoodyHP). #ComingOfAgeinMississippi