Thursday, July 26, 2018

Anne Moody’s Final Resting Place

Family Buries Her Ashes Beside her Mother in Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery

By Roscoe Barnes III
Chairman, Anne Moody History Project
Copyright (c) 2018

#AnneMoody

Family of Anne Moody buried her ashes during a special service on Saturday, July 7, 2018, at the Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery in Centreville, Miss. From left: Frances Jefferson, her sister; Rev. LeReginald Jones, assistant pastor of Mount Pleasant; Rev. Dr. Roscoe Barnes III;  and Adline Moody, Anne’s sister. 

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CENTREVILLE, Miss. -- Civil Rights Pioneer Anne Moody, author of Coming of Age in Mississippi, is now resting beside her mother, Elmira “Too Sweet” Williams Moody Jefferson, in the Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery in Centreville, Miss.

Her sister, Adline Moody, said it was time to bring her home.

Her family held a memorial service – the second one -- on Saturday, July 7, 2018, where they paid their respects and buried her ashes. Anne, who was born and raised in Centreville in southwest Mississippi, died on Feb. 5, 2015, at the age of 74. Her remains were cremated on Feb. 6, 2015. Arrangements were entrusted to Richardson Funeral Home of Clinton, La.

“This is only fitting,” Adline said of the July burial. “This is the perfect place for Anne … next to her mom. Her dad is right over there. She traveled the whole wide world and she ended up right back where she started. Right here at Mount Pleasant.”

The first memorial service was held on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2015, at 2753 Antioch Perkins Road in a rural section of Gloster, Miss. Her ashes had been kept by her son, Sasha Straus, and Adline.

Anne’s grave is adorned with flowers and a monument. The face of the marble structure bears the inscription:

Freedom fighter, Beloved Mother, Daughter and Sister.
Great Humanitarian. You fought the fight.
Rest in peace, Anne.
Love you.

Anne Moody
September 15, 1940 to February 5, 2015

Mount Pleasant donated the piece of land for the burial and Anne’s family provided the monument and the flowers.


Sasha Straus, son of Anne Moody, was one of several family members who participated in her burial ceremony at the Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery, Centreville, Miss., on Saturday, July 7, 2018.

‘Modern-day Esther’

The Rev. LeReginald Jones, assistant pastor for Mount Pleasant, officiated the graveside service. He described Anne as a great woman and a freedom fighter. Her burial, he said, brings everything full circle.

“It is an honor for us to have such a heroine to be planted right here, so that when the story is told, they can always come back home,” he said. “They can come back to Anne’s home, and we can tell that story.”

Jones said Anne was like Esther in the Bible, who rose to help her people “for such a time as this.” He said: “Some 50 years ago, I do believe under the providential orchestration of the hand of God, that he called Anne Moody for such a time as this. She was our modern-day Esther” who fought against discrimination and injustice.

Anne’s sister, Frances Jefferson, said the burial was important for Anne and the community.

“She needed to come home,” she said. “Anne left home in her teens and my mother grieved for her when she was away.”

Too Sweet often cried for Anne, fearing for her safety. “She didn’t know where she was,” said Frances. “I couldn’t stand to see my mother cry. She was very protective.”

But now Anne is home, back where her story began, Frances said.

In addition to Adline, Sasha and Frances, a number of other family members and friends attended the ceremony. Family members included Jerry Love, Dorothy Veals, JoAnne Coles, Felix Cole, James Cole, Doris Whitehead, and Elvira Taplin, all cousins of Anne; Sherry Jefferson, wife of Anne’s brother, Ralph Jefferson; and Rosie Powell, former wife of Anne’s brother, Fred Moody Jr.



Dr. Leigh Ann Wheeler, Anne Moody’s biographer, participated in Moody’s memorial service at the Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery, Centreville, Miss., on Saturday, July 7, 2018. She is joined here with her husband, Dr. Donald Nieman, and their son, Brady Wheeler-Nieman; and Moody’s son, Sasha Straus.

Anne’s biographer

Friends who attended the event included Dr. Leigh Ann Wheeler, her husband, Dr. Donald Nieman, both of Binghamton University, New York, and their son, Brady Wheeler-Nieman. Wheeler, who is writing Anne’s biography, shared a few words about Anne during the ceremony.

“I want to thank you all for helping me write Anne’s life story,” she said. “I love her. For 25 years, I have taught her book. I first read it when I taught it with my graduate advisor, Sara Evans, in the 1990s and I have taught it to my own students ever since. It’s life-changing for them, more so today than ever.”

Coming of Age was first published in 1968 and has remained in print since that time.

Wheeler said the book is the one book that she assigns that the students always thank her for. They love the book and they actually read it, she said: “It really helps them understand what it was like to grow up as a young black girl in Mississippi in the 40, the 50s, and the 60s -- something that they otherwise would not even begin to even care about, let alone GET!”

Although she never got to know Anne, Wheeler said she’s beginning to know her through Anne’s family and friends. Wheeler and her family donated purple roses for the ceremony. Purple was Anne’s favorite color.

JoAnne and Dorothy, both daughters of Alberta in Coming of Age, shared brief remarks during the ceremony. JoAnne spoke of how excited they used to be to see Anne when they were kids. She said Anne helped put her through college. Dorothy sang “When the Gates Swing Open.”

The Rev. Dr. Roscoe Barnes III, who chairs the Anne Moody History Project, said Anne was like King David in the Bible who “served his own generation by the will of God.” He said that she had great achievements, but she also faced many challenges, enduring a life of highs and lows.

“But in the end, like David, we can say that she served her purpose,” said Barnes. “She served her own generation by the will of God.”

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Would you like to know more about Anne Moody?
Visit the Anne Moody page here!

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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


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