New law will
name portion of Highway 24 in her honor
By Roscoe Barnes III
Chairman, Anne Moody History Project
Copyright (c) 2018
#AnneMoody
 |
Anne Moody History Project members display copy
of House Bill
1153. Pictured from left: Ruby Dixon,
Emma Taplin, and LaVern Taylor.
|
-------------------------------------
JACKSON, Miss. –
Gov. Phil Bryant of Mississippi has signed into law a bill that honors the
memory of civil rights pioneer Anne Moody.
The new law, which takes
effect on July 1, 2018, will allow a portion of Highway 24 to be named “The
Anne Moody Memorial Highway” in Wilkinson County in southwest Mississippi.
Bryant signed House Bill 1153 on March 8, 2018. It was sponsored by Rep. Angela Cockerham, D-Magnolia, and
co-sponsored by Rep. Debra Gibbs, D-Jackson, and Rep. Greg Holloway Sr., D- Hazlehurst.
Cockerham said she was “so
proud” they could get this done. Speaking of Moody, she said: "At a very
early age, Anne Moody took upon herself a movement that would change the State
of Mississippi and America. She was motivated by her own internal spirit,
fueled by God.”
Warden Jody Bradley of
Wilkinson County Correctional Facility, Woodville, said the recognition makes
him proud to say he’s from Mississippi. It was his facility that spearheaded
the project to have the highway named in Moody’s honor.
“It’s a tribute to how
Mississippians can come together, across party lines at the local, county and
state level to honor a unique individual who did the right thing at a difficult
time,” Bradley said. “The support this project has garnered from all who have
been made aware is an example of what America is all about.”
“When we travel the Anne Moody Memorial
Highway, let us remember the past and think about how we will now shape our
tomorrow." – Rep. Angela Cockerham
Moody wrote Coming of Age in Mississippi, a classic autobiography
that was first published in 1968. She was born and raised in Centreville, Miss.
She died in 2015 at the age of 74. She had been living in Gloster, Miss., which
is only a few miles from Centreville. Moody became a civil rights activist
while attending Tougaloo College in the early 1960s. She participated in a
number of famous demonstrations, including the Woolworth’s Sit-in in Jackson.
 |
| Rep. Angela Cockerham, D-Magnolia |
--------------------------------
“It is a blessing for the
State of Mississippi to be able to recognize one who has had such a profound
impact upon our nation,” Cockerham said of Moody. “When we travel the Anne
Moody Memorial Highway, let us remember the past and think about how we will
now shape our tomorrow."
The section of Highway 24
that will bear Moody’s name will begin at its intersection with U.S. Highway 61
in Woodville, and extend east to the Amite County line in Centreville. It is a
distance of 13 miles, only a few miles from the Louisiana state line.
The Anne Moody Memorial
Highway signs will be erected and maintained along the highway by the Mississippi
Department of Transportation (MDOT).
The idea for the bill to
honor Moody began with the Anne Moody History Project (AMHP), a community
service project created in March 2017 by the staff of WCCF. AMHP’s mission is
to promote and help preserve the legacy of Moody, according to member Lavern
Taylor. “We felt that something should be done to honor her memory,” she said.
In June 2017, AMHP members
asked the Wilkinson County Board of Supervisors for a resolution authorizing
the highway to be named in Moody’s honor. The board approved the request with unanimous support and submitted the
resolution to Cockerham.
“This is a major milestone,”
said AMHP member Ruby Dixon. “It’s hard to believe, but it finally happened. We’re
so happy that Anne Moody is receiving this honor.”
AMHP member Emma Taplin
shared Dixon’s sentiments. She noted: “It’s a great feeling being part of this
project and keeping Anne Moody’s legacy alive by having a street named for her,
a day to celebrate her birthday, and a highway named in her honor.”
WCCF is operated by Management & Training Corporation (MTC) of Utah.
 |
House Bill 1153, which authorizes The Anne Moody Memorial
Highway designation.
|
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Would you like to
know more about Anne Moody?
Visit the Anne
Moody page here!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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
