Natchez College: Anne Moody's Old Stomping Ground

#AnneMoody
#ComingOfAgeinMississippi

Michelle Childres visiting the old Natchez College building on June 20, 2019, in Natchez, Miss. Civil rights pioneer Anne Moody was one of the school's most prominent graduates.

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Michelle Childres and I recently visited Natchez Junior College in Natchez, Miss. It closed many years ago. Civil rights pioneer Anne Moody attended the school before heading to Tougaloo College. Stay tuned for more photos. Michelle went inside the three buildings on the property and took excellent pictures. Can't wait to share them.

#AnneMoody #ComingOfAgeinMississippi #MichelleChildres #Mississippi #Natchez #NatchezCollege #CivilRights #History #BlackHistory #WomensHistory

Anne Moody in the Art Work of James D. Boggan

By Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D.
Chairman, Anne Moody History Project
Copyright (c) 2019

#AnneMoody

James D. Boggan displays his work on civil rights icon Anne Moody.

WOODVILLE, Miss. -- Artist James Douglas Boggan, native of Meridian, Miss., recently completed an art project that made a statement about the civil rights activism of Anne Moody. He created the work for the Anne Moody History Project (AMHP).

Boggan, 38, is incarcerated at Wilkinson County Correctional Facility (WCCF), Woodville, Miss. He first painted an image of Moody's book, Coming of Age in Mississippi. He followed that with a creative collage that depicts her face against a noticeably white -- and disintegrating -- illustration of Mississippi. He explains he was using color as symbolism. 

"She was black and the state of Mississippi was white-controlled at the time," he says. "The disintegration shows how the system was broken, and people like her showed the cracks in the system."

Boggan says his artistic abilities come naturally. He notes that he was self-taught. 

"It's cool I'm able to contribute to this project," he says. "My mom was real big on civil rights and speaking out on things that she felt were wrong."

Boggan is the son of the late Paula Sue Craig, who passed in January. He says she would have been proud of him. "She liked all of my work."

Boggan's work will be on display at the Anne Moody Memorial Highway dedication on Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019, in Centreville, Miss. The event, organized by the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT), will begin at 10 a.m. at the Mt. Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church on Highway 24.

VIDEO: Click here to see how the Anne Moody History Project has touched the lives of staff and incarcerated men at the Wilkinson County Correctional Facility. 

WCCF is privately managed by Management & Training Corporation (MTC) of Utah.

The art work of James D. Boggan.

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Would you like to know more about Anne Moody?

Visit here to see the timeline of

important events in her life history!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For more information: 
See the Anne Moody page here.
Questions about the Anne Moody History Project may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III Ph.D. 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

An Extraordinary Woman: A Tribute to Anne Moody

By Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D.
Chairman, Anne Moody History Project
Copyright (c) 2019

#AnneMoody
#MLK
#MLKDay

2019 MLK program dedicated to Anne Moody

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NOTE: This tribute was presented at the 32nd Annual Memorial Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019 in Woodville, Miss.

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It is truly an honor to be here today. I want to thank you for the opportunity to share a few words about one of our own, the extraordinary Anne Moody.

Anne Moody was a civil rights pioneer and the noted author of the classic memoir,  Coming of Age in Mississippi. She played a vital role in the struggle for freedom, civil rights, and justice for all, especially people of color.

When we say that she put her life on the line for freedom, and that she sacrificed her own well-being for others, it is not an exaggeration.

Like many in the civil rights movement, she confronted bigotry head-on. She endured beatings, death threats, and other forms of persecution as she engaged in nonviolent protests in the fight for equal access to places for all people.

Anne Moody was born in 1940; she died in 2015 at the age of 74. She grew up in Centreville and she completed her last year of high school here in Woodville. From here she went to Natchez Junior College, and then to Tougaloo College, where she became active in the civil rights movement.

Moody was only a child when she began to question the indignities of racism and the binding forces of poverty. She watched in amazement as her world grew darker. She lived in a time when the mere mention of the NAACP could result in a lynching. This was life for a black person in the Jim Crow era.

The death of Emmett Till was a turning point in her life. She wrote:

Before Emmett Till's murder, I had known the fear of hunger, hell, and the Devil. But now there was a new fear known to me -- the fear of being killed just because I was black. This was the worst of my fears.

Somehow, some time later, she found within herself something that inspired her ... something that moved her to go further in her quest to find answers and the boldness to stand up to the debilitating powers of hate in her surroundings. She wrote: "But courage was growing in me too. Little by little it was getting harder and harder for me not to speak out."

As I close, I want to remind you that Anne Moody was an extraordinary woman.

She was a woman of insight and courage. She had the ability to see and understand her environment, and she had the audacity to do something about it.

She was extraordinary.

She was ambitious, but also focused and compassionate. She wanted to be a doctor, but she chose to suffer for the benefit of her people, people like you and me.

She was extraordinary.

She was down and depressed on occasion, but she was still daring in her efforts to make a difference. She marched with Dr. King and she worked with Medgar Evers. She helped to desegregate and integrate businesses in Jackson and other places. She led campaigns that inspired black people to register and vote.

Anne Moody did what she had to do for freedom, justice and equality for all.

She was an extraordinary woman.

Thank you. Amen.

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Want to know MORE about Anne Moody? 

Visit here to see the timeline of 

important events in her life history!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For more information: 
See the Anne Moody page here.
Questions about the Anne Moody History Project may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D., 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

Incarcerated man draws iconic photo of Anne Moody at Woolworth’s lunch counter

By Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D.
Chaplain, Wilkinson County Correctional Facility

#AnneMoody

Anthony D. Wilson displays his pencil drawing of the famous 1963 Woolworth's sit-in.

WOODVILLE, Miss. -- Anthony D. Wilson, who is incarcerated at Wilkinson County Correctional Facility (WCCF), Woodville, recently drew the famous photo of the Woolworth’s sit-in that features civil rights pioneer Anne Moody. The image, which was done in pencil, depicts the famous protest that occurred at the lunch counter on May 28, 1963 in Jackson, Miss.

In the photo, Moody and her fellow civil rights activists are violently harassed by a mob, some of whom poured sugar, ketchup and mustard on the heads of the activists. The original photo was taken by Fred Blackwell of the Jackson Daily News. His photo was later distributed by The Associated Press.

Wilson said he was happy to have the opportunity to draw the photo, which he said took him about 23 hours during the Martin Luther King holiday weekend.

“This means a lot to me,” he said. “Moody was like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King. She made it so blacks can go into the restaurants and other places without discrimination.”

Moody is the author of Coming of Age in Mississippi. She is seen sitting at the lunch counter with her Tougaloo College classmate, Joan Trumpauer, and Professor John Salter Jr. Salter, who was later known as John Hunter Gray, died Jan. 7 at his home in Pocatello, Idaho. He was 84. Moody died in 2015 at the age of 74. Trumpauer, the only one left from the photo, is 77 and lives in Arlington, Va.

Wilson, 31, is originally from Montgomery, Ala. He said he’s been drawing since the age of nine. He plans to enter his work into an art contest held at the facility.

WCCF is privately managed by Management & Training Corporation (MTC) of Utah.

Drawing by Anthony D. Wilson

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“This means a lot to me. Moody was like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King. She made it so blacks can go into the restaurants and other places without discrimination.” -- Anthony D. Wilson

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Would you like to know more about Anne Moody?

Visit here to see the timeline of
important events in her life history!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For more information: 
See the Anne Moody page here.
Questions about the Anne Moody History Project may be directed to Roscoe BarnesIII Ph.D. 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

Anne Moody History Project Recognized by the Mississippi Department of Corrections

Warden and Staff Praised for Work Honoring Anne Moody, author of Coming of Age in Mississippi

#AnneMoody

Commissioner Hall’s letter to Warden Bradley

Commissioner Pelicia E. Hall of the Mississippi Department of Correction (MDOC) wrote this letter to congratulate Warden Jody Bradley of Wilkinson County Correctional Facility (WCCF) on his retirement. She praised him for his work and for the achievements of the Anne Moody History Project (AMHP), a staff-led community service endeavor created to honor civil rights pioneer Anne Moody, author of Coming of Age in Mississippi. Moody, who died in 2015 at the age of 74, was born and raised in Wilkinson County.

Anne Moody Gets Mention in Calendar for Democratic Members of the U.S. House

December 3 Highlighted as Publication Date for Her Classic Memoir

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

#AnneMoody
#ComingOfAgeinMississippi

Anne Moody's book, Coming of Age in Mississippi, is highlighted on December 3 in the 2018 calendar created for the Democratic Members of the U.S. House.

Woodville, Miss. -- The 2018 calendar used by the Democratic Members of the U.S. House was created with a little help by the Anne Moody History Project (AMHP) of Wilkinson County Correctional Facility (WCCF), Woodville, Miss.

When April Greener, research director for Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi, created the calendar, she included a note about the publication of Anne Moody’s groundbreaking book.

“On December 3, we noted the 50th anniversary of Coming of Age in Mississippi’s publication on our calendar for Democratic Members of the House,” Greener shared recently by email. “Anne Moody’s memoir is a powerful reminder of how much farther we as a nation need to go to address the root and the fruit of racism, poverty and injustice.”

Greener said she created the calendar to assist the Democratic members over the course of the year with events and messaging, among other things.

Efforts to include Moody began in December 2017, when Greener contacted AMHP Chairman Roscoe Barnes III with a question about the date of publication for Moody’s book. Greener said that she wanted the “original publication date” so that she could “highlight it as a notable date on a 2018 calendar.”

Barnes provided Greener with the information she needed and she completed the calendar, which includes a plethora of important historical dates throughout the year.

In the space designated for December 3rd, Greener inserted the following: "Anne Moody, Coming of Age in Mississippi: The Classic Autobiography of Growing Up Poor and Black in the Rural South (1968)."

“We applaud Ms. Greener for her interest in Anne Moody and for recognizing her contributions as a noted author and civil rights pioneer,” said AMHP member Emma Taplin. “This is giving credit to whom it is due.”

Acknowledgments:

Grateful acknowledgments are made to Frances Jefferson, Anne Moody’s sister, and M.J. O’Brien, author of We Shall Not Be Moved: The Jackson Woolworth's Sit-In and the Movement It Inspired, for their research assistance.

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Want to know more

about Anne Moody?

Visit here to see the timeline of

important events in her life history!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For more information: 

See the Anne Moody page here.
Questions about the Anne Moody History Project may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III Ph.D. 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 

On This Day: Anne Moody's Coming of Age in Mississippi is Published

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

#AnneMoody
#ComingOfAgeinMississippi

On Dec. 3, 1968, The Dial Press of New York published Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody. According to her sister, Frances Jefferson, and Random House, the "hardback edition rolled off the press" and was greeted with wide acclaim, making Anne an international star.

Anne's publisher described the book as having "unforgettable power and honesty." Her publisher, who compared her book to other great titles, also wrote: "Here, in the tradition of Manchild in the Promised Land and Down These Mean Streets, is an important testimony to the black experience in America -- this time from the point of view of a remarkable young girl."

The early edition of the book featured an illustration on the front cover that depicted Anne's home on "Mr. Carter's plantation" (actual name was Miller's plantation) in Centreville, Miss. The illustration included drawings of Anne and her siblings, Adline and Fred Jr., and their parents, Fred Sr. and Too Sweet. Fred Sr. was shown sitting on the steps of the old house as Too Sweet stood in the doorway on the front porch.

The back cover of the book featured a photo of Anne that was taken by her husband, Austin Straus.

Anne, who was born in 1940, was 28 when the book came out. She had written it at the urging of baseball star Jackie Robinson, who suggested her story needed to be told. Robinson had heard her speak in 1964 at the United Auto Workers (UAW) convention in Atlantic City. He encouraged her to write her story and publish it in a book.

For 50 years now, the book has remained a perennial seller, being read by audiences throughout the United States, and as far away as Japan and parts of Europe. It has been required reading in many schools across the country. It has also been translated into several languages.

Newspapers welcomed Anne’s book with rave reviews. Consider, for example, the following excerpts:

The most moving and honest account of what life is like for the Negro in Mississippi as one is apt to find … a far better story (and certainly far better told) than most fiction being published today … One of the most (possibly the most) engrossing, sensitive, beautiful books of nonfiction which has been published for years and years.” – San Francisco Sun-Reporter

“Simply, one of the best … For those readers who still persist in the myth that growing up black in the South is little different from growing up white, this book should prove a shattering experience …. Anne Moody’s autobiography is an eloquent, moving testimonial to her courage; indeed, to the courage of all the young who storm the preserves of bigotry…. After reading this remarkable book, we know that this is the way it is.” – Chicago Tribune

In a 2015 article about Anne, Emily Langer of the Washington Post, wrote: “Nearly half a century after its publication, Ms. Moody’s 1968 autobiography remains a noted volume in the library of first-person accounts describing the inequality suffered by African Americans of her era.”

Anne spent her final years near her home in southwest Mississippi. She died in 2015 at the age of 74. Her family said she had been suffering from dementia.

Acknowledgments:
Grateful acknowledgments are made to Frances Jefferson, Anne Moody’s sister, and M.J. O’Brien, author of We Shall Not Be Moved: The Jackson Woolworth's Sit-In and the Movement It Inspired, for their research assistance.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Want to know more 

about Anne Moody?

Visit here to see the timeline of 

important events in her life history!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For more information: 
See the Anne Moody page here.
Questions about the Anne Moody History Project may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III Ph.D. 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 #ThisDayinHistory #ThisDayinAnneMoodyHistory #OnThisDay

Siblings of Anne Moody: ‘Principal Willis was Mr. Anselm J. Finch’

Family Confirms Name of the Founder of Willis High in Coming of Age in Mississippi

By Roscoe Barnes III

Chairman, Anne Moody History Project

Copyright © 2018

#AnneMoody

Anselm Joseph Finch

I have been saying for months that Anselm Joseph Finch is believed to be Principal Willis of Willis High in Anne Moody’s Coming of Age in Mississippi. The first person to suggest that was Charles E. Johnson, retired superintendent of education for Wilkinson County. He said to me, “There was no Willis High in Centreville. The school was Finch High School.”

And he was right.

Johnson’s information was confirmed this week by Anne’s brother, Fred Moody Jr., and her sister, Adline Moody, both of Gloster, Miss. Both siblings told me that they attended Finch High School in Centreville. They acknowledged Anne changed the names of many people – and places -- in the book. However, she used the actual names of her brothers and sisters, Adline said.

When asked about the controversy surrounding Finch and claims that he was an “Uncle Tom,” Adline said, “There was a lot of that going on back then. That’s how it was.”

In addition to being an educator and administrator, Finch was an accomplished writer. He published poetry, articles, and a number of books, including Mississippi Negro Ramblings (Adams Press, 1969). His work appeared in magazines and newspapers.

I recently learned of a biography of Finch by Sharon Burnette Bell that was written as a thesis for her Master of Arts degree at Jackson State University. It's titled, Anselm Joseph Finch: Mississippian and Life Long Educator (Jackson State University, 1976). It is well worth reading. One of the interesting features in Bell's research is a comment about the possible strategy that Finch employed in his dealings with the white community. Bell shared the thoughts of Dr. Lee E. Williams, who was vice president for administration at JSU and “had professional contact with Dr. Finch." Bell wrote: 

Mr. Williams also thought that Finch brought a lot of publicity to the state of Mississippi through his writings. He didn’t always agree with the context of the writings because he believed that Finch was too free and prolific with his unjust praise of Whites who often worked against Blacks. But this he feels was due to the time in which they both lived. Mr. Williams thought Finch probably used praise as a strategy to get what he wanted form the White man. (Pages 35-36)

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Acknowledgments:

Grateful acknowledgments are made to Ms. Darlita Ballard, university archivist for Jackson State University H.T. Sampson Library, for her assistance in providing information on Sharon Burnette Bell’s thesis.

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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 Ph.D. 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

A Look at Edna Lee Bland Jones, aka Sister Jones, in Coming of Age in Mississippi

Her Story, Photo Shared by Her Family

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

#AnneMoody

Sister Jones in Anne Moody's 
Coming of Age in Mississippi

Thanks to the Rev. LeReginald Jones, we now have a photo of Edna Lee Bland Jones, who is featured as Sister Jones in Anne Moody's Coming of Age in Mississippi. The photo was probably taken in the 1980s, according to her family.

“She was known for her cooking and her singing, and she had a sharp tongue,” said LeReginald. “We called her Mama. The people who didn’t know her called her, Ms. Edna.”

LeReginald, who serves as assistant pastor of Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church in Centreville, Miss., said he is the great-grandson of Sister Jones. When she died in 1990 at the age of 71, he was just two years of age.

Sister Jones’ family remembers her as a strong woman who was deeply religious. She was the mother of 13 children. LeReginald said she had strong faith in God, and her devotion to her church was well-known.

Sister Jones was a member of Mount Pleasant, the same church that Moody joined as a teenager. In Chapter Five of Coming of Age, Moody wrote:

Just as I was leaving to go back outside I saw Mama having a serious conversation with old Sister Jones who was now sitting beside her. I knew that she was trying to get Mama to get me to join Mount Pleasant.

Usually during revival season older sisters of the church recruited candidates for baptism and Sister Jones always outdid the others. 

Sister Jones had strength, but she also had pride. LeReginald and other family members used to wonder why she never did domestic work for white families back in the day.

“We asked my great-granddad,” LeReginald said. “We asked why she didn’t work and clean houses like everybody else did during that time. He said it was because of her mouth. She would speak her mind and not hold back. So he worked very, very hard to take care of the family. She never did domestic work for any white families.”

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Would you like to know MORE about Anne Moody?

Visit here to see the timeline of important

events in her life history!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For more information: 
See the Anne Moody page here.
Questions about the Anne Moody History Project may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D., 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

The Sphinx’s Profile of Anselm Joseph Finch

A Positive Look at The Man Who Appears as “Principal Willis” in Anne Moody’s Coming of Age in Mississippi

#AnneMoody

NOTE: Ms. Frances Alexander, retired school principal, recently shared with me a profile of Anselm Joseph Finch, who is believed to be “Principal Willis” of “Willis High School” in Anne Moody’s Coming of Age in Mississippi. The profile appeared in the May 1965 issue of The Sphinx (page 30), a publication of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. The magazine also features a poem by Finch titled, "GUIDE and LIGHT." Although many, including Moody, labeled Finch an “Uncle Tom,” a review of his writings might lead one to believe that such a label was probably unfair and not deserving. Finch lived from 1902 to 1969. He established himself as a respected poet, speaker, pioneer educator and author. – Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D., chairman, Anne Moody History Project

Anselm J. Finch
(1902-1969)

BROTHER ANSELM

JOSEPH FINCH

Bro. Anselm Joseph Finch was born in Brandon, Mississippi. He is a graduate of the Utica Institute, Campbell College, and Rust College, all Mississippi schools. He is also a graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

He was at one time a special student under Dr. George Washington Carver. He assisted the late Principal J. E. Johnson of the Prentiss (Miss.). Institute in starting the Oak Park School in Laurel.

He later established the Finch High School, Centreville, Miss., which was the first high school in Wilkinson County for Negroes.

For many years he did publicity work for Bishop S. L. Greene, Perry W. Howard and the fraternal leader, John L. Webb.

He was one of the four Mississippi leaders selected by the state department of education to appear before the late Governor Paul B. Johnson, Sr., in seeking a training school for Negro delinquents and the acceptance of Jackson College by the state; thus creating a state school.

Bro. Finch has served as Vice President of the Mississippi Teachers Association.

He is author of the famous poems, “Wake Up – Justice,” and “I’m A Negro.”

While a student at Northwestern, Bro. Finch was one of the three representatives of the Department of Educational Psychology named to interview prospective teachers for the Illinois Civil Service Commission.

He is a member of the American Association of School Administrators, Phi Delta Kappa Fraternity, and a life member of the American Teachers Association; also a Mason and a Shriner.

Presently he is Principal of the Wilkinson County Training School, the largest of its kind in Mississippi, located in Woodville. This school opened with 2,667 enrollment.

**********************

Finch died in 1969. He was buried in the Light of Liberty Cemetery in Brandon, Miss. A picture of his headstone can be seen here at FindaGrave.com

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Would you like to know MORE about Anne Moody?

Visit here to see the timeline of important 

events in her life history!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For more information: 
See the Anne Moody page here.
Questions about the Anne Moody History Project may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III, Ph.D., 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

Mr. Hicks in Coming of Age in Mississippi

A Good Coach with a Dark Side

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

#AnneMoody

Coach Wordy Hicks Jr.

(1930 - 1990)

Mr. Hicks, the young coach mentioned in Anne Moody's Coming of Age in Mississippi, was actually Coach Wordy Hicks Jr., who worked for many years in the Wilkinson County School District, according to retired Superintendent Charles E. Johnson. 

In Moody's view, the coach was tough, but also knowledgeable, helpful, and well-liked: "We all learned to like Mr. Hicks, in spite of his cruelty, because in the end he was always right."

Hicks was born on Sept. 18, 1930. A native of Bernice, La., he graduated from Grambling State University in 1956. Soon after his graduation, he became a coach at Finch High School in Centreville, where he met Moody, who was a teenager at the time. 

Moody's book suggests the time of his arrival was the mid-1950s, a time frame supported by an article in the Feb. 22, 1976 issue of the Biloxi Sun Herald. The article notes that Hicks began his coaching at Finch in 1956 before "moving to Wilkinson County High in 1960." During the 1970s, he served as head principal of Wilkinson County Training School (later called Wilkinson County High School) in Woodville. 

Hicks was so highly respected, the school district honored him by naming its sports complex the Wordy Hicks Memorial Athletic Stadium. The district, which is located in Woodville in southwest Mississippi, also features the Wordy Hicks Relay.

"He was a good coach and good teacher," said Johnson, who is researching and promoting Moody's life history. He suggested Hicks' contributions to the school district were not insignificant.

Good coach with a dark side

"I have many memories of Coach Hicks," Johnson said. "He was an excellent teacher, but he had a reputation as a womanizer. He also had a temper. He’d cuss you out in a minute."

According to one retired educator, who asked to remain nameless, Hicks had a dark side. He could be extremely rude and vulgar. As indicated by Moody, he was also fond of the female students, and he did not always hide his affections.

"If he lived today, he would be arrested for sexual harassment," said the retired educator. "He really liked the young girls and female teachers. He would openly talk about their appearance and their bodies without any sense of shame."

The anonymous retiree described Hicks as having brown skin. He wore his hair short and had an athletic build. Although students and teachers tried to avoid him on occasion, they simply loved his wife, Mrs. Pearlie Jean Hicks, who taught Biology.

Johnson found a photo of  Hicks a few months ago while thumbing through the 1963 school district yearbook. Hicks, he said, worked hard for the school district and for his community. In addition to working as coach and teacher of Physical Education, Hicks also was director of transportation and maintenance, Johnson recalled. "When needed, he drove the school bus," he said.

A glimpse of Hicks' popularity can be seen in the April 21, 2016 issue of The Woodville Republican. In a front-page story, Wilkinson County School Board Member Johnny Smallwood makes a comment about Hicks' legacy:

“Moving on to another topic Smallwood stated, ‘The annual Wordy Hicks Relays were started years ago to remember this great man. He was a school and community leader. The track meet was very popular and successful in the past, but it isn’t so much now. Wordy Hicks helped a lot of kids in his time.”

Pushing them beyond their limits

In Coming of Age, Hicks is depicted as a stern coach who believed in winning. According to Moody, he did not suffer fools gladly and he had no time for slouches and girls who were out of shape. In Chapter 13 of her book, Moody introduces Hicks as the "new coach" at her school:

Mr. Hicks, our new coach, was a nut for physical fitness – especially for girls. He hated women who were dumb about sports and he used to practice us until we were panting like overplowed mules. Sometimes he’d even take us out to play touch football with the boys so that we could learn that game. All the girls who didn’t go along with his physical fitness program or who were fat and lazy he dismissed immediately. He was determined to have a winning team and was interested only in tall, slim girls who were light and fast on their feet. I think I worked harder than almost anyone else.

Hicks evidently was quite demanding. Like a drill sergeant, he aggressively  pushed his team members to and beyond their limits.

His training for the students was rigorous. Moody described him as "the most merciless person" she knew. Hicks required his students to practice and work through their pain, even when they could barely walk. According to Moody, he would tell the students: “The only way to overcome that soreness and stiffness is to work it out."

His fondness for female students

Despite his ambition and laser-like focus on winning, Hicks apparently found time to flirt with the girls. Moody believed he took a personal interest in her that went beyond basketball. In Chapter 16 of Coming of Age, Moody made this startling statement about the coach:

It was easy for me to ignore the white men in town. But it wasn’t so easy for me to ignore Mr. Hicks, my basketball coach, and the only single male teacher at school. I knew before that Mr. Hicks like me a lot, but I thought he liked me because I was his best tumbler and basketball player. I never suspected he had any long-range plans for me or desired me physically. Now the only looks he ever gave me were looks of affection and whenever he spoke to me it was in the tone of a lover.

Hicks eventually got married and spent many years working in the school district. He and his wife, Pearlie Jean, had two daughters, according to Johnson.

Hicks died on Jan. 4, 1990, at the age of 59, after suffering from cancer, Johnson said.

Closing thoughts

In closing, it should be noted that the information presented in this article sheds light on two important factors in Moody’s life story. First, it underscores the accuracy of her narrative, especially as it relates to dates and time periods. Moody apparently had an eye for details and she was meticulous in her story-telling. Numerous dates and/or time periods featured in Coming of Age are corroborated by multiple sources. Second, she was often a good judge of character, and she was usually on point in her description of people’s attitudes, behavior and predispositions. Not surprisingly, her perception of Hicks is shared by a number of people who knew the man. She, like others who knew him, came to see him for what he was.

Acknowledgments:

Grateful acknowledgments are made to Ms. Frances Alexander, former principal of Wilkinson County Elementary School, Woodville, Miss., for providing key sources of biographical information on Wordy Hicks Jr. Her help was invaluable.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Would you like to know MORE about Anne Moody?

Visit here to see the timeline of 

important events in her life history!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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