By Roscoe Barnes III
Chairman, Anne Moody History Project
Copyright (c) 2018
#AnneMoody
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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.
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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.
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‘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.
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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.
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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:
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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