Buckley to speak at ceremony honoring Anne Moody

He will be joined by Rep. Angela Cockerham and others

By Roscoe Barnes III

Rev. Reginald M. Buckley will be the special guest speaker at the unveiling ceremony for the Mississippi Freedom Trail marker honoring Anne Moody on Monday, September 15, in Centreville. Rep. Angela Cockerham is one of several prominent leaders who will speak at Monday's ceremony honoring Anne Moody.

CENTREVILLE, Miss. -- The Rev. Reginald M. Buckley, president of the General Missionary Baptist State Convention of Mississippi Inc., will be the guest speaker at the Mississippi Freedom Trail ceremony honoring Anne Moody.

The ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, September 15 at Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church, 8755 Highway 24 East. The event is free and open to the public.
 
A native of Jackson, Buckley is a graduate of Tougaloo College, where he completed his undergraduate studies. He is also a recipient of the Andrew W. Mellon fellowship. He holds a Master of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana.
 
Buckley is the senior pastor of Cade Chapel Missionary Baptist Church. In addition to having been inducted into the Tougaloo College Hall of Fame, he is a recipient of the Tougaloo Meritorious Leadership award. Buckley and his wife, Dr. Lecretia A. Buckley, are the parents of two children, Jonathan and Anna.
 
Dr. Donzell Lee, president of Tougaloo College, said he looks forward to participating in the program, which will be a first for Wilkinson County. Lee will share remarks about Moody, who became a civil rights activist while attending Tougaloo College in the early 1960s.
 
Other speakers will include the Rev. LeReginald Jones, pastor of Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church; Rep. Angela Cockerham, District 96; Rev. Fred Moody Jr., brother of Anne Moody; Dr. Daphne Chamberlain, chief program officer at the Emmett Till Interpretive Center; John Spann, program and outreach officer at the Mississippi Humanities Council; Rev. Larry Lee, pastor of Winans Chapel C.M.E. Church; and Senator Gary L. Brumfield, District 38.
 
Dr. Roscoe Barnes III will serve as master of ceremonies. Barnes is the cultural heritage tourism manager at Visit Natchez and the president of the Mississippi Historical Society. Music will be provided by the Mount Pleasant Church Choir.
 
Organizers say they are excited about the list of speakers, all of whom continue to make a difference in Mississippi’s history. They are also helping to preserve Moody’s legacy.
 
In 2018, Cockerham sponsored House Bill 1153 that resulted in Highway 24 -- between Woodville and Centreville -- being named the Anne Moody Memorial Highway. Cockerham’s bill was passed overwhelmingly by the House and Senate, without any “nay” votes recorded. Gov. Phil Bryant signed the bill into law on March 8, 2018.
 
In May 2025, Buckley reported how Moody would be honored by the General Missionary Baptist State Convention of Mississippi Inc. He announced the Women’s Auxiliary building at Natchez College will be home to the Anne Moody Interpretive Center. The center will feature historic documents, artifacts, and memorabilia.

Buckley said, “Moody’s time spent at Natchez College was formative in her development as a writer and activist as she discovered her agency to confront and speak to issues. Establishing the Anne Moody Interpretive Center at the Baptist Heritage and Arts Center at Natchez College will help to keep Moody’s spirit of agency and activism alive for future generations to be inspired.”
 
Moody was a civil rights activist and the author of “Coming of Age in Mississippi.” She was born and raised in Centreville, a town that she features in her book. She also wrote about her time as a student at Natchez College.
 
In September 2017, the town of Centreville held a celebration that included a proclamation for Anne Moody Day and a resolution for renaming Fort Street, Anne Moody Street. The celebration was organized by the Anne Moody History Project, an organization that was founded at the MTC-operated Wilkinson County Correctional Facility in Woodville.
 
Moody died in 2015 at the age 74.