Ellington

In Jackson, a street, a library and a museum are just a few of the symbols that honor a man who gave his all to the city and Mississippi, including his life, in the name of civil rights. Now the decision is before the City Council to honor Medgar Evers in a big way.

In October, Ineva Pittman brought the request to the city planning board to change the Jackson International Airport's name to the Medgar Evers International Airport. "I was asked to start this task by some citizens who wanted to see this happen, and when I was told that the name was Medgar Evers I had to do it," she said. "I am doing as well as I am because of what Medgar did, and so is everyone else."

The request was rejected. The planning board suggested naming the airport terminal after Evers instead. Pittman appealed the rejection, and from there several discussions began with other concerned residents joining her campaign.

The other side, though, responded that the name wasn't "marketable." Glenda Glover, Jackson International Airport Authority chairwoman, said in an interview: "It was the position of the Airport Authority that in order to ensure marketability we needed to keep the name of the city in the Airport name. As beloved as he [Evers] is and as critical as he was to the movement, it is also very important that the city of Jackson suffer no dilution. This began the conflict."

Pittman said that she felt there was a bit of a misunderstanding in the beginning—not only because of the disagreement, but also this was a very unique situation for the city. "This had never been done before. There are procedures and rules for naming streets and buildings, but this was an airport," she said.

Then, right before last week's planning board meeting, where at least 50 residents came to voice their opinions, Pittman and Glover came to a compromise. "Once Mrs. Pittman and I were alone without the others who were mean-spirited throughout the entire process, we were able to come to a compromise," Glover said.

Pittman said that once she and Glover talked about it, and discussed the research, she began to better understand the other side's position. "The ideal decision would be for the name to be Medgar Evers International Airport, but we have had a meeting of the minds and the suggestion 'Jackson-Evers' was agreed upon. That would at least partly satisfy our needs," she said.

Charles Evers, brother of the slain civil rights leader, said that if the compromise is voted for, he wants no part of any of it. "Jackson-Evers: what does that sound like? Nothing! If it does not include his full name, Medgar Evers International Airport, I don't want nothing to do with it," he said in an interview.

State NAACP President Derrick Johnson said: "We have several schools and buildings named for Lincoln and confederate soldiers. This would be a chance for the African American community to honor one of our heroes."

On Tuesday, City Council asked Pittman permission to amend her original ordinance to reflect the compromise, and she agreed. Council will vote on the compromise name Tuesday, Dec. 21.

In related news, Evers' home county of Newton made a historic move on Dec. 10 by unveiling highway markers designating the Interstate 20-Highway 15 interchange as the "Medgar Evers Memorial Interchange." A multi-racial coalition, the Newton County-Medgar Evers Committee, brought the plan to fruition—with a ceremony to honor the unveiling of the markers at the Newton City Hall.

Medgar Evers grew up in Decatur, Miss., and attended school in Newton. He later moved to Jackson, where he became field director of the NAACP. In 1963, he was shot in the back on his carport by Byron De La Beckwith in front of his wife and small children.

Previous Comments

ID

64318

Comment

Woo, hoo, you say it Mickey! Mickey Loyacono of Vicksburg says in a letter to the editor that I-55 should be named after Medgar Evers, and then follows up with this: If a reservoir can be named after a racist governor who did all he could to protect Byron De La Beckwith from being convicted for killing Medgar, then Medgar deserves a better and bigger area named after him. Truer words have never been spoken. That reservoir name is a state embarrassment.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2004-12-16T10:02:12-06:00

ID

64319

Comment

I would rather see us do a real honor to Evers, in the form of a full-fledged Mississippi Civil Rights museum, preferably in the old Woolworth's on Capitol Street. So much of the nation's civil rights history is here that it is a state shame Not to have something of this type. Honestly, that would bring more tourist and redevelopment money into downtown than the convention center. The truth is we cant run away from our history, and changing names only a superficial act--let's do something substantial for a change.

Author

Willezurmacht

Date

2004-12-17T13:52:02-06:00