Vernon Dahmer Statue Unveiled in Forrest County

During the Civil Rights Era, activist and Forrest County, Miss., NAACP President Vernon Dahmer’s work fighting for voting rights drew the ire of a variety of white supremacist organizations, including the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission, the Citizens Council and the Ku Klux Klan—all of whom had been keeping tabs on him for years. One night in January 1966, the Dahmer family awoke to the sound of gunfire and breaking glass as Klansmen tossed gas jugs through their windows. Dahmer grabbed his gun and shot back from inside the home to give his wife, Ellie, time to get out safely with their children. The house erupted into flames with Dahmer still inside. He died at a hospital not long after, his lungs scorched and body burned. On Jan. 6, 2020, Forrest County came together in downtown Hattiesburg to honor Dahmer’s legacy with the unveiling of a statue in his honor. His widow, Ellie Dahmer, spoke at the event, along with their children and other family and friends. As she pulled the veil off the statue, family members cried out, “It looks like him.” The woman, who ran for and won a seat on the Forrest County Election Commission in 1992, looked up at the bronze likeness of her husband and gasped joyfully. Dahmer’s statue sits on the lawn of Forrest County’s Paul B. Johnson Chancery Court Building, which is named for a former segregationist governor. During Dahmer’s time, the building served as the domain of Forrest County Circuit Clerk and Registrar of Voters Theron Lynd, an ardent segregationist who made black voters answer questions like, “How many bubbles are in a bar of soap?” Now, though, Dahmer’s most famous quote is displayed prominently in large letters outside the front of the courthouse: “If you don’t vote, you don’t count.” In 2016, the Mississippi Legislature began declaring Jan. 10 Vernon Dahmer Day to commemorate his life, death and legacy.

Family and friends gathered around a statue dedicated to voting rights activist Vernon Dahmer in Hattiesburg, Miss., on Jan. 6, 2019. Photo by Ashton Pittman.

Sculptors Vixon Sullivan, left, and Ben Watts, right, speak to a Hattiesburg crowd gathered for the unveiling of a statue of slain voting rights leader Vernon Dahmer. In the backgrounds looms a monument to the Confederacy and the Mississippi State flag, symbols of the very white supremacist culture that precipitated the activist's untimely death in 1966. Photo by Ashton Pittman

Ellie Dahmer (front right at the base of the statue) clips the ribbon holding a veil over a statue of her husband, Vernon Dahmer, a civil rights activist who died while saving her and their children when the Ku Klux Klan firebombed their home in 1966. Forrest County held the unveiling ceremony for the new statue on Jan. 6, 2020. Photo by Ashton Pittman

Ellie Dahmer looks up joyfully after pulling the veil off a statue of her husband, Vernon Dahmer, a civil rights activist who died while saving her and their children when the Ku Klux Klan firebombed their home in 1966. Forrest County held the unveiling ceremony for the new statue on Jan. 6, 2020. Photo by Ashton Pittman

David Hogan, the president of the Forrest County Board of Supervisers, steps off the stage, where the family of Vernon Dhamer is listening to speakers celebrating his life and legacy. Photo by Ashton Pittman

Forrest County Board of Supervisers President David Hogan puts his arm around Ellie Dahmer, as she prepares to give remarks before the unveiling of her slain husband's statue. Photo by Ashton Pittman

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