Honorees from Jackson's 7 wards received awards for helping city fight the water crisis
In a special reception hosted Tuesday evening, the City of Jackson and the Jackson City Council honored "unsung heroes" of the 2022 Jackson Water Crisis.
Those heroes were instrumental in helping the city fight through the water crisis. Those honored were residents, churches, neighborhood associations and local nonprofits who provided pallets of water bottles, support for those in need and helped the city coordinate relief efforts.
The reception followed a citywide day of service on Monday that was held to honor the public service of residents during the Jackson Water Crisis. Volunteers and 29 students from Capital City Alternative School helped clean-up Percy V. Simpson Drive, which is near Dawson Elementary School in west Jackson, as well as painted and decorated fences to help beautify the street. A time capsule was also buried with letters from 5th graders from Dawson Creek Elementary during the clean-up to commemorate the day and will be opened in 2030.
"These efforts and these resources that we're using to clean this street can be utilized in other areas to beautify the city," said Lakesha Weathers, the city's solid waste supervisor, at a press conference after the day of service.
Before the cleanup, Weathers said the street was filled with debris from dumpers making it completely impassable for cars driving.
Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba thanked the scholars and the volunteers and called the clean-up "an act of unity, an act of reclaiming our city."
"This speaks to the very purpose of this week as we're commemorating the one-year anniversary of the water crisis. As our city has been through the worst of circumstances, we have demonstrated resilience as a city. We have demonstrated that (even with) the worst of circumstances, we can repurpose it into something beautiful and that is what Jackson is all about," Lumumba said at the press conference.
Kicking off Tuesday night's reception was keynote speaker Russel Honoré, a retired Lieutenant General who served as the 33rd commanding general of the U.S. First Army at Fort Gillem, Georgia. Honoré, known as "The Ragin' Cajun," also served as the commander of the Joint Task Force Katrina, which was responsible for coordinating military relief efforts in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005.
During his speech, the general reflected on calling Lumumba at the start of the crisis and telling him, "I'm here to help you." But his speech mainly commended the resiliency of the residents of Jackson for coming together through hard times and supporting their neighbors and those in need.
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"You got soul!" Honoré said to those in attendance several times throughout his speech, alluding to Jackson's slogan "The City With Soul."
"I stand here tonight by the strength and resilience I witnessed in this community during the 2022 Jackson Water Crisis. We gather to honor the community champions," Honoré said. "The men and women who throughout this crisis have shown unwavering resilience, leadership and compassion. In times of hardship and despair, the true character of the community emerged. Adversity does not build character, it reveals it. The water crisis revealed the heart and soul of this city, one filled with empathy and generosity and the love for your neighbors."
After, Lumumba gave a similar speech, commending not just those who were being honored tonight, but also "so many individuals, more than we can even recognize today, that had acts of valor, acts of kindness, acts of generosity in the midst of our crisis."
"It's the residents who sit long hours in a water line, not only to take care of themselves but to give water to their neighbors who are disabled or may be unable to travel to get water for themselves," Lumumba said. "It's the people who are able to make adjustments for child care because their children may not be able to go to a JPS school because it may be closed because there is no water pressure at that facility. I want you to know that we love you, and we recognize you."
The honorees were selected from each ward and were handpicked by members of the Jackson City Council. Ward 2 Councilwoman Angelique Lee, Ward 4 Councilman Brian Grizzell and Ward 7 Councilwoman Virgi Lindsay were all in attendance and presented the awards to the honorees. Ward 1 Councilman Ashby Foote, Ward 3 Councilman Kenneth Stokes, Ward 5 Councilman Vernon Hartley and Ward 6 Councilman and Council President Aaron Banks were not in attendance.
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The City of Jackson and Lumumba also chose honorees for the reception. The mayor's chief of staff Safiya Omari presented the awards.
Here are the award winners from each ward:
Ward 1
Andrew Clark
Christ United Methodist Church
Ward 2
Socrates Garrett
Nancy Gaynor
Pastor James Henley
Pastor R.K. Moore
Pastor Samuel Thompson
Ward 3
Frank Figgers
Sirena Wilson
Shady Oaks Homeowners and Community Neighborhood Association
Ward 4
Seymore Bell
Johnnie Byrd
Reverend Calvin Day
Ramesh Patel
Earnest Ward
Ward 5
Derrick Kelly
Robert Martez Hopkins
Tina Wallace
Courtney Warner
Putalamus White and The Jackson Resource Center
Jackson Public Schools in Ward 5
Ward 6
No honorees were announced for Ward 6.
Ward 7
Northminster Baptist Church
New Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church
Andy Frame of Revitalize Mississippi
The Mayor
Andy Boone, manager of the city's 311 action line.
Mississippi Poor People's Campaign
Rosemont Missionary Baptist Church
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Jackson honors 'unsung heroes' of water crisis with special reception
