Legacy of civil rights trailblazer Shirlene Mercer honored at funeral service
Jackson native Shirlene Mercer, trailblazer and civil rights leader, was honored in a memorial service on Wednesday afternoon at the Carl Perkins Civic Center where friends and family gathered to pay their respects.
Mercer was recognized and honored for her decades of tireless social justice and humanitarian service to the cause of civil rights and equality.
As the rain poured over the Civic Center in the pre-service leading up to the 2 p.m. celebration of life and legacy, members of the community shared one last goodbye to Mercer as she laid in state, while friends, family and admirers took the time to shake hands and offer a consoling hug to those in mourning.
A student at Lane College during the height of the Civil Rights Movement in the early 1960s, Mercer, along with fellow Lane students Kimmie Davis, Ernest Brooks Sr., and Wesley McClure, made history with their participation in sit-in protests at the Woolworth's "whites-only" lunch counter, challenging segregation.
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Andrae Crouch’s “Let the Church Say Amen” echoed through the venue as the service began and Mercer’s family began to take their seats amongst the hundreds of attendees.
With an extensive list of community involvement activities, Mercer's dedication to the fight for civil rights and equality is reflected by the 70 awards listed in her obituary, including a multitude for her "outstanding community service."
President of the Jackson-Madison County branch of the NAACP Harrell Carter was among the first speakers and shared gratitude for Mercer's "unprecedented fight to the cause of civil rights and social justice."
Jackson Mayor Scott Conger took to the stage following Carter to declare Aug. 9, 2023 as "Shirlene Mercer Day."
Former U.S. Rep. John Tanner, D-Tennessee, District 8, whom Mercer worked for across many years as the Director of District Services, playfully noted that "everybody who knew Shirlene Mercer worked for her whether they knew it or not" — a theme repeated by subsequent speakers and a testament to Mercer's persuasiveness and diligence to reach her goals.
"I was thinking about it yesterday when they had the visitation at St. Luke's," Tanner said. "August the eighth, a significant date in Tennessee history and the Civil Rights Movement because it was on that day that the military Governor Andrew Johnson of Tennessee recognized what Abraham Lincoln, the president of the United States, had done on January the first, and that was the Emancipation Proclamation. Shirlene worked all her life on emancipation, and she is emancipated today."
The service entailed a number of musical selections from Mercer's niece Bonay Mercer Neely, a harmonic rendition of "When The Saints Go Marching In" from Damien Pearson, and Kelsea Merriweather accompanied by the Hub City Choir.
The stage featured a live band, countless flower arrangements, and a picture slideshow of Mercer, her family, and all that she’s done in the realm of community activism throughout the years.
Mercer's children, Tina and Luther, were among the final speakers of the service to share tearful, moving stories of their mother.
"There was a black history lesson every day," Tina said as she described "the detail and delicacy" in which her mother raised her and her brother.
"The main lesson that she taught us was no matter the difference between each of us, is just opportunity. No matter the lessons you learned, or how far you get in life, whatever kind of establishment that you might make, you never forget the people who didn't have the same opportunities. It is your job and your duty to heal that and to help those that cannot help themselves," she said.
This article originally appeared on Jackson Sun: Legacy of humanitarian Shirlene Mercer honored at Civic Center in Jackson
