A billboard will soon be going up on U.S. 82 honoring the recent victims of violent crime in the Leflore County area.
Mothers of Murdered Sons (MOMS), a support group turned nonprofit organization, seeks to give comfort and relief to those who have unfortunately lost sons to homicides.
Jessica Frazier, 54, the founder of MOMS, who lives in Jackson, said that the billboard is scheduled to be put up at 10 a.m. Wednesday. She said it will be across U.S. 82 from Cannon Nissan and near the entrance of Pillow Academy.
Frazier said she and her daughter, Tiffany, formed the support group after her daughter’s son, Parish, was killed in March of last year.
“That was the most devastating thing to ever occur in my life,” Frazier said.
“Everybody can say they know how you feel, but until you are put in that situation, you do not understand how I feel,” she said.
Frazier’s goal with the billboard is to bring more awareness of gun violence in Greenwood and keep law enforcement officers accountable to the victims.
She also hopes those who are responsible for the crimes but haven’t been caught will feel remorse for the pain they have brought to so many families when seeing the billboard.
MOMS, which started with just one member, now has 82, including people from Minnesota, New Jersey, Iowa, Utah and many more places.
Frazier said she is tired of the problem of gun violence going in one ear and out of the other. She said she wants to put the issue in the face of everyone who passes by the billboards.
When meeting with members of the Greenwood community about putting a billboard in the city, Frazier said that most of the money needed to put up the billboard was given immediately on the spot.
Frazier also said that Kenderick Cox, a resident of Greenwood who ran for mayor this year, helped raise the rest of the money that the women could not pay.
“If I have the means, I want to support this cause any way possible,” Cox said.
“The pictures of the victims (on the billboard) show that their lives are still important,” he said.
The billboard may also lead others to speak up and find help for the mothers who have lost sons, he said.
This will be the fourth billboard that MOMS has erected since the organization was formed last year. There are two in Greenville and one in Leland.
Due to the overwhelming support she has received from other mothers, Frazier said she plans to put up another billboard in Greenwood in the near future.
“Our hope with the billboard is to continue to foster a more open relationship with the mothers and the police department,” she said.
Frazier has also incorporated a 24-hour MOMS hotline that allows mothers who have lost sons to homicide to talk to someone about what they are experiencing. The MOMS hotline can be reached at 662-452-8219.
Those who wish to contribute to MOMS can donate via CashApp using the organization’s cash tag, “$MOMS3330.” For more information, Frazier may be reached at 601-316-2093.
- Contact Drew Richardson at 581-7233 or drichardson@gwcommonwealth.com.
