The Leflore County Board of Supervisors approved two contracts between the county and a Utah-based company Monday for the construction of a bronze statue of Emmett Till.
Big Statues is run by sculptor Matt Glen, who has been hired to create the statue.
Till, a Black 14-year-old from Chicago, was abducted, tortured and killed in 1955 after whistling at a white woman at Bryant’s Grocery and Meat Market in Money. His death served as a catalyst for the civil rights movement.
State Sen. David Jordan secured $150,000 from the state last year to pay for the statue, which will be installed at Rail Spike Park in Greenwood.
The first contract states that the county will pay the company $110,900 for the construction and shipping of the statue. The second contract says the county will pay Big Statues $5,640 for installation.
The statue is expected to be installed Oct. 1, and the process is likely to take about six hours, according to the contracts.
Also Monday, the board:
- Heard from Beulah Greer, co-founder and executive director of Community Students Learning Center (CSLC), a Lexington-based nonprofit organization, about a $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Small Business Adminstration to help entrepreneurs in various counties, including Leflore County.
Greer said her organization was one of 51 entities throughout the country to receive funding from the SBA’s Community Navigator Pilot Program to assist small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Greer said CSLC can offer technical assistance, such as helping small businesses launch or helping entrepreneurs secure grant funding. CSLC is partnering with the North Central Planning and Development District, a Winona-based nonprofit, for the program, which is operating under the name Mississippi Opportunities for a Vital Economy.
Greer said her organization received the funds late last year and the program went into effect in December. To date, 250 small business owners have received assistance.
For more information, contact CSLC at 662-834-0905 or the North Central Planning and Development District at 662-283-2675.
- Heard from Leflore County resident Perleshine Ross about flooding at her Maple Street residence, where she has lived since 1999.
During that time, she said, her home has been flooded about a dozen times, including during storms last June and last week. Her yard also is susceptible to flooding. Ross said she has tried several strategies to mitigate flooding, such as installing gutters to redirect the flow of water, all to no avail.
She said she has been looking at applying for grants to address the problem, but local or state government must apply for these grants on behalf of residents.
District 2 Supervisor Reginald Moore told Ross that starting in April, the Institute for Diversity and Inclusion in Emergency Management, a nonprofit organization that advocates for emergency management for marginalized communities, will be in Leflore County to host a series of workshops and seminars pertaining to responses to flash flooding.
He said, the nonprofit group will study recent flash floods in the county and the overall history of flash flooding in the area to determine how the federal government can help and how residents can take preventive measures. This nonprofit group is conducting this work at no cost to residents or the county, he said.
- Contact Gerard Edic at 662-581-7239 or gedic@gwcommonwealth.com.
