The Browning Progressive Civic League will celebrate Labor Day by giving back to the community.
The members will be offering free fish plates Monday.
“We just could not, considering the COVID-19 pandemic, do what we are accustomed to having every year,” said Niqua Graham-Brooks, president of the Browning Progressive Civic League. “However, we wanted to give back to the community and to the citizens of Greenwood and Leflore County.”
In previous years, the Browning community’s Labor Day Festival — sponsored by the Civic League, in part with the Leflore County Board of Supervisors — featured an assortment of activities for the whole family, such as games, arts and crafts vendors, and live entertainment. It brought out many people from Greenwood, Leflore County and the surrounding areas, including a record year of about 2,500 to 3,000 festival-goers.
Because of the pandemic and health and safety guidelines, members of the organization knew holding a large-scale event was not an option, but they wanted to find a way to carry on the annual tradition for its 30th year.
“We wanted to do something to show the community that we still care and that the Browning Progressive Civic League is still in action,” said Graham-Brooks.
This year’s Labor Day Festival will begin at 10 a.m. with a community parade.
“We have asked some people to come out,” said Graham-Brooks. “However, anyone who wants to join us, we will be glad to have you.”
A fish fry will follow the parade. Plates for adults and children will be available starting at 10:30 a.m. in the Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church parking lot.
The free fish plates will be given away on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Browning Progressive Civic League will also hold a voter registration drive. Those who are not registered and would like to vote in the election in November can register at the fish fry. Face masks must be worn.
“Those individuals will be ready to participate in the upcoming presidential election this year,” said Graham-Brooks.
This year, the Browning Progressive Civic League will recognize its charter members.
“We wanted to honor our four matriarchs,” Graham-Brooks said.
Those members include Claudine Brown, Thelma Sims, the late Georgia Moore and the late Laura Graham.
“They are the reason for the Browning Progressive Civic League being in existence today,” she said.
The Browning Progressive Civic League was established in 1961 to keep the community thriving after the Browning Vocational School was closed and students began attending school on the Amanda Elzy campus.
After the closure of the school, which was an integral part of the community, it was important to the residents of Browning to keep their community going.
Extending from Mississippi 7 to the edge of Carroll County, Browning is one of the oldest historically African American communities in the area. The community was formed over several years shortly after the Civil War. About 90% of its first occupants were landowners. Most of its residents today are descendants of the community’s founders.
Along with the formation of the Civic League, the annual Labor Day Festival, which became open to the public in 1990, is a way to keep the community together and its identity alive.
For more information, call 453-0311.
• Contact Ruthie Robison at 581-7235 or rrobison@gwcommonwealth.com.
