McCOMB — Turns out the owner of a company behind a controversial billboard on Interstate 55 in the Jackson area is a graduate of South Pike High School and has close relatives and friends in the McComb area.
Aunjanue Ellis is now a well-known actress who appeared in movies “The Help,” “Men of Honor,” “Ray” and others.
The billboard, whose purported message is probably misunderstood by many of its critics, consists of the words “We Shall Overcome” with images of the Confederate battle flag forming each of the letters.
The words, of course, come from the anthem of civil rights workers in the 1960s. The battle flag, which is revered by many peaceful white Mississippians in a historical context, is viewed by most African-Americans and some whites as a symbol of hate because it was often used by the Ku Klux Klan and other racists groups.
Ellis is listed as president of Miss Myrtis Films, which is said to be paying for the billboard. It’s probably no coincidence that Ellis’ late grandmother, Myrtis Taylor of Pike County, helped raise her.
The Jackson Clarion-Ledger, which has been running articles about the billboard and an editorial criticizing it, quotes from an email which purports to explain the motive behind the conflicting signals in the sign.
“There are those who would claim sole ownership of these symbols and those who would wish them gone, but we are all as Mississippians connected to them,” the email reads. “There are wounds in Mississippi that have not healed and this billboard we hope to use as a way to bring communities together for a long overdue talk about those wounds and that connectivity.”
Hard to argue with the motive, although some are accurately pointing out that the billboard would be more effective in the context of a broader discussion of race and history. Standing alone, it can be interpreted or misinterpreted in various ways.
And it can be argued that at some point the focus in Mississippi should be on the present and the future, rather than half a century ago. That’s not to say our history should be ignored or forgotten, but there comes a time to let the past be the past.
If that sign does anything to help, good for its sponsors. If it doesn’t, then it still isn’t the worst thing to happen in Mississippi this year.
Criticism by some that the sign is being sponsored by out-of-state interests trying to stir up something in Mississippi can be countered by Ellis’ background. Reports so far are a little vague as to how much input she has into the effort being financed by her company, but she certainly has roots in Mississippi.
In October 2004, Ellis was visiting family in McComb when she was interviewed by the Enterprise-Journal. She said she’s not one to get caught up in the trappings of Hollywood and success and she’s been able to stay grounded because of her family — including her late grandmother. She said: “I think being Southern, particularly from a place so community-, family- and education-oriented, helped me and kept me from thinking I’m ‘it.’”
