NORTH CARROLLTON — Growing up in Carroll County brings back many memories of years gone by. As far as the Southern political scene, it’s memories of Black Hawk every four years during the county and state elections.
Bill Lord of Carrollton, who will, as he has done for decades, emcee this year’s rally, has introduced many candidates who have been not only of historic relevance to Carroll County but also to the state of Mississippi.
As a kid growing up here and attending the Black Hawk rally, I can say that this is our version of the Neshoba County Fair and a must stop for political candidates. The longstanding rally was begun by Lord and others in an effort to raise money for the Black Hawk Bus Association.
The longstanding traditional stop for candidates seeking local, regional and state offices known as the Black Hawk Old Fashioned Political Rally is set this year for Saturday, June 22, from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m. The rally will be held at the Historic Black Hawk School, as it has been since the beginning in the late Sixties. This historic structure is located just west of the intersection of Mississippi 17 and Mississippi 430. The rally is sponsored by the Black Hawk Homemakers Club, and barbecue plates are sold for the preservation of the old Black Hawk School.
Lord recalls when many unknowns became household names in public service for our state. From the podium where he has introduced candidates through the years, he has seen them giving speeches and afterward interacting with voters in a venue that gave everyone an opportunity to personally meet the candidates. He remembers when he introduced then Vicksburg contractor Kirk Fordice, who was a virtual unknown back in 1991. Fordice went on to unseat incumbent Gov. Ray Mabus that year, becoming the first Republican governor since Reconstruction.
Through the years at the Black Hawk rally, there was William Winter running for lieutenant governor, then governor. There was Cliff Finch with his working man’s lunch box message on his way to becoming governor. There was Evelyn Gandy, who later went on to become in 1975 the first woman elected lieutenant governor in this state.
Through the years, hundreds of local candidates have spoken at Black Hawk for the very first time, including many who went on to serve Carroll County for decades and became courthouse fixtures.
Things have changed a lot since the beginning days of the rally. What was once Black Hawk’s public school from the 1920s through the 1950s is now a historic landmark. With technology and the internet, things have changed a lot also, but the down-home atmosphere of this setting will not ever be replaced, no matter how advanced we get in technology.
Black Hawk is a place where issues of the day are discussed, and it’s one-on-one contact. On Saturday, June 22, come and be a part of Carroll County politics and hospitality at its best, complete with political speeches, the smell of barbecue and political fans to beat the heat. In Black Hawk, its Southern politicking at its best.
• Ken Strachan is a Carroll County native and mayor of North Carrollton.
