JSU Unveils Civil Rights Mural, Substance Abuse Prevention Block Grant and USM Vaccine Incentive Program | Jackson Free Press

Jackson State University’s Office of Community Engagement unveiled its new Council of Federated Organizations mural entitled “Chain Breakers” on Saturday, July 24th. Photo courtesy of JSU

Jackson State University’s Office of Community Engagement unveiled its new Council of Federated Organizations mural on Saturday, July 24th. The mural on the outside of the COFO building at 1017 John R. Lynch St. is called “Chain Breakers” and pays homage to living and dead civil rights legends, according to a JSU publication.

The JSU commissioned Jackson artist Sabrina Howard for the mural project. Her previous work includes the mural of the Milton Chambliss Shoe Hospital on the 900 block of John R. Lynch Street and a mural entitled “Sowing the Seeds of Love” in the JSU / Blackburn Learning Garden near the main campus of the university. The Mississippi Arts Commission awarded the JSU a grant of $ 8,000 for the new COFO mural.

Founded in 1961, COFO was a coalition of several large Mississippi civil rights groups that coordinated to register voters and conduct other civil rights activities. The organization works regularly with other civil rights groups such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, the Congress of Racial Equality, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

The JSU reopened the COFO building in 1971 as the COFO Civil Rights Education Center. The center is intended to preserve the past, cultivate young minds and promote the development of future managers and community builders, according to the JSU press release.

Guests at the unveiling of the mural included Jacqueline Hamer Flakes, the daughter of Fannie Lou Hamer; Jason Robinson, a grandson of Rose Elizabeth Howard Robinson; Louise Marshall, the first African American bookstore owner in the Washington Addition community; Regina Orey, a niece of Albert Powell, who was the first African American florist in the Washington Addition; State Representative Alyce G. Clarke of House District 69; and Angela Stewart, archivist for the Margaret Walker Center at JSU.

See jsums.edu/cofo/ for more information.

MJCPC Receives Substance Abuse Prevention Grant Extension

The Department of Mental Health Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Services recently extended the Metro Jackson Community Prevention Coalition’s Drug Abuse Prevention Grant. MJCPC will receive $ 304,488 for fiscal 2021-2022.

MJCPC is using the Substance Abuse Prevention Block Grant to provide evidence-based drug abuse prevention services to local schools and colleges in the Jackson community, according to a statement from Jackson State University. JSU employee Henry C. Thompson Jr. is the director and chief investigator of MJCPC.

The grant program also focuses on preventing the misuse or abuse of prescription drugs, alcohol, and marijuana in the greater Jackson area. The grant helps educators develop and implement age-appropriate and culturally relevant comprehensive prevention programs aimed at people who have not been identified as in need of treatment. Other MJCPC services include prevention activities for elementary to secondary schools and subgroups at high risk of substance abuse.

USM Launches Vaccine Incentive Program for Students

The University of Southern Mississippi recently announced a new incentive program to encourage students to get their COVID-19 vaccination. The program allows fully vaccinated USM students to receive incentives over the next 12 weeks. USM is holding weekly draws from Friday, July 30th through Friday, October 15th.

USM staff will draw five names each week of students receiving their vaccine and give 60 incentives over 12 weeks. The USM Dean of Studies will notify the winners.

Incentives include tuition fees of $ 4,602 each for Fall Semester 2021, USM Dining $ 1,000 each, Barnes & Noble Book Vouchers worth $ 300 each, Housing and Lounge Loans $ 2,000 each and $ 414 each parking sticker.

To be eligible for the incentive program, students must be enrolled at USM for the fall semester 2021 and submit a completed, official COVID-19 vaccination certificate online at usm.edu/gotmycovidvax.

USM students and staff can schedule a COVID-19 vaccination appointment at the Moffitt Health Center on the USM Hattiesburg campus. Students and staff can schedule a vaccination appointment online or call the Moffitt Health Center at 601-266-5390. Off-campus COVID-19 vaccination sites are available online at impfstoffe.gov.