Starkville management working with the Mississippi Division of Archives and Historical past to protect Civil Rights landmarks

STARKVILLE, miss. (WCBI) – The city of Starkville is currently working with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History to preserve local civil rights-era landmarks.

“Mississippi is a state that struggled to do the right thing during the civil rights era,” says District Councilor 5 Alderman Hamp Beatty. “In the 50s and 60s, we had to be kicked and dragged along with us screaming to do the right thing.”

A year after the social justice marches took center stage across the country, Alderman Beatty and other Starkville city guides are working to make sure the struggles for equality of the past are not forgotten.

The Mississippi Department of Archives and History awarded the city a grant of at least $ 10,000 to help preserve the landmarks of Starkville’s civil rights. Now a search is being made to find a historian to identify them. Alderman Hamp Beatty submitted the proposal to the board in June pic.twitter.com/di4LSxHadD

– Stephen Pimpo (@spimpojr) July 6, 2021

It was back in June when Alderman Beatty made a proposal (which was approved) to the Starkville Board of Alderman to find and name buildings and locations that are relevant to the civil rights movement across the city.

“Mississippi has made significant strides in the past 50 years, but we still have a long way to go and that’s our way of saying, ‘We want to do the right thing,'” he says.

The Mississippi Department of Archives and History awarded the city a board-voted grant that will advertise up to at least $ 10,000 for the preservation of Starkville’s civic landmarks.

“I’m old enough in my former hometown to remember the churches and things in which the civil rights struggle took place,” says Alderman Beatty.

The idea came from the Starkville Historic Preservation Commission, which secured this certified grant from the local government. You are now working with the Department of Archives and History to select a company that will identify all of the historical landmarks.

“There’s a lot of research going on and hopefully some of the people who were involved in these events are still alive,” says Alderman Beatty.

Then it will be the job of the city to put up signs that explain the meaning of a place. Alderman Beatty also says the markers can act as a reminder that the fight is not over yet.

“People still have to work and be hardworking, and governments have to work hard to ensure that people are not deprived of their civil rights,” he said.

But much like changing the state flag, he believes this may be another small but important step for Mississippi.

“It sends a signal to people in other parts of the country that our state is changing for the better,” says Alderman Beatty.

Once a company is selected, Alderman Beatty expects all major landmarks to be identified by September 2022.