GLENDORA — Congressman Bennie Thompson recently visited Glendora to receive two awards: the ETHIC Lifetime Achievement in Civil Rights Leadership, and the ETHIC Lifetime Achievement in Civil Rights and the Prevention of Human Wrongs.
The awards were presented by Glendora Mayor Johnny B. Thomas and Sharon Hill, executive director of the Emmett Till Historic Intrepid Center (ETHIC).
“What you do here is the Lord’s work,” Thomas said to Thompson. “Your work continues to move us forward equipped with knowledge, united in purpose and committed to transforming the future for our youth, families and communities across the Mississippi Delta.”
Thompson, a native of Bolton, represents Mississippi’s 2nd Congressional District and has long served communities in the Delta.
In 2023, he forwarded legislation to fund a $375,000 Community Project special appropriations grant to ETHIC in Glendora. Now awarded, those funds will be used for improvements and enhancements to the historic ETHIC museum and attached properties, expanding their uses in the community.
The presentation of the award was made during the closing luncheon of during the first annual ETHIC Youth Summit, held April 16-18 in Greenwood.
The ceremony, attended by the community and ETHIC board members, included presentations by Hill; state Rep. Tracey T. Rosebud of Mississippi House District 30; George Stewart, education program officer for the Foundation for the Mid South; Gloria Dickerson, founder and CEO of We2Gether Creating Change; and ETHIC Chair Dr. Everette Penn, who co-founded ETHIC along with Mayor Thomas.
During the ceremony, Penn and Hill awarded Thomas the ETHIC Trailblazer in Community Leadership Award.
ETHIC intends to present two awards annually beginning in 2027. They will be the Bennie G. Thompson Lifetime Achievement in Civil Rights Leadership Award and the Johnny B. Thomas Trailblazer in Community Leadership Award, in honor of their inaugural recipients.
