SUMNER — The continued display of the Mississippi state flag outside Tallahatchie County’s two courthouses is negatively impacting the work of the Emmett Till Memorial Commission (ETMC), co-chairman John Wilchie told the Tallahatchie County Board of Supervisors Friday.
Wilchie presented supervisors with copies of a letter from the commission, dated June 6 and signed only by himself, in which it is stated that the 18-member commission “voted unanimously” in November 2015 to recommend removal of the controversial flag from courthouse grounds and asking that supervisors now “take our recommendation into consideration and allow us to have a response so we can update our board members.”
The state flag features a representation of the Confederate battle flag. Opponents of the symbol consider it racially offensive and divisive.
“It’s not just this organization, the Emmett Till Memorial Commission, trying to remove the state flag,” said Wilchie. “We have donors who come here from nationwide. They come to see where their money is going and what we’re doing. The first thing they see when they get out at the courthouse is that flag. Same thing with the National Park Service. We’re under evaluation. We’ve got to have some improvement to keep these funds flowing. We’ve got to do something. Now is the time.”
Wilchie was referring to an ongoing federal study that is considering the Sumner courthouse, site of the landmark 1955 trial of two white men accused of the racially motivated murder of 14-year-old African-American Emmett Till, for possible inclusion in the National Park System. Selection would bring economic and other benefits.
Wilchie said taking down the state flag could enhance the chances of landing the Park Service designation.
District 5 Supervisor Eddie Meeks supported the idea.
“I’m going to vote to remove the flag, but ... in a resolution, more than one person signs off,” said Meeks, referring to Wilchie’s lone signature on the ETMC letter.
Wilchie assured the board that all 18 members of the county-formed commission — nine white and nine black, he said — voted affirmatively for the 2015 resolution and that he would locate and forward a copy of the original document to county officials.
“Mr. chairman, I move that once we get that letter, we vote on it, up or down,” Meeks said to District 2 Supervisor Johnny Goodwin, president of the board.
Goodwin said a special board meeting could be called later to consider the flag issue, or it may come up at a recessed meeting of the board set for Friday, June 22, at 9 a.m.
IN THE PHOTO: The United States and Mississippi state flags fly outside the Tallahatchie County Courthouse in Sumner on Jan. 30, 2013. (The Sun-Sentinel file photo by Clay McFerrin)
