Black History Month festivities began yesterday with a speech by Rev. C. Edward “CJ” Rhodes, the presentation of the Lift Every Voice Awards and a call for remembrance.
Tuesday at noon in the Student Union, February’s Black History Month events kicked off with a speech by University of Mississippi alumnus Rev. C. Edwards “CJ” Rhodes. About 80 people attended the event, which included a performance by the University of Mississippi Gospel Choir.
Donald Cole, provost for academic affairs, opened the event and was followed by Aileen Ajootian, chair of the Department of Classics.
“Today we stand together in the Union, united by the common ground of this university, our academic home, whose doors are open to everybody,” Ajootian said. “Our university gives us chances every day to think, to learn, to grow.”
Sean Higgins, president of Ole Miss College Democrats and Associated Student Body senator, introduced Rhodes, the pastor of Jackson’s Mount Helm Baptist Church.
Rhodes is the co-founder of the university’s Department of Minority Affairs and is also the son of Carroll Rhodes, a civil rights attorney. His message called for the community to make this nation “a home for all men to live freely and love the God they worship.”
Rhodes described the statue of James Meredith located between the J.D. Williams Library and the Lyceum and credited Meredith with opening the doors of the university to black students.
“Because of Meredith’s courage, many others would walk through these open doors to attend this state’s flagship institution of higher learning,” Rhodes said.
Rhodes called for the university to remember the faces and the voices of those who fought for racial equality. Afterward, the Ole Miss Gospel Choir performed two songs.
The events came to a close with the presentation of the Lift Every Voice Awards, which were awarded to three members of the Ole Miss faculty by Cole. According to Cole, the award is given annually to those who have “contributed to the betterment of human relationships on campus.”
The recipients this year were Susan M. Glisson, executive director of the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation, Jeff Jackson, associate professor of sociology, and Valerie Ross, assistant dean of students for multicultural affairs.
