Matthew Caston
Contributing Writer
JACKSON, Miss. — The city of Jackson welcomed the World Conference of Mayors (WCM) during a 2 p.m. news conference, Thursday, June 4, at the Hilton Hotel on 1001 East County Line Road.
Interim Mayor Leslie McLemore welcomed the group of mayors who traveled from coast to coast. “This is quite an honor for the city of Jackson, its citizens, and the state of Mississippi,” McLemore said.
During his remarks, McLemore not only welcomed the WCM, he also encouraged them to “spend a lots of money” while in the capital city. He told them that Jackson certainly has a lot to offer them.
Eugene Grant, vice president of the WCM and mayor of Seat Pleasant, Md., accepted McLemore’s welcome on behalf of Ron Davis, president of WCM. “We are excited and delighted to be here in Jackson,” Grant said.
Davis is expected, but had not arrived – at that time — due to a prior obligation.
“We are excited and delighted to be here in Jackson,” Grant said. Grant acknowledged the board members of the more than 700 worldwide-mayor organization. “There is no better way to celebrate the legacy that was left to us by our brother Medgar than to have an eclectic group of intellectual black men and women discussing issues pertinent to the lives of our people here in the United States of America,” Grant said.
The World Conference of Mayors’ Annual Meeting and the 9th Annual International Black Broadcasters Association Conference (IBBAC) are being held in Jackson in conjunction with the 46th Annual Medgar Evers-B.B. King Mississippi Homecoming.
WMPR Radio station owner and general manager Charles Evers, former mayor of Fayette, Miss., and who is also a member of the WCM board, served as facilitator of the news conference.
As the brother of the late Medgar Evers, Charles Evers, 86, reflected on the past and on how far African Americans have come in the state of Mississippi.
“We couldn’t vote in this state, we couldn’t go to the water fountain in this state, we couldn’t use the public restroom,” Evers said to the members of the WCM. “We in Mississippi are proud of the progress we have made and we’re proud to have all of you here and to see it.”
When asked what he thought Medgar Evers would say about some of the state officials declining his (Charles Evers’) invitation to be a part of this 46th –year celebration, Evers said: “I don’t know what he would say, but I know what I would say: We can’t get all of them to come, but we have enough of them.”
Conference activities will be held at the Hilton Jackson Hotel and the Roberts-Walthall Hotel.
For more information, please call 601-201-1445. For more information on the Medgar Evers/B.B. King Homecoming celebrations, click on The Mississippi Link e-edition to the right of your screen.
The City of Jackson Public Information and Editor Gail M. Brown contributed to this article.
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