Latest news with #TallahatchieCounty
Associated Press
30-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Farmacy Marketplace: Traveling grocery store delivers to Delta food deserts
Marquitrice Mangham inherited her family's Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, farm in 2017, a year after the community leader started a nonprofit organization called In Her Shoes to address housing insecurity and food accessibility in the Delta. It was the same farm where she grew up. After she graduated from high school in Webb, Mississippi, she left the state, joined the military and then moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where she still resides today. In 2017, when Mangham returned to the Mississippi Delta, she explored her small hometown and noticed that it had become a fresh-food desert. 'The community had changed a lot from when I was young—because I used to be able to come up to town to Webb right up the street from where I graduated (high school) and (find) everything I needed as far as meats and food to eat,' Mangham told the Mississippi Free Press on May 14. 'And now, farming, I have to go all the way to, like, Greenwood or Clarkesdale or Charleston just to get a salad or fresh food to eat.' Expanding Farmacy Marketplace Her nonprofit, In Her Shoes, had already been helping Delta farmers improve their businesses and boost their food-production rates. In Her Shoes bought a building in Webb and transformed it into Farmacy Marketplace, a fresh-food store filled with produce, meats and goods from local farmers that opened its doors to the community in 2022. Once Mangham's work became more publicized, she started getting phone calls from people all over the nation commending her work. The Oakland Chamber of Commerce, from Yalobusha County, was one of the first to call her and make a request for Mangham to open a grocery store in the community. In 2024, the community leader said she thought Oakland would be a perfect place for Farmacy Marketplace to open up a second brick-and-mortar store because of its 'proximity to fresh food,' its population demographics, its location and its closeness to nearby communities that needed access to a grocery store. Oakland's Farmacy Marketplace opened on April 26, 2025. 'It works well because we really focus on fresh, local food, working with my farmers, and helping them build capacity and sustain their food business,' Mangham said. 'We have outlets that they can sell (in), and we encourage them and help them sell to us so we can supply our local stores.' Mississippians living in food deserts called Mangham and asked her to help bring grocery stores to their communities as well. Mangham visited some of those locations but thought that some of the communities might not be able to sustain a brick-and-mortar grocery store. Nevertheless, she still wanted small-town residents to have access to fresh food. Around then, the American Heart Association learned about what she was doing in Mississippi and reached out to help fund some projects she was working on, like the Farmacy Marketplace mobile grocery store. The Bernard J. Tyson Impact Fund, part of American Heart Association Ventures' Social Impact Funds, gave In Her Shoes a $125,000 grant to purchase the mobile food truck in 2024. Lisa Suennen, managing partner of American Heart Association Ventures, said the association wanted to support Farmacy Marketplace's effort to create 'fresh food access points in the middle of a food desert.' 'When people don't have access to enough food, access to healthy food or the means to pay for it, they must make tough choices. Rely on fast food to keep the family fed and full? Skip meals? Leave work early to take two buses to a grocery store? Overcoming food insecurity gives more people the opportunity to thrive, which is why it's an important area of focus for the Heart Association,' she told the Mississippi Free Press. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Local Food Promotion program also helped fund the mission. Farmacy Mobile is a traveling grocery store with fresh produce and meats, as well as frozen and packaged food. The truck drives food to three underserved communities in the Mississippi Delta weekly: Jonestown on Tuesdays, Coffeeville on Thursdays, and Mound Bayou on Fridays. Times and exact locations are listed on the website. 'We want to focus on those communities that are low-income and low-access. When I say low access, I mean they're driving 10 miles or more to get fresh food,' Mangham said. Focusing on the Future Marquitrice Mangham said the Mound Bayou community heavily supports Farmacy Mobile and could sustain a brick-and-mortar Farmacy Marketplace. Mound Bayou community members helped In Her Shoes find a location for the marketplace. The nonprofit is now looking for funding to help pay to open the new grocery store this year, she said. The USDA also gives In Her Shoes funding to help farmers grow their businesses. Mangham said she hopes the funding will also help provide farmers with processing facilities to house, package and market food before it goes to stores. Since Farmacy Marketplace is a small business with only two physical stores and a food truck, the organization is unable to hold an account with major food wholesalers because Mangham would have to order 'an enormous amount' of groceries. 'A lot of the larger wholesalers and distributors do not cater to our model or do not cater to small, neighborhood stores,' she said. But getting told no did not cause Mangham's determination to waver. She is now thinking about creating a chain of stores and growing the company large enough to hold an account with major wholesalers to increase the quantity of food available to underserved communities, all while still supporting local farmers. 'That's our whole vision: It's to have our own local or regional processing hub that sources to these smaller stores, not just Farmacy Marketplace,' Mangham said. 'Because like I said, there are other small retailers who have, like, convenience stores or some type of corner store market, but they can't get fresh food consistently because they can't meet the requirements of the bigger wholesalers. So we would be able to supply them.' ___ This story was originally published by Mississippi Free Press and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Emmett Till national monument at risk of removal from Trump's anti-DEI initiatives
Tallahatchie County, Mississippi — There are 138 National Monuments across the U.S., but for the first time in nearly 100 years, they're eligible to be sold for parts. This Juneteenth, some of the protected lands in jeopardy commemorate important moments in American civil rights history, including some newer monuments like the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument. "We are seeing this effort to erase and reverse history and historic preservation," said historian Alan Spears, senior director of cultural resources and government affairs for the National Parks Conservation Association. "This is turning quickly into a dream deferred." Spears advocated for years, alongside several community members, to get federal protections for the areas in Mississippi and Chicago that tell the story of Emmett Till — a 14-year-old Chicago boy who was kidnapped in the middle of the night and brutally lynched in 1955 after reportedly whistling at a White woman while visiting family in Mississippi. "His badly decomposed body was taken from the water, and officials in this area wanted to have him buried immediately to sort of get rid of the evidence," Spears explained. "His mother insisted that he'd be sent back to Chicago, where they had an open casket funeral. And images of Till's badly decomposed body in that open casket really sparked the modern civil rights movement." Protections to preserve this history finally came in 2023, when a monument consisting of two sites in Mississippi and one in Illinois, was designated by former President Joe Biden. One site is located at Graball Landing along the Tallahatchie River near Glendora, Mississippi, where Till's body was found. The second is at the Tallahatchie County Courthouse in Sumner, Mississippi, where his confessed killers were found not guilty by an all-White jury. The third is located at Chicago's Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ, where Till's funeral was held. Spears says he and his colleagues have been working to expand the monument, not remove or shrink it. "Let's make sure it doesn't happen to anybody else's son ever again," Spears said. But just as the stroke of a president's pen preserved these areas, it could now take them away. A legal opinion released by the Justice Department earlier this month gives presidents the ability to revoke or shrink certain national monuments for the first time since the 1930s. The opinion comes as part of a movement against diversity, equity and inclusion, with some land reportedly under consideration to be used for mineral extractions. It's not just national monuments that are at risk. Under newly proposed budget cuts for the National Park Service of nearly $1 billion, Spears says more than 300 park sites would be forced to shut down. Those budget cuts could also potentially see the closure of the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument, according to Spears and former National Park Service Director Chuck Sams. "It's like amputating an arm for a hangnail. It's a complete overreaction," Spears says. Sams says the agency has lost 13% of its staff already since he left his post earlier this year. Sams was involved in the designation of five different National Monuments signed by Biden, including the Till monument. He says if the monument were to close, it would be "very sad and egregious." "People don't like to look at their past when it shows a negative light of who we are, and I can understand that nobody likes to look at their own personal past that may have a negative light, but we also know that in order to learn from our own history, we also have to learn from our past mistakes,' Sams told CBS News. "And we, as Americans, have never been actually scared to do so, and I don't think we should be now. We look at our past, and we know that from our past mistakes that we have become stronger." Currently, the Chuckwalla National Monument and Sáttítla Highlands National Monument — both located in California — are under consideration for revocation or being sold for parts. The Baaj Nwaavjo I'tāh Kukveni–Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument is also under consideration reportedly due to its uranium supply. Judy Cummings is touring America's national monuments this summer with her daughter and granddaughter. They drove from Wisconsin to see the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument sites in North Mississippi. Asked about the potential for sites like this to close, Cummings said, "it makes me want to weep and it makes me furious at the same time." When asked about the potential removal of national monuments, White House spokesperson Anne Kelly told CBS News in a statement, "Under President Trump's leadership, Secretary Burgum is keeping our parks ready for peak season, ensuring they are in pristine condition for visitors, and restoring truth and sanity to depictions of American history in line with the President's Executive Order. The President is simultaneously following through on his promise to 'Drill, Baby, Drill' and restore American energy dominance." And in a separate statement provided to to CBS News, the Department of Interior said: "Under President Trump's leadership, we're advancing strategic reforms to maximize resources and improve park operations. These efforts will make our parks more efficient, better maintained, and more enjoyable for the American people, while keeping conservation efforts strong and effective. By modernizing how we manage assets and facilities, we're ensuring our parks can serve future generations even better." "You can't just do away with more than two-thirds of the National Park System because it makes sense from a government efficiency standpoint," Spears said. "That's not what we want." According to a recent study, about half of the current National Parks first began as National Monuments, including the iconic Grand Canyon. According to Spears, every $1 invested in a National Park site returns about $15 to the communities that it is located in. "That's an enormous, enormous return on investment," Spears said. It is also an investment in the visitors too. "I don't really have words," said Nicole Cummings, Judy's daughter. "I just kind of get goosebumps and it's just really powerful." SpaceX Starship upper stage blows up Hurricane Erick approaches Mexico with destructive winds, major storm surge Biden to speak at Juneteenth event in Texas
CBS News
20-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
National monument honoring Emmett Till at risk of removal from Trump's DEI initiatives, budget cuts
Tallahatchie County, Mississippi — There are 138 National Monuments across the U.S., but for the first time in nearly 100 years, they're eligible to be sold for parts. This Juneteenth, some of the protected lands in jeopardy commemorate important moments in American civil rights history, including some newer monuments like the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument. "We are seeing this effort to erase and reverse history and historic preservation," said historian Alan Spears, senior director of cultural resources and government affairs for the National Parks Conservation Association. "This is turning quickly into a dream deferred." Spears advocated for years, alongside several community members, to get federal protections for the areas in Mississippi and Chicago that tell the story of Emmett Till — a 14-year-old Chicago boy who was kidnapped in the middle of the night and brutally lynched in 1955 after reportedly whistling at a White woman while visiting family in Mississippi. "His badly decomposed body was taken from the water, and officials in this area wanted to have him buried immediately to sort of get rid of the evidence," Spears explained. "His mother insisted that he'd be sent back to Chicago, where they had an open casket funeral. And images of Till's badly decomposed body in that open casket really sparked the modern civil rights movement." Protections to preserve this history finally came in 2023, when a monument consisting of two sites in Mississippi and one in Illinois, was designated by former President Joe Biden. One site is located at Graball Landing along the Tallahatchie River near Glendora, Mississippi, where Till's body was found. The second is at the Tallahatchie County Courthouse in Sumner, Mississippi, where his confessed killers were found not guilty by an all-White jury. The third is located at Chicago's Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ, where Till's funeral was held. Spears says he and his colleagues have been working to expand the monument, not remove or shrink it. "Let's make sure it doesn't happen to anybody else's son ever again," Spears said. But just as the stroke of a president's pen preserved these areas, it could now take them away. A legal opinion released by the Justice Department earlier this month gives presidents the ability to revoke or shrink certain national monuments for the first time since the 1930s. The opinion comes as part of a movement against diversity, equity and inclusion, with some land reportedly under consideration to be used for mineral extractions. It's not just national monuments that are at risk. Under newly proposed budget cuts for the National Park Service of nearly $1 billion, Spears says more than 300 park sites would be forced to shut down. Those budget cuts could also potentially see the closure of the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument, according to Spears and former National Park Service Director Chuck Sams. "It's like amputating an arm for a hangnail. It's a complete overreaction," Spears says. Sams says the agency has lost 13% of its staff already since he left his post earlier this year. Sams was involved in the designation of five different National Monuments signed by Biden, including the Till monument. He says if the monument were to close, it would be "very sad and egregious." "People don't like to look at their past when it shows a negative light of who we are, and I can understand that nobody likes to look at their own personal past that may have a negative light, but we also know that in order to learn from our own history, we also have to learn from our past mistakes,' Sams told CBS News. "And we, as Americans, have never been actually scared to do so, and I don't think we should be now. We look at our past, and we know that from our past mistakes that we have become stronger." Currently, the Chuckwalla National Monument and Sáttítla Highlands National Monument — both located in California — are under consideration for revocation or being sold for parts. The Baaj Nwaavjo I'tāh Kukveni–Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument is also under consideration reportedly due to its uranium supply. Judy Cummings is touring America's national monuments this summer with her daughter and granddaughter. They drove from Wisconsin to see the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument sites in North Mississippi. Asked about the potential for sites like this to close, Cummings said, "it makes me want to weep and it makes me furious at the same time." When asked about the potential removal of national monuments, White House spokesperson Anne Kelly told CBS News in a statement, "Under President Trump's leadership, Secretary Burgum is keeping our parks ready for peak season, ensuring they are in pristine condition for visitors, and restoring truth and sanity to depictions of American history in line with the President's Executive Order. The President is simultaneously following through on his promise to 'Drill, Baby, Drill' and restore American energy dominance." And in a separate statement provided to to CBS News, the Department of Interior said: "Under President Trump's leadership, we're advancing strategic reforms to maximize resources and improve park operations. These efforts will make our parks more efficient, better maintained, and more enjoyable for the American people, while keeping conservation efforts strong and effective. By modernizing how we manage assets and facilities, we're ensuring our parks can serve future generations even better." "You can't just do away with more than two-thirds of the National Park System because it makes sense from a government efficiency standpoint," Spears said. "That's not what we want." According to a recent study, about half of the current National Parks first began as National Monuments, including the iconic Grand Canyon. According to Spears, every $1 invested in a National Park site returns about $15 to the communities that it is located in. "That's an enormous, enormous return on investment," Spears said. It is also an investment in the visitors too. "I don't really have words," said Nicole Cummings, Judy's daughter. "I just kind of get goosebumps and it's just really powerful."
