by Hunter Dawkins, Publisher/Owner – thegazebogazette@gmail.com
Once the main agenda items were finished by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen at the recent Pass Christian meeting Tuesday, June 6, 2023 in the Municipal Court, an addendum was offered by Ward 2 Alderwoman Regina Charlot. The discussion was about the city involvement with coordination of the Mississippi Humanities Council and the Mississippi Freedom Trail for placement for an official state marker to be placed in honor of Civil Rights leader and city native, Lawrence Guyot.
Pass Christian has been selected as one of the locations of the Mississippi Freedom Trail marker because it was place of birth for Lawrence Guyot. Guyot was an instrumental figure in the Civil Rights Movement, being chair
of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, project director for Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and an organizer for the 1964 Freedom Summer Project.
The Mississippi Freedom Trail was created to commemorate the people and places in the state that played a pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement.
With the first markers dedicated in 2011, the trail now includes over 30 sites. Under the coordination of the Mississippi Humanities Council (MHC), twelve new marker sites have been selected; including Pass Christian. The Mississippi Humanities Council is funded by Congress through the National Endowment for the Humanities to provide public programs in traditional liberal arts disciplines to serve nonprofit groups in Mississippi.
According to Alderwoman Charlot, the marker will be provided by the MHC and presented to the city on July 7, 2023 at 1pm in between Handy and Davis Avenues on the side of the Coastal Health Clinic.
Following the information provided, the Pass Christian Board of Aldermen unanimously approved small funds for a small rock garden to be built around the marker with a bench next to it.
The bench will be donated by the JWRECHC and upkeep will be done by the city beautification and public works departments.
