DIOCESAN NEWS
02/19/10
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MRLC honors Jerry Mitchell at banquet Feb. 23
     JACKSON – The Mississippi Religious Leadership Conference (MRLC) will honor Clarion-Ledger investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell at its annual banquet on Feb. 23, at 6:30 p.m. at Galloway Memorial United Methodist Church.
     Mitchell, recipient of a 2009 “Genius Grant” from the MacArthur Foundation, has worked tirelessly and successfully to have cold cases from the Civil Rights Era reopened.
MRLC is an interfaith, interracial faith based organization that has its roots in the Civil Rights Movement when religious leaders across racial lines came together to address the rash of bombings on houses of worship in Mississippi.
     The theme for the banquet will be Pursuing Justice with the Pen. Mitchell will be the keynote speaker for the banquet and will talk on his work and the current cases in which he is involved.
     The Founders’ Memorial Award is given in commemoration of and in the spirit of the founders of MRLC for significant interfaith contribution to denomination, community and state. It was first presented at the 1988 MRLC banquet.
     “Because of his work in pursuing justice for so many families that have suffered for so long, we wanted to honor Jerry Mitchell for his indefatigable efforts to bring light, truth, justice and peace to those brutally wronged in the past and to bring some sense of healing to our state,” said Mary Woodward, MRLC banquet coordinator.
     “Mr. Mitchell’s work has unearthed some painful memories, but until we bring justice and healing to these sinister events of our past, we cannot truly and honestly remove the cloud that hangs over our state because of that past. We have come a long way in improving our image racially, but we still have a lot of hurts that need to be healed,” Woodward added.
     Tickets for the banquet are $25 and must be purchased in advance. Reservation deadline is Friday, Feb. 19. Tickets will be held at the door. For more information or to make a reservation contact Woodward at 601-960-8475.

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