Our chapter held its first Delta-Wide Juneteenth Celebration at the Richard Coleman Recreational Park & Lake in Mound Bayou. Several vendors were present selling gift bags, frozen treats, paparazzi jewelry along with Mississippi Delta Community College informing students about the college’s programs. Mr. Marchellos Scott of Clarksdale, a winner of our Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Oratorical Scholarship, gave a speech on the history and importance of Juneteenth.
We also gave honor to two historic women from the Mississippi Delta: Mrs. Anna Washington-Lee is the oldest living citizen of Mound Bayou (103 years); and Mrs. Lusia Harris-Stewart, a native of Minter City, MS, the first African American woman to play basketball at Delta State University, the first woman to be drafted by the NBA (former New Orleans Jazz 1977), major contributor to DSU winning three consecutive NCAA titles, former team member of the Houston Angels of the Women’s Professional Basketball League, silver medalist in the 1976 Olympic games who scored the first two points, and recipient of many other honors She was also recently interviewed on Good Morning America for her biography entitled The Queen of Basketball.
