"Genius Grant" Recipient Extolls T.R.M Howard

The Jackon Clarion-Ledger which, in 1955, described T.R.M. Howard as a"dangerous agitator" who was"hell-bent on stirring up strife between the races" has come a long way. Today's issue of the paper featured an article praising Howard by award-winning civil rights reporter Jerry Mitchell. Last week, Mitchell won received a"genius" grant from the MacArthur Foundation. Here is an excerpt:

He served as president of the National Medical Association, the association of black physicians, and sometimes traveled to Africa for safaris.....

The Mound Bayou surgeon provided an important link from the Booker T. Washington philosophy to a new era, Beito said.

"Without Dr. Howard, would you have had a Medgar Evers?" he asked."Would you have even had a Fannie Lou Hamer, who got her first introduction to civil rights at Dr. Howard's meetings?"

Evers' brother, Charles, said Howard, who died in May 1976 at the age of 66, remains one of his heroes."He was the actual founder of the movement years ago when it wasn't popular."