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For the last few years, members of the Khafre, Inc team have traveled around the Delta and throughout the country listening to people share their hopes and dreams for Mississippi. Those concerns are heartfelt and strikingly similar. They are hopes of fairness; harmony among the races; a state government that serves and protects all Mississippians, and hopes of finding an equitable way to show respect for the culture and historical legacy of the people who worked so hard to give this country its financial footing to become a world superpower … it’s all about dignity preservation.
After deeply listening to those concerns and spending more time in quiet prayerful meditation, our team too became hopeful that a path to positive change would be revealed. Essentially, we have concluded the obvious. There is a definite and distinct need to build a monument that pays tribute to the spirit, the work and the heritage of the people who planted, chopped and picked cotton…e.g., the Cotton Pickers; and, one that honors their “sweat equity” investments in America. We as a nation have shamefully ignored the very essential labor force that made “cotton king” in the Mississippi Delta; and, cotton trade/manufacturing the most important industry in America for nearly two hundred years. This is the primary work of Khafre, Inc. Our goal is to bring emphasis to this oversight and assist in the process of healing the traumatic pain still felt by the people who were Cotton Pickers. In our assessment, the lack of awareness about the major contributions made by the millions of people in the South is the central issue that impact dreams of fairness, harmony and respect throughout this country.
It is for this reason that the Khafre Inc Board, Bobby Rush, Honorary Chair, B.B. King, Honorary Chair (past), Maya Angelou (honorary chair, past), Ed Dwight(Monument developer), Clifton Taulbert (national spokesman), Congressman Danny Davis (historical advisor) Johnnie L. Dupree (historical advisor), Carroll Van West (historical advisor) and thousands of people from around the world have agreed to support the initiative to build the “Cotton Pickers of America Monument and Sharecroppers Interpretive Center” on the outskirts of Mound Bayou, MS.
Just for a moment, imagine the power of the light of dignity when it shines on this Monument in the Mississippi Delta.
We are certain of the economic and “feel-good” impact on the region, once we do the “right thing” and celebrate the work of those who spent their entire lives, for seventeen generations planting the seeds of success for us all. That is why I am asking for your input and your love too. I believe, together, we can inspire the artists, politicians and educators of American cultural history to join this movement to show respect for the legacy by developing instruments and that will contribute to the construction of a historical site, and symbol of dignity, for the Cotton Pickers’ of America, at the epicenter of our collective pain and the place where America’s root music the Blues was born, in the Mississippi Delta!
There are several ways to support our effort:
•Your Financial Contribution; will underwrite our educational and youth programs in the Mississippi Delta: Healthy U, Young Publishers’ Network and Young Leaders Lecture Series
•Legacy Brick(s); to ensure Grandmama’nem’s historical legacy and their permanent place on the Monument Complex
•Corporate Sponsorship Opportunities; underwrites Khafre, Inc’s annual events, e.g., Cotton Pickers’ Ball, and the Sweat Equity Investment in the Cotton Kingdom symposium
•Miniature Statues; of Cotton Pickers’ Monument
•Petition; to induct the Cotton Pickers of America Monument complex into the National Park System upon completion
I look forward to involving you in this ongoing effort to finally pay respect to the people whose compensatory rewards are long over due. It is time…and, on behalf of Grandmama’nem, we sincerely appreciate your support.
With heartfelt gratitude,
C. Sade Turnipseed, MBA, PhD
Founder/Executive Director
inf@khafreinc.org • 662.347.8198
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