Supervisor takes Facebook comments as threats on her life
Published 2:40 pm Sunday, July 5, 2020
Last week, Warren County District 3 Supervisor Shawn Jackson took the lead in calling for a special meeting for supervisors to vote to remove the now-former Mississippi state flag from county buildings.
Her call for the special meeting was made Monday, just a day after the Mississippi House and Senate both voted overwhelmingly to remove the flag, and a day before Gov. Tate Reeves signed the legislation retiring the state flag to history.
But that move by Jackson, one of two Black members of the Warren County Board of Supervisors, drew the ire of some vehemently opposed to the flag — which in it contained the image of the Confederate battle flag — being removed.
In a news report of her call for a vote by the supervisors, one commenter on social media made comments that Jackson took as threats to her life.
One commenter wrote, “LMFAO this is where the b***s*** stops,” the commenter wrote, adding “these N*****s are fixing to get shot.”
Saturday, when the comments became widely known, Jackson took to her personal Facebook page to reply.
“This is a serious matter and a testament to why this is NOT the time to be silent on hate and evil,” Jackson posted Saturday. “I take this for exactly what it is, a threat to my life and safety. I also take it as being racially driven and falling into the category of a hate crime.”
While a meeting was for set for Thursday for Warren County supervisors to vote on the flag issue, the topic ultimately had to be moved to Monday’s regular meeting because there was not enough time to officially call for and publicize a special meeting. Also, the topic did not fall under the topics for an emergency meeting to be called.
Messages left with Jackson Sunday seeking comments had not yet been returned.