Local Civil Rights Leader Honored
A Chattanooga man is honored by the State of Tennessee for his work during the civil rights movement.
James R. Mapp's name is now a permanent fixture at the State of Tennessee's Client Services Building.
"You know it makes me feel like doing more work," says James R. Mapp of the dedication.
A plaque inside the building explains Mapp's work creating equal educational opportunities for Black People during the 50's and 60's. In the 60's Mapp and others brought a lawsuit to desegregate Chattanooga Public Schools.
But as he looks around the city today, Mapp says its gone backwards.
"I've seen a whole lot of changes in chattanooga and its capable of much more change. 05:57 In the 60's we were an all american city for how inclusive we were," says Mapp.
However, today the crowd honoring him was all inclusive. He received a plaque from state representatives and the NAACP of which he's been a member for 26 years.
Mapp says if still active, he would advocate for putting more government money into schools and providing more job opportunities for Black people.
"I'm sad to say the violence is not one of the things i'm proud of. But I think there are causes and I think those causes can be remedied," says Mapp.
We spoke to Valoria Armstrong who is the current NAACP President. She agree's with Mapp and says increasing the quality of education will decrease violence.
"You are going to do what you need to do to bring income into your home and to your family so certainly if you have opportunities open to everyone that's going to make opportunities that may not be available to everyone," says Valoria Armstrong, President of Chattanooga's NAACP Chapter.
But Mapp says it's up to the next generation, like the Brainerd High School Students who sang the national anthem at his dediation dinner, to create change.
Valoria Armstrong says the NAACP will be hosting several events to talk about the violence in the community.
You can depend on us to let you know the details of those events as they happen.
