JACKSON, Miss.–It was a five hour celebration Saturday for the late Mayor Chokwe Lumumba in Jackson. His funeral was held at the Jackson Convention Complex, and there was dancing, music, and plenty of speeches from Lumumba’s associates and family.
It was the day after the funeral that former mayor Harvey Johnson told supporters that he would run to fill the remainder of Lumumba’s term.
Lumumba served only seven months, after being elected last year. Johnson, the city’s first black mayor, was defeated easily in the primary.
The special election is April 8.
Meanwhile, the world was waiting Monday for former Jackson city councilman and Hinds County Supervisor Kenny Stokes to say what he based his claims that Lumumba was murdered on. Stokes told media he would wait until after the funeral to say why he claimed that the mayor was a victim of foul play.
Minister Louis Farrakhan joined in on the claims last week.
“Any of you that know Mississippi, that know Jackson, a black man being mayor, trying to do right by all people, is not a mayor that those people want,” he told a crowd at Mosque Maryam in Chicago March 2.
Neither Stokes, nor Farrakhan have produced any evidence to back their claims.
