MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2018 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Dawkins, Barnett, Bryan, Chassaniol, Dearing, Fillingane, Frazier, Jackson (11th), Jackson (32nd)
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION MOURNING THE LOSS OF MISSISSIPPI JOURNALISM LEGEND AND PUBLISHER OF THE NESHOBA DEMOCRAT NEWSPAPER STANLEY DEARMAN.
WHEREAS, Stanley Dearman, 84, Editor and Publisher of a weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Mississippi, whose editorials expressing outrage at the 1964 murders of three young Civil Rights workers helped set the stage for the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement, passed away on February 25, 2017, and returned to the red clay soil of Neshoba County. He retired after 34 years of publishing The Neshoba Democrat weekly newspaper in Philadelphia from 1966 to 2000; and
WHEREAS, the retired Editor and Publisher of The Neshoba Democrat received the University of Mississippi's highest journalism award and was recognized in tributes as a legendary newspaperman who displayed raw courage over a career that spanned four decades. Dearman received the prestigious Silver Em Award, joining a distinguished club of noted journalists. The accolade was Dearman's second prestigious award since his retirement in 2000. In 2005, he was inducted into the Mississippi Press Association Hall of Fame; and
WHEREAS, in a eulogy, James E. Prince III, the current Editor and Publisher of The Neshoba Democrat, pointed out how Dearman stood against one of the fiercest evils of our age, the murders of three young men registering blacks to vote in 1964, comparing Dearman to the Old Testament Prophet Habakkuk who was instructed by the Lord to write plainly about the Lord's goodness in the face of great evil. "His greatest gift was words," Prince said. "He was stern and unbending, yet compassionate and kind"; and
WHEREAS, Arthur Stanley Dearman was born on July 24, 1932, in Meridian, Mississippi. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he was Editor of the Student Newspaper. He was a Reporter and Editor at The Meridian Star before joining The Neshoba Democrat as a Reporter in the early 1960s, then buying the paper. In 2007, he received an award from his alma mater for Journalistic Excellence; and
WHEREAS, Mr. Dearman, who was living in retirement in Gulf Breeze, is survived by his wife, Carolyn; son, Leigh; daughter, Lisa Daniels; sisters: Ruth Geiger, Sylvia Crowson, Nellah Prezalor and Mary Ray; and five grandchildren; and
WHEREAS, fortunately he lived long enough to see the fruits of his labor when his beloved hometown of Philadelphia united across racial lines to bring a significant measure of justice for the murders of those young men in 1964. This momentous step would not have occurred without this remarkable man. For that, Mississippi's history should note and recall his heroism in the face of great danger:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby mourn the loss of Mississippi Journalism Legend and Publisher of The Neshoba Democrat Newspaper Stanley Dearman, and pay tribute and cherish fondly the memory of this most public-spirited citizen of Mississippi.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the surviving family of Arthur Stanley Dearman and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.