A 'Paper Man' Who Helped Shape the Mississippi Delta

As I said in a pre-publication comment about his memoir set for launch Sept. 9, Jim Abbott served his community, state and country in ways beyond the reach of most Mississippians of his generation.

"Paper Man: Chasing the Truth In the Mississippi Delta," published by Oxford-based Nautilus Publishing Co., tracks Abbott's remarkable career running Indianola's award-winning weekly newspaper, The Enterprise-Tocsin, from 1970-2008, starting at a young 26.

The memoir reinforces the Greenwood native's determination (and his wife Cynthia's, beside him) to make Indianola a solid place to live and work in one of America's most economically deprived regions, the Mississippi Delta.

Abbott's tenacity in helping to guide the town of almost 10,000 citizens toward greater livability was never questioned, although his editorial views and news coverage were often controversial-his many articles on the Indianola-birthed, racist White Citizens Council, for example. And when the public school superintendent needed a shoulder to lean on while discussing important issues, often that shoulder was Jim Abbott's.

The two of them, then-Schools Supt. D.B. Floyd and Abbott, grieved over a failed 1979 bond issue to build a new vocational-technical center in the city. Floyd had warned Abbott that he would "see and hear who really cares about the future of Indianola, and I predict you will be shocked how some of your friends will stand on this bond issue."

"Boy, was he right. I was disheartened at some who revealed their opposition," Abbott wrote of the losing vote. He had fully promoted the proposed $600,000 issue and explained its importance to a town already having industrial successes.

Abbott's disappointment over the bond issue rejection is a contrast to the jubilation in creating Indianola's B.B. King Museum. The master of Delta Blues music was honored at an elegant garden party in 1983 attended by Blacks and whites--and commented on by The New York Times. King had been coming off the road for local performances for years.

A local restaurateur, Evelyn Roughton of The Crown, proposed to Abbott in spring 2000 that Indianola build a museum honoring the blues great. Jim told her, "I've been thinking the same thing."

When asked about the idea, King enthusiastically approved the shrine, built for $13 million. It opened in 2008 in a refurbished cotton gin building where King once worked, and the number of visitors has increased annually. The artist donated a plethora of personal items.

King died May 14, 2015, and is buried adjacent to the museum. Wrote Abbott: "I will remember Riley B.B. King as a friend and a gentleman whose graciousness and good have fostered racial togetherness in Indianola. He was kind, compassionate, talented and proud of his Indianola roots."

In "Paper Man" (pre-order at independent bookstores), Abbott relates how the late Tupelo newspaper editor George McLean inspired him to stay in Mississippi after graduation from Ole Miss. Abbott enrolled in a class taught by McLean, who told students they "will have incredible opportunities to change things for the better ... And when you're old, you can look back and say, 'Yes, I did accomplish something with my life. I did push for some changes, and I did see some progress in Mississippi and in my community ...'"

Abbott stayed. This man of service, along with some Greenwood friends, including current State Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney, also spent a year in Vietnam with a local unit.

At the nearby Leland Progress, we were proud to print his weekly newspaper, enabling us to closely follow the Enterprise-Tocsin's aggressive news coverage and the commentaries written by this widely-respected "Paper Man."

---Mac Gordon is a native of McComb. He is a retired newspaperman. He can be reached at macmarygordon@gmail.com.