The devastating tornado swept through Rolling Fork in March of 2023, nearly three years ago. Sadly, our town continues to struggle and find its balance from the dizzying currents of disaster.
While the people of Rolling Fork desperately want to feel settled again, in the sense of, not seeing government entities in trailers, hearing and seeing reports of progress from local governments, not just waiting for changes, we want to see it happening. Small things, big things, we want to see progress after almost three years of disaster. I think about all of the news outlets that visited our town shortly after the tornado and the stories of “building back” and “community resilience” and wonder what the news story would look like now? Unfortunately, it could resemble a small delta town without the administrative infrastructure required to accept assistance and oversee rebuilding efforts, a town forgotten.
So what comes next? What do we do now?
At Lower Delta Partnership, we keep moving forward. What mattered to us before the tornado still matters today—our people, our culture, our communities. We keep showing up. We keep doing the work. We keep trying.
LDP is planning an exciting year of activities. You can expect to see some of our favorite events like the Lower Delta Talks, some with a few upgrades, and then there will be new offerings that are sure to provide good community fun.
We hope you will follow us on social media and stay tuned for our quarterly newsletter to come back after a bit of a break. If you haven’t signed up for the newsletter, sign up on the website to subscribe.
What we also do is continue to show up for our town. Rolling Fork is important in the history of the lower delta. We find a way to support our area and its leaders even at the times when it is difficult to see the change we’ve become so desperate to see. We don’t close our eyes and turn away from the future of our home, we remember that our home is the place where blues legends were born, Presidents hunted, and Civil War battles were fought. Where stories of love and loss are told, the land is cultivated, and the beauty of nature surrounds you.
And because of that history, we understand our responsibility. To honor what came before by investing ourselves in what comes next. To keep showing up, keep working, and keep believing that Rolling Fork’s story is still being written — by the people who call it home.
