February 5, 2020

East Mississippi Community College will host Black History Month programs on both the Scooba and Golden Triangle campuses. Both events are open to the public and admittance is free.

The Black History Month program on EMCC’s Golden Triangle campus will take place Tuesday, Feb. 11, beginning at 10 a.m. in the Lyceum Auditorium.

The Scooba campus will host its Black History Month program Tuesday, Feb. 18, beginning at 7 p.m. in the Stennis Hall Auditorium.

Golden Triangle campus

The guest speaker for the Golden Triangle campus event will be Okolona Municipal Court Judge Sumeka C. Thomas.

Thomas is a native of Okolona who graduated valedictorian from Okolona High School. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Mississippi and a law degree from the University of Mississippi School of Law.

She is licensed to practice law in Mississippi and Tennessee and has her own law practice in downtown Okolona. Prior to her 2013 appointment as Okolona Municipal Court Judge, Thomas served as a public defender for the city of Okolona. She also serves as a judge for the city of Vernon and in 2018 was appointed as a Youth Court judge for Chickasaw County.

Thomas has remained active in her community. She has served as treasurer of the Okolona High School Band Boosters and is a member of the Upsilon Pi Omega chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., in Starkville.

She is a member of the NAACP and currently serves as second vice president of the Okolona Chamber of Commerce, where she was a past president.  Thomas is also a member of the Okolona Community Learning Center (OLCI) Board that provides college scholarships to graduating high school and returning college students. 

She has earned recognition by the Magnolia Bar Association and has served as a mock trial judge. Thomas was named Citizen of the Year in 2015 by the Okolona Chamber of Commerce and received the inaugural Trailblazer Award from the Theta Psi chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha at the University of Mississippi.

EMCC Quality Enhancement Program (QEP) navigator Kantrina Barker will sing during the event.

Scooba campus

Noxubee County Attorney Rod Hickman will the guest speaker for the Black History Month program on EMCC’s Scooba campus.

Hickman, who has served as County Attorney since August of 2019, is a founding partner in the law firm of Hickman Fondren, PLLC, which has offices in Oxford and Macon. He is a former litigation associate attorney.

A Shuqualak native, Hickman is a graduate of Noxubee County High School. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Mississippi and earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Mississippi School of Law, where he graduated magna cum laude.

While earning his J.D., Hickman served as an Associate Articles Editor for the Mississippi Law Journal. He was a member of the Moot Court Board and served two terms on the executive board of the National Black Law Students Association.

Hickman was honored as the 2017 Outstanding Student at the University of Mississippi School of Law and was also a recipient of the Dean's Distinguished Leader Award. He is currently the chairman of the University of Mississippi School of Law’s alumni diversity counsel.

He is active in the community and has coached mock trial teams and provided mentorships. He is active in the Mississippi Alpha Network.

Hickman serves as co-chair of the Young Lawyers Division of the Magnolia Bar Association, is president of the Pi Sigma Lambda chapter of the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, and deputy general counsel for the fraternity’s southern region.

The event will include performances by the EMCC Reflection Singers and the Voices of Victory Gospel Choir.