Moncrief Park served as a somber gathering place on Monday night for hundreds mourning the death of a local sixth-grader.
Many in the crowd wore blue shirts and held blue and white balloons with the name “Mariah” written on them in black marker.
The candlelight vigil, organized by the Mississippi Golden Triangle Area Pan-Hellenic Council, was held in memory of Mariah Isaacs - a sixth-grader at Armstrong Middle School that died on Friday.
A slew of speakers addressed the large audience, including family members, grief counselors and officials in local government.
Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman told those grieving in the crowd that Isaacs’ legacy would be one of love, with the community needing to come together to move forward from such a tragedy while remembering the life of the girl that brought them together.
“It hurts, it leaves a hole,” Wiseman said. “We know the only way to heal is this right here. Through each other.”
SPD Chief Frank Nichols addressed the crowd and encouraged an attitude of community in coming to terms with the loss of a young person. He said SPD is actively investigating Isaacs’ death and will bring to justice anyone found to be responsible.
“The Starkville Police Department is going to do its job and the Lord is going to do his job,” Nichols said.
Nichols then said the local African-American community should stand up for accountability in a time when so many questions are left unanswered.
“I’m going to talk about us - I can do this because I’m Black - I’m going to talk about us as a people,” Nichols said. “Somebody knew about this, but we’ve got this no snitching mentality.”
Dr. Kentrell Liddell was among those in the crowd and has a son that attends AMS. Liddell said the moment of silence before the release of several dozen balloons showed just how much of an impact Isaacs’ death had in the community.
“I first heard about this on Friday night as (my son) was learning about it,” Liddell said. “Some of his friends joined him at the house, and seeing how something like this affects the children, it gives me hope.”
Liddell then said seeing such an outpour of support for the family was absolutely amazing.
“You don’t necessarily have to know this young lady to know every time a child is impacted in our community, it impacts all of us,” Liddell said.
A GoFundMe account was started on April 30 to help Isaacs’ family during their time of need, with 175 people contributing $7,572 toward the overall goal of $15,000. There was also a collection box passed around at the vigil Monday evening.
The Little Dooey and the Wood Family are also currently taking a special collection to help pay the costs of Isaacs’ funeral. Isaacs is the grand-daughter of Barbara Henderson, a longtime employee of the restaurant. A special account has been established at BankFirst and donations will also be accepted at the Little Dooey.
A second vigil will be held at 7:30 p.m. tonight at Armstrong Middle School on Whitfield Street.