State Rep. C. Travis Johnson was on hand at the Madison Parish Police Jury meeting Monday, proposing an idea jurors said would be great to see come to fruition - if funding can be secured.
During a presentation on economic development projects in and around Madison Parish, Johnson proposed a statue be erected for Madison native Madam C.J. Walker, the late entrepreneur known for her hair-care line tailored for Black women and widely regarded as the nation’s first female, self-made millionaire.
Johnson told jurors the cost for the project would be roughly $70,000, but assured the MPPJ he would not expect the parish to bear the brunt of the cost.
While Johnson did not lay out specifics for funding, further discussion of economic development ideas for the parish led him to point out the need for the parish to explore avenues such as employing grant writers and business managers, pointing out the roles of those positions in the success of projects in neighboring parishes.
“We know that New Orleans and Baton Rouge are going to get a lot of money because they have the population there,” Johnson told jurors. “But, we see it in other parishes. These grant writers and business managers working to get these funds.”
In addition to the statue, Johnson pointed out ongoing projects, such as the creation of a economic sustainability plan that would include community gardens, hydroelectric power, solar power and other green forms of energy, work with the Delta Bike Trail Commission, rail road infrastructure and the creation of an economic district that would include Madison as work to be done toward progress in the parish.
