Barney Schoby, a lifelong civil-rights leader and public servant in Natchez, Mississippi, died on Tuesday, June 9, at age 87. His wife Joyceria Pickett-Schoby and son Barney Schoby, Jr., laid him to rest on Monday, June 15, at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Natchez.
Born in Liberty, Mississippi, on Jan. 14, 1939, Schoby went on to earn his master’s degree in education from Alcorn State University, thereafter working as a public school teacher in Mississippi and Louisiana from 1964 to 1970.
He served as the first Black man on the Adams County Board of Supervisors from 1974 to 1980 and was also the first Black man to represent District 94 in the Mississippi House of Representatives. He served in the state House from 1980 to 1997.
While serving as District 94 representative, Schoby joined Rev. Leon Howard as a co-plaintiff in a class action lawsuit to oppose a redistricting plan in Adams County. The Adams County Board of Supervisors was pushing for the redistricting ahead of the board’s then upcoming elections. Schoby and Howard alleged that the redistricting plan was a gerrymander intended to dilute the voting strength of Black voters in Adams County. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ultimately rejected Howard and Schoby’s claim.
“At the time that Barney Schoby emerged as a leader, it wasn’t an easy time,” State Rep. Robert Johnson III, who represents District 94 today, said of Schoby in an interview for the Natchez Democrat newspaper. “It took courage to stand up to the status quo. He was revered as a pioneer, a fighter, a colloquial warrior for justice.” In the same interview Johnson further said that Schoby “cut the road and opened up that path that some of us followed.”
During his tenure Schoby also assisted in the re-integration of schools in Natchez and Adams County. Former Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove appointed Schoby of Natchez to two six-year terms on the Mississippi Workmen’s Compensation Commission from 1997 to 2003 and from 2003 to 2008.
Natchez Mayor Dan M. Gibson ordered all flags in the city to fly at half mast in Schoby’s honor until sunset on the day of his funeral.
“It is with great sadness that we learn of the passing of Barney Schoby at the age of 87,” Gibson said in a June 12 Facebook post. “Mr. Schoby devoted his life to education, public service, and the pursuit of greater opportunity for all people. As a teacher, community leader, State Representative, MS Workers’ Compensation Commissioner, member of the Adams County Board of Supervisors, and as an advocate for civil rights, his work helped shape Natchez, Adams County and the State of Mississippi for generations to come.”
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