WALLS, Miss. — About thirty miles south of Memphis, history is in the making in the DeSoto County agricultural town of Walls, Mississippi.
Monday was the first full day on the job for Walls’ new mayor, 45-year-old Keidron Henderson.
“This is a tremendous opportunity,” Henderson said. “I’m really excited to move my town forward. You will hear me refer to it as a precious town.”
The father of four and 23-year veteran of the casino industry is not only Walls’ new mayor, but also the first African-American mayor. He said his town doesn’t just see color.
“We here in Walls are a very tight-knit community,” Henderson said. “That’s how we were brought up. You don’t see color. You don’t see color; you see people, and that’s the message we want to herald to the world.”
Henderson said he became mayor when Patti Denison decided to resign from office, and other candidates failed to qualify in time.
His goals are to improve schools, residential and economic growth, youth recreation programs and police relations.
“It’s important for people to know police are our friends, and police are meant to serve and protect, and obviously like anything else, people don’t do the right thing, and when they don’t do the right thing thing, they should be held accountable,” Henderson said.
Across the town, some people didn’t know there had been a changing of the guard, but they welcomed it.
“I think it’s good he’s the first African-American (mayor),” Julie Gonzalez said. “We definitely need more first of those. I think it’s a positive thing.”
“Hopefully things will be more equal between the races around town, and everything gets repaired when it needs to be repaired,” Luz Montoya said.
A small town known for its cotton and bean fields, culture and history is now known for making new history at city hall.
“I think to unify our town and make sure that we are towing the line of unity will be the number one priority of this administration,” Mayor Henderson said.
