History should be remembered. That doesn’t mean it has to be honored. 

FAMILY BACKGROUND

In 1962, Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett used the power of his office to prevent James Meredith from enrolling at the University of Mississippi despite federal court orders requiring his admission. Meredith ultimately enrolled on October 1, 1962. 

On May 10, 1963, the #PearlRiverValley Water Supply District Board unanimously voted to name it in his honor. 

WHY NOW?

Recent controversy involving members of the Barnett family brought the name back into public conversation. Why, in 2026, are we still calling it the Ross Barnett Reservoir?

For many local residents, the Barnett name carries personal pain. Recent events forced me to look at the history behind a name I had never heard except when going to the Rez. Much like Gov. Barnett’s past, recent events involving the Barnett name have scorched the community. Again. 

The “Rez” belongs to the people who live there, fish there, boat there, raise families there, build businesses there, and make memories there.  The Barnett name has abhorred the State of Mississippi long enough. Mississippi does not have to erase its past to reconsider whom it honors in the present.

MISSISSIPPI HAS ALREADY CONSIDERED NAME CHANGE.

This is not the first call to reconsider the name “Ross Barnett Reservoir.”

The Mississippi Legislature itself has introduced legislation to rename the Reservoir in two consecutive legislative sessions.

In 2025, House Bill 1351 proposed renaming it the “William F. Winter and Fannie Lou Hamer Reservoir.” The bill directed the State, working with the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District, to replace signage and display the new official name on the Reservoir’s control tower.

Then, in 2026, lawmakers again introduced legislation addressing the Reservoir’s name. House Bill 1098 proposed renaming it the “B.B. King Reservoir.”

The repeated introduction of legislation demonstrates something important: the name of the Ross Barnett Reservoir is a matter that Mississippi’s officials are willing to reconsider. 

OUR REQUEST: We are asking Mississippi’s leaders to finish the conversation and to publicly address whether the Reservoir should continue to bear Ross Barnett’s name. This Petition calls upon the Mississippi Legislature and appropriate state and local authorities to take the steps necessary to officially remove “Ross Barnett” from the Reservoir’s name and adopt a new official name. 

A name change should be meaningful—not symbolic on paper alone. Recent legislative proposals demonstrate that this is achievable.

Mississippi legislation introduced in both 2025 and 2026 contemplated not only changing the Reservoir’s official name, but also replacing signage and displaying the new name on the control tower.

We can remember where Mississippi has been without allowing the past to decide what we honor forever.  The Reservoir belongs to Mississippi. It should carry a name that Mississippians can be proud to pass down to the next generation—a name that reflects who we are and who we want to become.

We ask the Pearl River Valley Water Supply District Board of Directors to place renaming the Ross Barnett Reservoir on its public agenda and begin a transparent process allowing Mississippians to propose, discuss, and consider a new name. We also ask the Board, the Governor, and appropriate State officials to publicly acknowledge this petition and state their positions by December 31, 2026.

Keep Ross Barnett in the history books.

Sign the petition. It is past time to start the conversation.
#RenameRossBarnettReservoir #Mississippi