Plaque controversy: Corinne vs. Corrine, Jackson vs. Jones

On Tuesday, Dr. Gloria Horning sent an email on behalf of the Tanyard Neighborhood Association to CRA Director Helen Gibson regarding the Corinne Jackson plaque at Corinne Jones Park.

She wrote, “This plaque is embarrassing and must be replaced.”

Gibson replied the next morning, “Good Morning, Ms. Horning. The language placed on the plaque is the exact language, with the exception of her name, provided to the City by Mrs. Lowe on behalf of the Tanyard Neighborhood Association. It was transmitted to me by email from her daughter on March 27, 2017 and forwarded to the Engineering Department.”

Below is the email from a family member, Melissa Lowe. Note she asked the title name on the plaque be “Corrine Jackson Jones.” Corrine Harvey Jackson was to be in the narrative.

Assistant City Administrator Keith Wilkins chimed in later in the day with an email to Horning.

“I, too, questioned the plaque verbiage because of the Jackson reference versus Jones and the spelling of her first name, Corrine versus Corinne,” he wrote. “In that questioning, I went back into old census records, family records, placed calls to her church and personally questioned Tanyard residents and family friends.”

His research found that her name was spelled differently in many of the records. And predictably, Wilkins found nothing wrong with the plaque.

“I finally confirmed the language on the plaque and spelling of her name was consistent with the family’s wishes, Tanyard association and Dr. Marion Williams, who wrote and contributed to much of the historical documentation of Bruce’s Beach, Corrine Jones life record and Tanyard history,” he said.

Wilkins closed, “As demonstrated by Ms. Lowe’s email to Helen and confirmed by Dr. Williams and my research, the plaque is a correct reference to her name and citation of the family and neighborhood wishes. Hope this helps.”

Horning replied that there were several issues with the plaque, such as absence of passing date, grammar and historical order.

“My president, Marilynn Wiggins, says she never saw a final version,” she told Wilkins. “However, the information in the email with Jones’ info is just that… information about her. The info then should be put in historical context. There are guidelines.”