The Board of Directors and members of the Mississippi Tea Party are deeply saddened at the loss of our dear friend and fellow patriot, Mark Mayfield.
Mark was the true Father of the Tea Party Movement in the Jackson area. He was the first to call for and to help organize a tea party after Rick Santelli’s “we need a new tea party” rant on TV in 2009. He guided us with wisdom and always directed us to do things in honorable ways. He treated all with kindness and dignity.
Mark Mayfield was quick to join in the Patriot’s fight to restore Liberty. He placed himself in harm’s way to resist tyranny. Like many of our Founding Fathers he lost all for resisting. He was falsely accused, falsely charged, and denied due process to the public destruction of his sacred honor by wicked men who knew the truth of his innocence but proceeded with his public defamation, or stood by and did nothing. To a man who held his reputation to be of the highest value, the wrongful attack on him may have proven to be too much.
In 2005, Mark cofounded with his friend and colleague, Dr. Rodney Hunt, a group called M-FIRE, an acronym for the Mississippi Federation for Immigration Reform and Enforcement. The group’s purpose is to educate the citizens of Mississippi and elected representatives at the national, state, and local levels as to the direct cause between the massive uncontrolled influx of illegal immigrants into our state and the resulting problems that seriously threaten our national security, costs to taxpayers, and our environment. MFIRE helped secure the passage of the Mississippi Employment Protection Act (SB 2988) in 2008 that requires all employers in Mississippi to use the E-Verify System to establish the work eligibility of their employees.
Mark also played an integral role in Mississippi’s redistricting effort to protect the integrity of elections in our state. Mark was a lover of liberty and a champion of the freedoms which our founding fathers worked so diligently to protect in our founding documents.
Roy Nicholson, cofounder and former Chairman of the Mississippi Tea Party stated “During the five years that I knew Mark, his counsel to me and to the Tea Party was to always do things in an honorable manner. He would have never approved of doing wrong in order to rectify a wrong. I know that he would still remind us to choose our words and actions carefully, first asking The Lord if they are right in His sight.”
Mark’s family has lost a son, husband and father. The Mississippi Tea Party has lost a founder and friend. Jackson has lost a dedicated attorney and Mississippi has lost a great man who was known throughout the state as being among the finest in character. Saying he will be missed is not adequate.
While his departure leaves us at great loss, we are certain that he now rests with those great men and women who founded our nation with our heavenly father . Mark leaves behind a legacy that is grounded in truth, that will make the world a better place.
Thank you, Mark, for a life well lived. You have finished the race. You have fought the good fight. You have finished the race, and you have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7. Our flags fly low to honor your memory as we salute your friendship and service to our cause.
MS Tea Party
6/27/14
