First black alderman of McNairy Co. honored with road dedication

RAMER, Tenn. — One local man was honored Saturday morning with part of his hometown named after him; his family said he changed the town’s history.

Off a main road in Ramer, just by the railroad tracks, a memorial now stands for a city hero.

“We lived on this road since 1969, and it just meant everything to him,” Mary Burns said. She was John Robert Burns Sr.’s wife of 53 years.

Burns was the first black alderman in McNairy County. Family said he ran for the position for almost 10 years before he was elected in 1994.

“We just felt like we needed to be doing something to honor him because he did give the city his time and we thought the city should do something for us as well to keep his legacy alive,” his daughter Jacqueline Burns said.

Burns passed away this past December after a long battle with lung cancer. The family asked the Ramer City Commission to name part of Ramer Selmer Road after Burns, and Saturday morning the family gathered to unveil the sign.

“We will ride by these signs and we know that somebody else cared about our brother other than his family,” his sister Sallye Anthony said.

The family says Burns changed history in Ramer, and that if there was something to do in the community, he would do anything to help.

“Anything that was going on in the community he could get involved in he did,” his wife said.

“He was always willing to be a part of the community always willing to help out where he could to just uplift other people,” his daughter Cheryl Prather said.

His family said they are determined to keep his legacy alive.

“To see his name go up on a road that means a lot, that means that this man did something in this community that was worth noting he lit a torch that hopefully we can carry it on from this point on,” Burn’s cousin Isaiah Christopher said.