The simple lessons from the life of Wharlest Jackson are ones worth learning.

Even those of us who did not have the fortune of knowing Mr. Jackson personally can glean a few tidbits about his life from his story.

Mr. Jackson worked hard enough to earn a promotion that many men of the day never would have bestowed upon him.

He took a minimal increase in pay — likely knowing it might bring trouble — in order to support his family, which he loved.

He stood up for what he believed was right, serving as treasurer of the local chapter of the NAACP and leading the local civil rights movement.

Those three facts provide a great roadmap for young people in the community today.

We hope those who walk or drive past the new Jackson memorial sign on Minor Street will remember each of those lessons each time they pass.

If young men in Natchez today put into practice the lessons Jackson lived out, our community will become a better place and Jackson’s senseless death will not have been in vain.

The family seeks, and deserves, justice. We hope that comes.

But the visual reminder of Jackson’s lessons erected Sunday might just mean more in the long run than identifying the name of the killer.