Martin Arts Co-op President to be evicted

Since 2008, the Martin Arts Co-op has promoted the arts throughout Weakley County and its communities and is a place for local artists to showcase their work.
All of that began to change, former members said, when Cecil Edward Norwood showed up on the local arts scene in late April. He opened his business in the arts co-op building and soon became president of the co-op.
Norwood’s criminal history and alleged connection to white supremacy were brought to the attention of David Hawks, who is the treasurer and building manager of the Weakley County Republican Party, which owns the co-op building located next door to its headquarters.
Norwood, who is on supervised release from federal prison but has not been charged with any crime locally, will be served with a certified eviction notice and have one month to vacate, Hawks told The Press on Monday.
Hawks, who is also a Weakley County commissioner, told The Press he would get a certified letter delivered to the co-op as soon as possible. He said the Republican Party was unaware of Norwood’s criminal past and connections to a white supremacist website. He said he only learned of it over the weekend and would have already taken action but had to wait until the post office opened this morning. It was closed Monday for Labor Day.
News of a pending eviction notice comes amid a Press investigation into Norwood’s criminal history and connection to a white supremacist website in which he has allegedly made more than 4,400 posts.
Reached for comment late Monday afternoon, Norwood said he would “have to look into” the allegations. Asked if he had ever posted on a white supremacist website, Norwood said, “I can’t say either way.”
Norwood arrived on the local arts scene in late April, according to Jacquelyn Zickel, who was a member of the arts co-op for four years and served as its treasurer and vice president. At that time, she said Norwood was looking for a storefront in Martin to open a business and eventually approached the arts co-op.
“He came to us with a proposal of becoming a member and using his jewelry as his arts trade and running the gallery Monday through Friday,” she said.
A short time later, she said Norwood assumed the role of president of the tax-exempt community organization and began coordinating several community events, including a children’s art camp this past summer.
Zickel said it seemed like a good fit; however, “things turned sour real quick.”
She stated different members of the arts co-op began to express “concerns with his tantrums and outbursts in the building.”
Then, she said, another member of the co-op started to research Norwood online and found he was allegedly selling jewelry for white supremacists on stormfront.org, a white supremacist website, using the handle “Merk0331.”
Zickel alleged that Norwood was taking U.S. coins and carving swastika symbols into them. She said she “had serious concerns” about such art being associated with the arts co-op.
“We’re not going to be associated with that,” she said. “Our ideals have nothing to do with the color of somebody’s skin. Our goal is to bring arts to our community, our children.”
Local artist Gary Richardson said he left the arts co-op because he didn’t like the direction it was going under Norwood’s leadership. After leaving, he learned of Norwood’s background and alleged that Norwood was selling jewelry online with symbols of the Ku Klux Klan and Nazis.
“I happened to look on the Internet and I saw some things that I didn’t like,” Richardson said. “Other people looked at the Internet and saw things they didn’t like. I was happy to be out of the place. I’m not a fan of the KKK or the SS or the Nazi party. He was selling jewelry on that website that promoted all those folks. I just thought there’s no place for that in this country anymore.”
Richardson was referring to stormfront.org, a white supremacists website, of which he alleged Norwood was a member using the handle “Merk0331.”
The user Merk0331 joined the website in 2004 and has posted more than 4,400 messages. A photo of Norwood is posted as the profile picture for Merk0331, which lists his website as norwood-diamonds.com — the same website Norwood uses for his business.
In May, as Norwood prepared to open his business, Merk0331 posted several photos, including two with Norwood in them from inside the arts co-op building. “Almost done setting up my new shop,” wrote Merk0331. (Note: This post was apparently removed sometime Monday evening.)
In addition to marketing the jewelry, Merk0331 has also made several disparaging comments toward minorities. In a July 16 post, for example, he referred to black people as “feral and foul creatures with no souls.”
Norwood’s business, The Jewelry Doctor/Norwood Diamonds, held its official grand opening June 28 during an arts co-op event, though it was already open for business by that time.
There were nine members of the arts co-op at the time Norwood became president, Zickel said. No original members remain. Zickel was the treasurer and vice president up until Friday night. She said she went to the co-op to retrieve some of her art and was informed by Norwood that she had been voted out by him and three new members who have joined within the last several weeks but previously had no connection to the co-op.
Norwood is on supervised release after he was sentenced to 23 months in prison for being in possession of a handgun silencer, according to electronic court documents obtained through the federal pacer system. He was initially charged with being in possession of two other firearms — a pistol and a rifle — but those counts were dropped in exchange for the guilty plea, records show. At the time of the plea, Norwood had already been convicted of four other offenses years earlier — theft by unlawful taking and three separate charges of grand larceny in three different Virginia counties, records show.
Norwood’s supervised release was transferred from the Eastern District of Arkansas to the Western District of Tennessee, according to federal court records.

Editor’s Note: Brad Gaskins is the News Editor for The Weakley County Press. The website for The Press is www.nwtntoday.com.