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Mississippi Humanities Council Newsletter - March 2019
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Stuart Rockoff
MHC Executive Director |
Executive Director's Message
The Unique Value of Humanities Councils
This past week I had the pleasure of spending time with my fellow state humanities council executive directors in Washington, D.C. This retreat was designed to help us think deeply about the work we do. We brought in professional facilitators who did an admirable job herding 50 strong personalities and getting us to consider the larger purpose of our work.
One particular exercise involved thinking about our unique value to the states we serve and then discussing the common goals we share with all of the 56 state and territorial humanities councils. Since most of my time is filled with carrying out the day-to-day work of the Mississippi Humanities Council, overseeing grants, planning programs, and thinking about development and communication strategies, it was invigorating to step back and deeply consider the role of the Mississippi Humanities Council in our state.
The unique value we bring to Mississippi includes our ability to cut across and connect different cultural, educational, and political sectors in our state. This can involve connecting a documentary filmmaker with a humanities scholar to help provide context and complexity to their project; it can mean enlisting different advocacy organizations from across the political spectrum along with scholarly experts to create a public forum about an important contemporary issue; it can mean bringing together a community college and gifted humanities teachers with the Department of Corrections to provide life-changing humanities courses to incarcerated students. The Mississippi Humanities Council is a statewide connector and catalyst that works across the many institutional siloes in our state.
We are also committed to being an accessible partner. Though our staff is small, we take pride in our accessibility and transparency as a grant maker. We are always available to help partners develop their ideas, read grant drafts, and provide helpful advice on how to strengthen their application. Our goal is to fund as many good programs as we can, and we are committed to helping our partners create successful, fundable programs. Recently, we held several face-to-face meetings with a new prospective grantee over several months and gave feedback on multiple application drafts. This was the first grant he ever wrote and we ultimately funded it.
The Mississippi Humanities Council is committed to being a democratic grant maker that supports grassroots culture building in our state.
The Mississippi Humanities Council is committed to being a democratic grant maker that supports grassroots culture building in our state. We work hard to ensure our programs and our grants reflect the diversity of our state. In many communities, we might be the only potential funder for a humanities-based program that explores our shared history and culture.
We are also committed to the free exchange of ideas and aren't afraid to tackle difficult or controversial subjects. Because we are not a government agency, we are somewhat insulated from political pressures. I often say "we fear no ideas," and we work hard to make sure a variety of perspectives are reflected in the discussions we coordinate. While other organizations might shy away from topics like Confederate monuments or the Mississippi state flag, we "go there," always seeking to shed light and not heat on these divisive subjects. Our goal is to create a shared space where people can come together to discuss the issues that might divide them.
After thinking through this list of unique qualities we offer in Mississippi, it was inspiring to hear other state council directors share similar ideas. State humanities councils were created almost fifty years ago to support grassroots public humanities programs, to culturally enrich communities across the country, and above all, to serve our individual states. As one executive director declared, "we were created to connect." At a time when our country is so culturally divided, this work of state humanities councils has never been more important.
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Get Your Tickets to the 2019 MHC Awards Gala
The 2019 Public Humanities Awards Gala is quickly approaching, when the Mississippi Humanities Council pays tribute to five individuals and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to the study and understanding of the humanities in Mississippi. This year's gala takes place Friday, April 5, in the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson, with a reception honoring awardees followed by a program in the former House Chamber.
This year's awards include:
- The Cora Norman Award, named in honor of the first director of the Mississippi Humanities Council to celebrate Mississippians who have made a significant lifetime contribution to the public humanities. The 2019 recipient is Patti Carr Black.
- The Humanities Scholar Award, which recognizes scholars who have made extensive contributions to the public humanities through their work. The 2019 recipient is Stephanie Rolph.
- The Humanities Partner Award, presented to a person or organization that has collaborated with the Mississippi Humanities Council to provide programming that reaches new or expanded audiences. The 2019 recipient is Mississippi Today.
- The Preserver of Mississippi Culture award, recognizing outstanding efforts to interpret and promote the cultural assets and traditions of our state. The 2019 recipient is Winterville Mounds Native American Days.
- The Humanities Educator Award, which goes to an individual who applies innovated techniques to engage diverse audiences with the humanities. The 2019 recipient is Brinda Willis.
Thirty recipients of the 2019
Humanities Teacher Awards, which recognize outstanding faculty in traditional humanities fields, will also be honored.
"This year's winners reflect the breadth and importance of the humanities. They have helped us understand our state's rich and complicated history and explored the unique cultural traditions of our state," says MHC Executive Director Dr. Stuart Rockoff. "They have also shown how the tools of the humanities, including deep, thoughtful examination and civil civic discourse, are vitally important to our democracy today. Each winner is a wonderful example of our belief that the humanities are for everyone."
The Council invites all Mississippians to join them at their 2019 Public Humanities Awards ceremony and reception April 5, at 5:30 p.m. at the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson.
Tickets for the Mississippi Humanities Council Public Humanities Awards ceremony and reception are $50 each and may be purchased by sending a check to the Mississippi Humanities Council, 3825 Ridgewood Road, Room 317, Jackson, MS 39211 or online at www.mshumanities.org. Information about the awards and the reception is available at www.mshumanities.org or 601-432-6752.
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JSU Exhibit to Feature Work by Photographer and Activist Roy Lewis
The Margaret Walker Center at Jackson State University will bring a collection of approximately 70 photographs from the EVERYWHERE with Roy Lewis exhibition to Mississippi next month. The exhibit and an opening gallery talk with renowned photographer Roy Lewis is supported with a grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council.
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1973 Phillis Wheatley Poetry Festival at JSU, photographed by Roy Lewis. Photo courtesy of the Margaret Walker Alexander National Research Center at JSU.
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During his 50-year career, Lewis has documented many of the major events of the modern civil rights movement and the Black Arts Movement, including many of Margaret Walker's most iconic events as director of the Institute for the Study of the History, Life, and Culture of Black People at JSU. One of those events was the 1973 Phillis Wheatley Poetry Festival which brought 30 of the leading black female writers of the day to Jackson State University for a conference celebrating the bicentennial of Wheatley's book of poetry,
Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral. Among the women who attended were celebrated writers of the Black Arts Movement, such as Alice Walker, Paula Giddings, Mari Evans, Sonia Sanchez, Charlayne Hunter-Gault, and Nikki Giovanni, whose images are included in Lewis' photographs from that conference.
While in Jackson, Lewis will also visit classes to work directly with students at JSU.
"The goal of these events is to help us understand the significance of the events and people portrayed in Roy Lewis' photographs and the importance of black photographers like him, who captured the stories of many seminal events not often covered by mainstream white media," says Dr. Robert Luckett, director of the Margaret Walker Center.
The EVERYWHERE with Roy Lewis exhibit and gallery talk are part of the Margaret Walker Center's 13th Annual Creative Arts Festival taking place on the JSU campus April 12 and 13. The exhibition opens Friday, April 12, at 4 p.m. in the Johnson Hall Art Gallery with a reception followed by a conversation with Roy Lewis. The exhibit will remain open to the public through June 28. For more information, please visit the Margaret Walker Center
website.
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Using the MHC Speakers Bureau to Celebrate Women's History
Every year March is designated Women's History Month by presidential proclamation. The month is set aside to honor women's contributions in American history. The MHC Speakers Bureau has numerous presentations that can assist your organization in celebrating women:
- Diane Williams, "Southern Women of Character: Mahalia Jackson and Cathay Williams, Female Buffalo Soldier"
- Shennette Garrett Scott, "Minnie Geddings Cox and the Indianola Affair"
- Rebecca Tuuri, "Behind Every Good Man is a Civil Rights Heroine"
- Shelby Harriel, "Forbidden, Hidden and Forgotten: Women Soldiers of the Civil War"
- Carolyn Brown, "Margaret Walker: The Most Famous Person Nobody Knows"
- Alysia Burton Steele, "Southern Wisdom from Delta Church Mothers"
The Speakers Bureau features our state's finest historians, writers and storytellers talking about a wide variety of subjects related to Mississippi and beyond.
For no cost, you can bring these scholars to speak at an event. The MHC selects speakers based on their credentials and the quality of their program and pays them an honorarium for presenting to nonprofit groups around the state.
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Ideas on Tap Criminal Justice Series Hosts Second Program
March 19, the MHC will host the second in a two-part series about criminal justice reform in Mississippi. The program, "Locked Out: Criminal Justice in Mississippi," will be held at Hal & Mal's in Jackson from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
The free program will examine the hurdles that formerly-incarcerated persons face while re-entering society, such as legal issues and employment barriers.
Panelists include Eddie Spencer, a former Parchman inmate; Beth Orlansky, advocacy director for the Mississippi Center for Justice; and B.R. Hawkins, director of the Incarcerated Veterans Program at Central Mississippi Correctional Facility. Journalist Ko Bragg, who teaches classes at Central Mississippi Correctional Facility through an MHC-funded prison education program, will moderate the program.
Ideas on Tap Partners With Overby Center for Oxford Journalism Program
March 21, the MHC and the Overby Center for Southern Journalism and Media will host a free and open and public program about the role of community journalism in the state. The program, "Ideas on Tap: The Future of Journalism," will take place at the Annex at Rafters from 5:30 to 7p.m.
The Ideas on Tap program will address the changes in the way journalism is produced and disseminated, and why community journalism still matters in Mississippi and the U.S. The panel will feature representatives from
Mississippi Today and the
Daily Journal, both examples of philanthropy-funded journalism outlets active in the state today. University of Mississippi journalism professor Cynthia Joyce will also serve on the panel, which will be moderated by Charles Overby.
This program is funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation's "Democracy and the Informed Citizen" initiative, in partnership with the Federation of State Humanities Councils. For more information on the program, contact Caroline Gillespie at
[email protected].
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Local students take water samples of the Sunflower River as part of a program during Water/Ways' stay in Clarksdale.
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Ripples of Water/Ways Felt Around Mississippi
March 10, the Smithsonian exhibit Water/Ways left Mississippi after an amazing 10-month statewide tour. While here, Water/Ways visited six sites, traveled over 980 miles on Mississippi roads, and was viewed by thousands of Mississippi residents.
In addition to the exhibit itself, all six host sites planned a series of Water/Ways-related programs and their own local exhibit. Highlights include: A program about the effect of hurricanes on life on the Coast in Ocean Springs, a presentation about Mississippi's water usage in Columbus, an exhibit featuring water-related quilts in Moss Point, a presentation about the Mississippi River Basin Model in Jackson, a program about swimming and civil rights in Clarksdale, and a "steam up" of operational antique steam engines in Meridian.
The exhibit's success would not have been possible without the content expertise of state scholar Dr. James Giesen, the trucking support from Terry Munn at Copiah-Lincoln Community College, Museum on Main Street's excellent exhibit design, and each of the host sites for their dedication to the exhibit's success. Thanks to all involved!
Next up on the Smithsonian traveling exhibit docket is "Crossroads: Change in Rural America," which will arrive in Mississippi in fall 2020. Stay tuned for more details.
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MHC's Family Reading Project Partners with Columbus Air Force Base
In April, the MHC will begin a new partnership with the Columbus Air Force Base to present a series of Prime Time reading programs for area military families.
The MHC is working with the Columbus AFB's School Liaison Office to plan and implement reading programs for military families. Families who participate in the programs will work with a trained storyteller and discussion leader to read engaging children's books and discuss the humanities themes present in each book, such as bravery, determination, and cleverness. Many of the themes discussed throughout the reading program are especially relevant to military families, who face a unique set of experiences as their loved ones serve.
The first program will take place April through May, in conjunction with Month of the Military Child. The second program will take place October through November, in conjunction with Month of the Military Family.
Developed by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities, Prime Time family reading programs are licensed and used by the MHC to engage Mississippi families with dynamic storytelling and discussion.
For more information on the MHC's Family Reading Project, contact Caroline Gillespie at
[email protected].
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MHC Begins Hardin-Funded Ideas on Tap Public Education Series
In April, the MHC will begin its yearlong Ideas on Tap series about public education in the state. The first two programs will take place April 16 and 23 in Clarksdale and Jackson, respectively. Both programs will feature a panel comprised of representatives from the MHC's three statewide partners: Empower Mississippi, the Parents Campaign, and Mississippi First. MHC Executive Director Dr. Stuart Rockoff will moderate each program.
The April 16 program will take place at 5:30 p.m. at Meraki Roasting Company in Clarksdale. The April 23 program will take place at 5:30 p.m. at Hal & Mal's in Jackson. Both programs are free and open to the public. Following the April programs, follow-up programs in Clarksdale and Jackson will take place in May to address local issues of public education, access, and equity.
The 12-part series, funded by the Phil Hardin Foundation, will take place in six communities around the state: Hernando, Tupelo, Clarksdale, Jackson, Meridian, and Biloxi. Each community will host two programs, the first featuring a panel of institutional statewide partners to discuss education policy and philosophy, and the second featuring a panel of local voices to discuss the current state of education at the community level, as well as underlying social and economic factors that affect educational access and outcomes.
Details about future programs will be announced in the coming weeks. For more information on the series, contact Caroline Gillespie at [email protected]
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Coming Up: Humanities Programs Sponsored by MHC
The Struggle Continues: Equity in Education
March 19, 2019, 6:30 p.m.
Hancock Performing Arts Center, Kiln
The issue of equity in education will be addressed by William Coleman with the Hancock County Historical Society. He will examine the African American, Asian, and Hispanic experiences in Hancock, Harrison, and Jackson counties in a Power Point presentation.
Delta State University's 2019 Winning the Race Conference
Delta State University, Cleveland
Delta State University's award-winning race relations conference Winning the Race returns to campus for a sixth year. The 2019 theme is "Millennials in Motion: Channeling the Winner Within."
Representing the Experiences of Women: Women in Mississippi Politics
March 25, 2019, 5:30 p.m.
Hardy Hall Ballroom, Long Beach
The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Park Campus continues its spring 2019 Cultural Arts Series, "Representing the Experiences of Women, From the English Renaissance to Right Now," with
a bi-partisan panel of female politicians from south Mississippi who will reflect on their careers in local and state politics.
Shange's Sojourn: Women, Art, and Activism
March 26, 2019, 10 a.m
Jackson State University, Jackson
"Shange's Sojourn: 'Somebody almost walked off with alla my stuff!' Women, Art, and Activism" is a celebration of Women's History Month recognizing Ntozake Shange's legacy as established by the release and reception of her choreopoem,
for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf.
The Twenty-Sixth Oxford Conference for the Book
March 27-29, 2019
Oxford
Founded by the Center for the Study of Southern Culture and Square Books, the conference brings together fiction and nonfiction writers, journalists, artists, poets, publishers, teachers, students, and literacy advocates for three days of conversation in the literary town of Oxford, Mississippi.
Behind the Big House
April 4-6, 2019
Holly Springs
The Behind the Big House program in Holly Springs interprets the lives of enslaved persons through the structures in which they lived and worked.
The program educates pilgrimage visitors, other tourists, and local Marshall County students who tour the site each year.
2019 MHC Awards Gala
April 5, 2019, 5:30 p.m.
Old Capitol Museum, Jackson
The Mississippi Humanities Council will hold its Public Humanities Awards April 5, 2019, at the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson. The awards recognize outstanding work by Mississippians in bringing the insights of the humanities to public audiences. A reception will be held at 5:30 p.m. with the awards ceremony to begin at 7 p.m.
Learn More
April 6, 2019 9 a.m.
Museum of the Mississippi Delta, Greenwood
Through a compelling assortment of photographs, television clips, art posters, and historic artifacts, For All the World to See traces how images and media disseminated to the American public transformed the modern civil rights movement and jolted Americans, both black and white, out of a state of denial or complacency. April 6, Patrick Weems of the Emmett Till Interpretive Center will moderate a panel on the impact Emmett Till's death had on the Civil Rights era.
2019 Sammy O. Cranford Memorial History Lecture
April 11, 2019, 7 p.m.
Delta State University, Cleveland
The 2019 annual Sammy O. Craford Memorial History Lecture will take place Thursday, April 11. This year, Dr. Joseph Crespino (Jimmy Carter Professor of American History at Emory University) will deliver a presentation entitled, "Atticus Finch: The Biography."
The lecture will take place in the Jobe Hall auditorium.
2019 Petal Southern Miss Powwow
April 13-14, 2019
Willie Hinton Park, Petal
Annual event that brings natives and non-natives together to share in the American Indian's rich culture.The free, family-oriented event hosts people and tribes from all over the country and includes traditional Native American dances, dancing competitions, music and art, as well as food and vendors.
Learn More
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