Mississippi Humanities Council Newsletter - January 2019
Carol Andersen,
Assistant Director
Assistant Director's Message
Anger, Civility and the Humanities

If you Google the terms "anger" and "America," you'll get 150,000,000 hits in less than a second with links to articles like Anger in America Has Been Building for Years in the Japan Times and America's Anger is Out of Control in Time magazine. Social scientists, political scientists and a wide swath of the public health community are deeply concerned about a simmering rage in the American psyche they fear may soon boil over.
 
I know Mississippians are angry about a lot of things: politics, education, racial equity, Ole Miss football...The comments section under any online news report can be painful to read, so thick is the vitriol. The contentious atmosphere can be even worse on social media platforms.

The Mississippi Humanities Council certainly places a premium on civility in programs we support, many of which are intended to probe the most challenging questions of the moment: our legacy of racial inequity, our perspective on Civil War monuments, our disagreement over our state flag.

The humanities community has typically responded to the divisive issues of our times by encouraging civility and civil discourse. According to the National Endowment for the Humanities'  Principles for Civility, that means addressing polemical matters with thoughtful analysis firmly grounded in rigorous scholarship, without partisan advocacy, respectful of divergent views, free of ad hominem commentary and devoid of ethnic, religious, gender, disability or racial bias. The Mississippi Humanities Council certainly places a premium on civility in programs we support, many of which are intended to probe the most challenging questions of the moment: our legacy of racial inequity, our perspective on Civil War monuments, our disagreement over our state flag.
 
Although anger and civility would seem to be polar opposites on the spectrum of human behavior, I would like to make a case for the value of controlled anger in the human experience-tempered with civility. I recently read two articles that deeply examined both anger and civility. One assesses the beneficial role anger plays in human relationships but warns that unchecked, it can tear a society apart, while the other explores situations when [controlled] anger is necessary to give voice to what we care about deeply. The first article is by Charles Duhigg and can be found  here in the January/February 2019 issue of  The Atlantic. The second article is a transcript of the  December 3 episode of "On Being," in which host Krista Tippett considers what "civility" actually means, and whether the term may be too meek for the work we need it to do today.
 
Duhigg's article details a 1977 study by University of Massachusetts psychology professor James Averill that found anger can motivate, clear the air, illuminate alternate views and generally force us to confront problems we might otherwise avoid. But for anger to be productive, it cannot continue unchecked, Averill warned. It must transition to problem-solving. Martin Luther King Jr. understood this. He told an audience at Carnegie Hall in February 1968 on the 100th anniversary of W.E.B. Du Bois' birth, "It is not enough for people to be angry...The supreme task is to organize and unite people so that their anger becomes a transforming force."
 
In her careful analysis of the term "civility," Krista Tippett suggests it does not necessarily mean conversations that are nice and tame and safe, i.e. devoid of passion. She prefers the term "adventurous civility" which calls for participants, if they are able, to accept a certain degree of discomfort in discussing difficult issues. The most civil thing we can do before engaging in a difficult discussion, she suggests, is the "inner work" of civility: cultivating curiosity in ourselves about our opponent's views and then readying ourselves to encounter them as human beings and not just as "that other side." And then, of course, engaging in that hard conversation with the good manners our parents taught us.
 
Righteous rage can be helpful, but unchecked or misused, it can do great harm. Civility--the adventurous kind Tippett describes--is how we use that passion to transform our society.
2019 Awards Gala to Recognize Achievement in Public Humanities

On April 5th, the Mississippi Humanities Council will hold its annual Public Humanities Awards Gala at the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson. The event will honor scholars, educators, and organizations who have made significant contributions to the public humanities in Mississippi. Additionally, we will recognize our Humanities Teacher Award winners from each of Mississippi's 30 universities, colleges, and community colleges.  We are excited to announce the winners of the 2019 humanities awards:

Humanities Scholar - Dr. Stephanie Rolph
Humanities Educator - Dr. Brinda Willis
Preserver of Mississippi Culture - Winterville Mounds
Humanities Partner - Mississippi Today
Cora Norman Award - Patti Carr Black
 
Stay tuned for more details about the winners and our 2019 Awards Gala. Invitations will be mailed in late February, but you can reserve your tickets online or become a sponsor by visiting our website.

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Prime Time Family Reading Program Launches in
Hernando and Picayune

On January 16, the MHC began the first of its spring family reading programs at the Hernando Public Library in northwest Mississippi. The Hernando Public Library will host the six-week Prime Time program free of charge for community-area families in need of additional reading and literacy programming.

The program is hosted by a collaboration of community and city organizations, including the Hernando Public Library, the City of Hernando, and the local Excel By Five committee. Through the use of a discussion leader and storyteller, families enrolled in the Prime Time program will interact with classic children's books and humanities themes to encourage a love of reading together.

In addition to the Hernando program, the MHC's reading programs will also take place in Picayune and Jackson later this spring.

All of the MHC's reading programs are free for sites to host and for families to attend. If you would like to learn more about the MHC's Family Reading Project or learn how to host a program in your community, contact Caroline Gillespie at cgillespie@mhc.state.ms.us.

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Photo by Rory Doyle
Photographer Documents the Mississippi Delta Hill Riders

Photographer Rory Doyle has been documenting African American cowboy culture in the Mississippi Delta for the past two years. His goal is to challenge the Hollywood portrayal of the American cowboy, expanding the image beyond the silver screen portrayal of a tough and lonely cattle-driver who roamed the American west. The product of his work will be a photography exhibition--DELTA HILL RIDERS--featuring his captured images of African American cowboys in the Mississippi Delta on display February 19 through March 15 in the Ellis Gallery at Delta Arts Alliance in Cleveland. An opening reception will take place February 19 beginning at 6 p.m.

Doyle's fascination with Mississippi Delta cowboys began when he attended a rodeo celebrating black cowboy heritage in Greenville. "I use the term cowboy loosely," he recently told a Washington Post reporter. "It's not like Texas here, where cowboys ranch cattle. A cowboy in the Delta is more about recreation-either as a hobby or competing in a rodeo or horse show."

Doyle's photographs of Mississippi Delta cowboys have been featured recently in the Washington Post and the National Endowment for the Humanities' Humanities magazine.

Humanities scholar Dr. Shalando Jones of Delta State University will give a gallery talk at the reception, offering a historical perspective on the relevance of the African American cowboy culture to American society. The exhibit and Dr. Jones' talk are supported by a Mississippi Humanities Council grant. Several members of the Delta cowboy community will also attend the opening reception to talk about their passion for cowboy life.


Panelists Maranda Joiner, Charlie Buchwald, Kendra Wright, and Catherine Lee at January 15's "Ideas on Tap: Women in the Music Industry" share their thoughts during the program, which was co-sponsored by Jackson Indie Music Week.

Water/Ways Makes Final Port of Call in Columbus

The Smithsonian Institution's traveling exhibit Water/Ways will make one final stop in Columbus before leaving the state in March. The free exhibit, currently on display at the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum in Jackson through January 19, will open in Columbus on January 25.

While in Columbus, the exhibit will be on display at the Tenn-Tom Waterway Transportation Museum downtown. The museum's permanent exhibit examines the Tenn-Tom Waterway, a 234-mile manmade waterway that links the Tennessee River to the Gulf of Mexico and passes through eastern Mississippi. In conjunction with Water/Ways, the Tenn-Tom Waterway Transportation Museum will host a series of public programs throughout the six weeks Water/Ways will be on display.

Water/Ways is a traveling exhibit offered by the Museum on Main Street division of the Smithsonian Institution and sponsored by the Mississippi Humanities Council. The exhibit explores water's connection to all aspects of our society, including the endless motion of the water cycle, water's effect on landscape, settlement and migration, and its impact on culture and spirituality. It has toured Mississippi since May 2018, making stops in Moss Point, Meridian, Clarksdale, Ocean Springs, Jackson, and Columbus.

Water/Ways will be open weekly Monday through Friday 9-3:30 p.m. and Saturday 9-1 p.m. at the Tenn-Tom Waterway Transportation Museum. The exhibit is free and open to the public. For more information on the exhibit or weekly programming in Columbus, contact Caroline Gillespie at cgillespie@mhc.state.ms.us

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Participants in The Story of Us discussion series in Tupelo paste their concerns about racial inequity in AP course enrollment on the "elephant in the room."
Kettering Dialogue Series Begins in Tupelo

The Mississippi Humanities Council is part of a learning exchange with the Kettering Foundation to examine the role humanities councils play in supporting democratic practices in our communities. The Foundation has awarded research funds to six state humanities councils participating in the exchange to develop programs that help communities work through divisive issues using the knowledge and practices of the humanities. The MHC staff, with an advisory team of others engaged in similar work in our state, has developed a dialogue model for examining contentious issues in our communities through the lens of race as a first step before planning problem-solving measures. The model is entitled "The Story of Us: Confronting What Divides Our Communities."

The goal of the dialogue model, says Carol Andersen, assistant director of the MHC, is to foster honest and productive discourse about problems that factor in our different perspectives. "At the end of the four-week exercise, we do not expect participants to fully solve all their problems or settle for a compromise, but to recognize the values we share that are threatened by the problem we are grappling with, and to build relationships of mutual respect and understanding so problems are addressed constructively, with civility, together."

The Kettering Foundation research funds will support four four-part dialogue series around the state. The first series began this week in Tupelo where citizens are examining a racial disparity in student enrollment in AP courses. According to Tupelo Public School District data, 499 students took AP courses at Tupelo High last year. Just 14 percent of those students were African American, while African Americans make up 51.46 percent of the student body. Participants in this first dialogue series include parents, educators and community leaders, who are meeting every other Monday evening throughout January and February to consider where race may play a role in perceptions about advanced placement coursework and perceived barriers to these courses.

TPSD innovated programs director Stewart McMillan says she is excited to work with this dialogue model as her district searches for a solution to AP enrollment equity. "Opportunities like this allow us to incorporate community members into our school district," she says. "We want to constantly improve, and we want avenues to better hear from our community."
Humanities Teacher Award Lectures Begin Around the State

Every year, the Mississippi Humanities Council honors outstanding humanities instructors at our state institutions for higher learning. Humanities faculty at Mississippi's colleges and universities are engaged in significant work in their classrooms, nurturing students' capacity to think critically and creatively, to evaluate points of view, synthesize information and weigh evidence. They cultivate imagination in their students and help them develop the problem-solving and critical-thinking skills they will need to succeed in their personal lives and as participants in a democratic society. 

 

These instructors may only be selected by their college president or academic dean, based on the excellence of their humanities work in the classroom. Each nominee receives a cash award from the Mississippi Humanities Council and is asked to prepare and deliver a public lecture on a humanities subject. In a change from previous years, the 2019 HTA recipients are presenting in January, February and March. All programs are free and open to the public. 


 

A full listing of programs, titles and dates are available on the MHC website. For more information, contact Molly C. McMillan at mconway@mhc.state.ms.us
Coming Up: Humanities Programs Sponsored by MHC
 
Enviroscape Table

January 19, 2019, 10:00 AM
Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Museum
A free and open to the public interactive presentation about water pollution. The program will feature Melissa Wells, Education Outreach Coordinator for the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, to present MDEQ's Enviroscape Table. The Enviroscape Table provides a hands-on, interactive demonstration of the sources and effects of water pollution and how to prevent it. Presentations of the Enviroscape Table will take place every half hour between 10am and 2pm.
 
Water/Ways in Columbus

January 25-March 8, 2019
Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Transportation Museum
The Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Transportation Museum will host Water/Ways, a traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution, from January 25 through March 8. Water/Ways explores the endless motion of the water cycle, water's effect on landscape, settlement and migration, and its impact on culture and spirituality. It looks at how political and economic planning have long been affected by access to water and control of water resources.

 
Representing the Experiences of Women from the Renaissance to Now

January 28, 2019, 5:00PM
Fleming Education Center, Long Beach
USM Gulf Park will kick-off this series by hosting a pop-up art exhibition featuring two women artists from the Mississippi Gulf Coast community: Julia Reyes, a local multimedia artist and co-owner of Almost Circle gallery in Biloxi, and Paulette Dove, local artist and former art teacher at Biloxi High School. Critically, this exhibition event will open with a talk for the general public by USM Art Professor Jennifer Torres. The general scope of Torres' talk will be the relationship between artistic representation and the treatment/expectations of women in society.

 
The Struggle Continues: Equity in Education

January 29, 2019, 6:30PM
Hancock Performing Arts Center, Kiln
Robbie Luckett from Jackson State University will lecture and discuss "Equity in Education in MS." He will address the history of education equity for the blacks, Choctaws, and various immigrants who have struggled to overcome obstacles in their education. In addition, he will discuss the work of the Sovereign Commission.

"Exploring Hip Hop & History" will feature Teaching Artist Jonathan Blanchard
Exploring Hip Hop & History

January 29, 2019, 10:00AM
GRAMMY Museum Mississippi, Cleveland
This interactive program, chronicles the evolution of American music from work songs to hip-hop, exploring all the elements that make up the essence of American music. It will explore the roots of hip-hop music and cultural climates of the past that laid the ground work for today's popular music. Participants will be introduced to Mississippi artists who had a hand in shaping American culture through their art like the Staple Singers, Howlin' Wolf, Elvis Presley, Jimmy Lunsford, Ike Turner, and Muddy Waters. Participants will learn about the key aspects of history and how it influenced our music. The presentation will also show how the music impacted the times and shaped the culture. Recommended for grades 3+. Museum admission is FREE with program registration.


S peakers Bureau: 'Chimneyville,' The Destruction of Jackson, MS during the Civil War, Fact or Myth!

January 29, 2019, 12:00PM
Manship House Museum, Jackson
This presentation by Grady Howell lays out the facts pertinent to what happened during the four occupations of the city by Federal forces during the Civil War.
 
'Baltimore' Performance & Discussion

Various dates/locations
The Sunflower County Freedom Project youth drama will present Baltimore, a play by Kirsten Greenridge. Baltimore focuses on a group of college students whose lives are shaken when someone draws an offensive picture of the wall of their residence hall. The play shines light on issues of equality, racism, community, and the question of who gets to belong where. After the performance, the students and audience will participate in a facilitated conversation. Upcoming performances include: Feb. 1st @ Ruleville Community Center in Ruleville, Feb. 2nd @ the COFO Building in Jackson, Feb. 8th @ Griot Arts in Clarksdale, Feb. 12th @ the B.B. King Museum in Indianola, Feb. 22nd @ Alpha Kappa Alpha in Greenville.
 
Do Drink the Brown Water: Literary Series

February 7, 2019, 5:30PM
Washington County Welcome Center, Greenville
Do Drink the Brown Water: Literary Series was started June 2018 as a Summer trio of events to focus on and celebrate the rich literary history of Washington County, MS and the surrounding Delta. These programs are free and open to the public. The February 7th event will feature Julian Rankin, executive director of the Walter Anderson Museum of Art and author of Catfish Dream: Ed Scott's Fight for His Family Farm and Racial Justice in the Mississippi Delta
 
Civil Rights and The Arts

February 23, 2019, 3:00PM
Bennie G. Thompson Center, Tougaloo College
This event will feature three key parts: An activism workshop with Clinnesha D. Sibley, panels featuring speakers such as Dr. Daphne Chamberlain and The Freedom Riders, and a film screening of "Respect Our Black Dollars." A full schedule can be found on the MHC calendar of events.
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