Mississippi Humanities Council Newsletter - November 2018
Stuart Rockoff
Executive Director
Director's Message
Cherishing Our Academic Partners

This past weekend, many members of the MHC staff were in New Orleans for the annual National Humanities Conference. This year's conference was especially memorable for us, with Mississippi writers Jesmyn Ward and Kiese Laymon - whom I had the honor to introduce - delivering the Capps Lecture, and the announcement that MHC had won the Schwartz Prize for our racial equity grant program. This was the first time the MHC has received this national recognition for the best public humanities program from the Federation of State Humanities Councils. Our assistant director, Carol Andersen, organized and moderated an insightful panel discussion about humanities programs in prison and our former outreach coordination, Tim Lampkin, participated on a panel about racial equity in the work of state councils. Mississippi was well represented at this year's conference.

Over the past few years, the National Humanities Alliance has partnered with the Federation of State Humanities Councils on the conference. The NHA is the advocacy organization for the academic humanities, and due to this partnership, the conference now draws a number of humanities scholars and administrators from colleges around the country. The idea behind this partnership is to foster a closer working relationship between state humanities councils and the academic institutions and faculty in each state.

Of course, the MHC has long had a close relationship with the colleges and universities of our state. We were founded in 1972 by a group of college administrators, led by Chancellor Porter Fortune of the University of Mississippi and Dr. John Peoples, president of Jackson State University. Ever since, we have served as a bridge connecting the academic humanities scholars of our state with the general public. Many college professors participate in our speakers bureau, giving humanities lectures at public libraries, historical societies, schools, and other spaces around the state. We often recommend scholars to prospective grantees, helping strengthen their proposals and public programs. Through our annual Humanities Teacher Award program, we work with every college and university in the state, public and private.

When the future of the National Endowment for the Humanities was under threat in the 1990s, Jack traveled to Washington D.C. several times to advocate for the agency with our state's elected officials on Capitol Hill. 

Then-Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities William Ferris, at a national humanities conference with Jack White.
Historically, humanities scholars and college administrators have played a leading role on our board. A perfect example of this is Dr. Jack White, who passed away this summer. Jack, who served as a member and chairman of the MHC board from 1996 to 1998, was the lo ngtime director of the honors program at Mississippi State University. When the future of the National Endo wment for the Humanities was under threat in the 1990s, Jack traveled to Washington D.C. several times to advocate for the agency with our state's elected officials on Capitol Hill. E ven after he left the board, Jack was a member of our speakers bureau, presenting topics related to his specialty of medieval literature as well as several other subjects. Late into his life, Jack and his wife Emilie remained close friends of the Council. Not long after I became executive director five years ago, Jack and Emilie sent me kind notes of encouragement, which considering their longtime involvement with the Council, meant a great deal to me. Throughout his career in Mississippi, Jack was a champion of the public humanities and an ideal example of the partnership between state councils and academic institutions. May his memory continue to be a blessing to all lovers of the humanities in our state.

MHC Receives Prestigious Schwartz Prize

At the 2018 National Humanities Conference, the MHC was awarded the Schwartz Prize for best humanities program for its racial equity grant program. Given out annually by the Federation of State Humanities Councils, the Schwartz Prize recognizes the best and most imaginative programs offered by its member councils each year. The MHC was recognized for its racial equity grant program, a special project funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to support public humanities programs that explore the history of racism and its continuing impact in Mississippi. In all, the MHC supported fifty different projects around the state, working with 45 different partner organizations.

The Mississippi Humanities Council staff, left to right: Caroline Gillespie, Timothy Lampkin,Stuart Rockoff, Carol Andersen and Brenda T. Gray.

"This recognition from our peers is extremely gratifying," said MHC executive director Stuart Rockoff. "The projects we supported reflect the power of the humanities to address Mississippi's and America's ongoing struggle with race. We share this award with the 45 different partners with whom we worked. Their projects honestly confronted our state's difficult history and worked to overcome racism's continuing legacy."

This was the first time the MHC has received the Schwartz Prize in the 36-year history of the award. The prize was made possible through an endowment established by former Federation board member Martin Schwartz and his wife Helen to recognize outstanding work in the public humanities. A complete list of the projects supported by the MHC racial equity grant program can be found here.

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Mississippi Humanities Council Awards $80,000 in Grants

The Mississippi Humanities Council is pleased to announce $80,000 in grants to 13 Mississippi organizations in support of public humanities programs. In addition to this direct support, each agency was required to present matching cash or in-kind cost share, pledging an additional $80,000 to humanities programming around our state. The humanities programs funded in this major round support projects exploring history, literature, race, gender politics, and Native American culture.

Dr. Stuart Rockoff, executive director of the Mississippi Humanities Council, said, "We are pleased to be able to support these cultural programs throughout our state. These projects inform and enrich local communities by creating opportunities for Mississippians to understand themselves and share their stories with others."

Humanities grants are awarded to Mississippi nonprofit organizations in support of programs that foster the public's understanding of our rich history and culture. Please visit the MHC website for a full listing of all grants awarded in this latest round.

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Ebony Lumumba joins MHC Board

Ebony Lumumba has been elected to the board of the Mississippi Humanities Council. Lumumba is currently an assistant professor of English and department chair at Tougaloo College where she teaches courses in global and American literatures. She received her Ph.D. in English literature from the University of Mississippi. She was named the Eudora Welty Research Fellow in 2013 and Tougaloo's Humanities Teacher of the Year in 2014. Dr. Lumumba specializes in post-colonial literatures of the Global South and cultural equity in film culture in her research and instruction. Dr. Lumumba has served on the MHC's grant review committee for the past two years. She is married to Jackson's mayor, Chokwe Antar Lumumba, and was tapped this summer to host the Mississippi Book Festival's new podcast series, Write on, Mississippi! The series features conversations with writers who appear at Mississippi's annual "literary lawn party."

Twenty-two Mississippians serve four-year terms on the Council as volunteers. Five Council members are appointed by the governor and the others elected by the Council.
Nominations Invited for Humanities Achievement Awards

The Mississippi Humanities Council invites nominations for its 2019 Public Humanities Achievement Awards, which honor outstanding contributions in the arena of public humanities.
 
Nominations will be accepted for the  Preserver of Mississippi Culture Award,  Humanities Scholar Award,  Humanities Partner Award,  Humanities Educator Award, and the  Cora Norman Award
.
The Council began issuing Achievement Awards in 1993 to recognize persons who have supported the Council's work through public programs across the state based in the branches of learning concerned with human thought and relations, such as history, literature, culture, values and ideas. All Mississippians are invited to make nominations for these awards. Nominations are reviewed by a panel, which selects the year's awardees.
 
"The Public Humanities Achievement Awards bring statewide attention to individuals or institutions in Mississippi that have made significant scholarly contributions to the humanities or who have led exceptional public humanities programming in Mississippi," said Dr. Stuart Rockoff, executive director of the Mississippi Humanities Council.
 
All awards will be presented Friday, April 5, 2019, at the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson. Recipients of the 2019 Humanities Teacher Awards, which pay tribute to outstanding faculty in traditional humanities fields, will also be honored at the gala.
 
Nomination forms for Public Humanities Achievement Awards are available  online. For information call 601-432-6752.

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Water/Ways Sails On With Help From Copiah-Lincoln Community College

Since it arrived in Mississippi in May, the Smithsonian traveling exhibit Water/Ways has logged more than 650 miles traveling to various host sites around the state. It began its statewide trek in Moss Point before traveling to Meridian, Clarksdale, and, most recently, to Ocean Springs. After leaving Ocean Springs in December, it will log over 300 additional miles traveling to the last two state stops, Jackson and Columbus.

Water/Ways' statewide journey would not be possible without the generous support of Copiah-Lincoln Community College, which has transported the exhibit to and from each Mississippi site through its Commercial Truck Driving program. Truck driving instructor Terry Munn and his
students have logged early mornings, long days, and hundreds of miles to ensure Mississippians get to visit Water/Ways while it tours Mississippi. The MHC is extremely grateful to Munn,  his students, and to Co-Lin for its
support of and dedication to the exhibit.

In conjunction with the exhibit's stint in Ocean Springs, the Ocean Springs Municipal Library is hosting a series of public programs and activities to celebrate water's connection to the area. These programs include a November 20 discussion of the 2010 BP oil spill, a family storytelling and craft event November 28, and an interactive oral history program about the effects of storms on Coast residents November 29.

If you live near Ocean Springs, be sure to visit the free exhibit or attend the free programming before the exhibit packs up November 30.

Water/Ways, developed by the Smithsonian Institution's Museum on Main Street division, will be in Mississippi through Spring 2019.

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Families participate in a Prime Time session at the Crosby Memorial Library in Picayune last month.
Family Reading Project Wraps Up Fall Semester, Gears Up For Spring

Earlier this month, the MHC concluded its last two family reading programs of 2018 in Horn Lake and Picayune. The Luciérnagas program in Horn Lake, which served more than 30 families, and the Prime Time program in Picayune, which served 25 families, spent six fun weeks engaging families with exciting storytelling, book discussion, arts and crafts, dress up nights, zoo animals, face-painting, and more.

The MHC's Family Reading Project, which consists of Prime Time, an English-based program, and Luciérnagas, a Spanish-English program, uses beloved children's books to engage families in dynamic storytelling and discussion. The six- and seven-week programs allow families to come together once a week and work with a storyteller and discussion leader to read books, talk, laugh, and share a meal together.

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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Coming Up: Humanities Programs Sponsored by MHC

Water/Ways in Ocean Springs

October 20-November 30, 2018
The Ocean Springs Municipal Library, Ocean Springs
The Ocean Springs Municipal Library will host Water/Ways, a traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution, October 20 through November 30.  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.

 
Speakers Bureau: A Look at Mande (West African) Culture Through Traditional Music

November 24, 2018, 3:00PM
Cotton Market Venue, Richland
This presentation will give the listener a glimpse of the Mandé Culture of West Africa. In the tradition of the Mandé, the history and culture is orally preserved in the minds and through the music of the Djeli (oral librarian/mandenka hereditary professional musicians). The establishment of the Mali Empire can be recalled and retold in the musical piece of the legendary Densoba (great warrior) Sunjata. 
 
Sci-Café

November 27, 2018, 6:00PM
The Ocean Springs Municipal Library, Ocean Springs
On November 27, the USM Gulf Coast Research Lab will host its Sci-Cafe with a program on the history and design of the Harrison County Seawall. The program, which will take place in the Research Lab's Gunter Library, will feature architect Philip Shaw.

 
How Storms Have Impacted Life on the Mississippi Gulf Coast

November 29, 2018, 6:00PM
The Ocean Springs Municipal Library, Ocean Springs
The Mary C. O'Keefe Cultural Center, in partnership with the Ocean Springs Municipal Library, will host a free and open to the public storytelling program about storms on the Coast. The program will include four primary speakers-Mary Anderson Picard, Rafe O'Neal, Julian Brunt, and Connie Moran-who will discuss how storms have impacted life on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Attendees are encouraged to share their own stories. The program will address area of art, industry, food, and entertainment.


Speakers Bureau: Mississippi Telling

November 30, 2018, 8:00AM
Itawamba Agricultural High School, Fulton
Dr. Rebecca Jernigan provides an overview of the storytelling Renaissance in America with emphasis upon the oral tradition in Mississippi. The literary tradition of Mississippi owes much to the rich storytelling legacy that riddles the tales of our families and our communities as reflected in the works of many of our best authors: Welty, Wright, Faulkner, Henley, Williams.
 
Lessons From The Way of Water for Native Americans

December 1, 2018, 10:00AM
The Ocean Springs Municipal Library, Ocean Springs
On December 1, the Ocean Springs Municipal Library will host Dr. Susan Glanville to present her  program "Lessons From the Way of Water for Native Americans." Glanville will explore with the audience the role of water in the worlds of the first inhabitants of our land and people of modern times. The free program will take place in conjunction with the Smithsonian traveling exhibit Water/Ways, on display at the Ocean Springs Municipal Library through November 30.

 
Water/Ways in Jackson

December 7, 2018-January 19, 2019
The Mississippi Agriculture & Forestry Museum, Jackson
The Mississippi Agriculture & Forestry Museum will host Water/Ways, a traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution, December 7 through January 19.  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.


Speakers Bureau: Robert Johnson at the Crossroads

December 13, 2018, 4:30PM
Emily Jones Pointer Public Library, Como
In colorful costume, storytellers Rebecca Jernigan and Wendy Garrison retell the tale of legendary bluesman Robert Johnson. With music, drama, and sign language, they recount his fateful encounter with the Prince of Darkness at the crossroads in the Delta.
 
Speakers Bureau: Mississippi Foodways

December 14, 2018, 2:00PM
Ridgeland High School, Ridgeland
This presentation offers observations by a longtime connoisseur of Southern food and culture on topics ranging from the history of Comeback Dressing to how the tamale came to Mississippi to the evolution of dining out in Mississippi. Malcolm White is a restaurateur, promoter, food enthusiast, author of numerous articles about food in Mississippi and creator of award-winning recipes in the Southern genre. He is the director of the Mississippi Arts Commission.
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