Executive Director's Message
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Dr. Stuart Rockoff
Executive Director
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Humanities and the
Delta Blues
“I understand people’s desire for individual freedom, but we’re all in this together.” – Dr. Thomas Dobbs, Mississippi State Health Officer
Sadly, my message this month is not about music. I write amidst the frightening rise of COVID numbers caused by the Delta variant. Earlier this summer, we had a sneak peak of a post-COVID world. In early July, I was excited to attend the opening of our traveling Smithsonian exhibit “Crossroads: Change in Rural America” at the Ground Zero Hurricane Museum in Waveland. It was a wonderful event and it seemed things were finally getting back to normal.
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But now, as the end of summer is in sight, we have entered the darkest days of the pandemic, even with a free vaccine readily available. Last week, the board of the Mississippi Book Festival, upon which I serve, decided to cancel this year’s in-person event. Instead, we will present a series of virtual programs and pre-recorded conversations with authors over the next few months. A few weeks earlier, the Mississippi Humanities Council made the difficult decision to postpone our first in-person Ideas on Tap program in over 18 months. In both cases, these decisions were made to ensure the health and safety of our community. At a time when COVID-19 cases have overwhelmed our health care system, it would be socially irresponsible to hold what could become a super-spreader event. |
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"The humanities can help us make informed ethical decisions. They can help us see that the benefit of gathering together in large crowds... is outweighed by the chances of it leading to people getting sick and being admitted to hospitals that don’t have room for them." |
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I believe the humanities can help us understand times like this. Learning the history of past pandemics and public vaccination campaigns can help put COVID-19 in a larger context and give us ideas on how to surmount our current challenges. Philosophy and ethics can help us understand how to balance ideas like individual freedom and the common good and evaluate the arguments of those on different sides of the increasingly bitter debate over masks and vaccines. A deep understanding of ethics will show us that it’s not sufficient simply to proclaim that not getting a vaccine or wearing a mask is an expression of individual choice or personal freedom when one’s decision can have a significant impact on others’ well-being. Our country has a long history of limiting individual freedoms to benefit the greater good. The humanities can help us make informed ethical decisions. They can help us see that the benefit of gathering together in large crowds to listen to authors is outweighed by the chances of it leading to people getting sick and being admitted to hospitals that don’t have room for them. |
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Unfortunately, these issues have become political and divisive. Perhaps some of you might be angry about my message this month. But I am reminded of one of the things I took away from my trip to the Ground Zero Hurricane Museum back in July. After the disaster of Hurricane Katrina, we didn’t fight with each other; we came together to help one another survive and recover. Even the Mississippi Humanities Council did its part, helping distribute federal relief funds to cultural organizations affected by the storm – much as we are doing now in distributing American Rescue Plan funds.
This chapter of Mississippi’s recent history should inspire us to come together in this time of crisis. Above all, the humanities foster empathy by getting us to recognize the humanity of other people. Hopefully this empathy, which represents the best of our state, will inspire people to take care of their neighbors and themselves by getting vaccinated.
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MHC Awards $257,000 to Help Mississippi Cultural Organizations Recover from COVID
The Mississippi Humanities Council has awarded $257,418 to nineteen different cultural organizations through its ARP Humanities Recovery Grant program to help them respond to and recover from the impact of coronavirus.
With funding from Congress through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, the MHC, along with 55 other state and territorial humanities councils, is offering ARP grants to support America’s cultural sector.
The MHC’s ARP Humanities Recovery Grants provide up to $15,000 in support to cultural organizations that offer humanities-based programs. These funds can be used for operational expenses, public programs, promotion, and capacity building. These grants are open to nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher education, state and local governmental agencies, and federally recognized Native American tribal governments. Previously, the MHC awarded $225,000 in ARP Museum Relief Grants to large Mississippi museums.
“These museums, historical societies, and cultural organizations are vital community resources," said MHC Executive Director Dr. Stuart Rockoff. “Many have struggled due to the economic impact of COVID. Our goal with these recovery grants is to meet their particular organizational needs and help them thrive in the future."
ARP Humanities Recovery Grants Awarded:
Arc of Freedom (Brandon) – $10,000
Crossroads Museum (Corinth) – $15,000
DeSoto County Museum (Hernando) – $15,000
Hancock County Historical Society (Bay St. Louis) – $9750
Hattiesburg Convention Commission – Eureka School and the African American Military Museum – $15,000
Historical Society of Gulfport – $14,168
Institute of Southern Jewish Life (Jackson) – $15,000
Lauren Rogers Museum of Art (Laurel) – $11,670
Marion County Historical Museum (Columbia) – $15,000
Migration Heritage Foundation (Durant) – $5580
Millsaps College (Jackson) – Truth & Racial Healing Center – $15,000
Mississippi Book Festival (Jackson) – $15,000
Mississippi Heritage Trust (Jackson) – $13,500
Mississippi Industrial Heritage Museum (Meridian) – $15,000
Museum of the Mississippi Delta (Greenwood) – $15,000
Quitman County Arts Council (Marks) – $12,750
Smith Robertson Museum (Jackson) – $15,000
Union County Heritage Museum (Amory) – $15,000
University Press of Mississippi (Jackson) – $15,000
Funding for the ARP grants comes from the National Endowment for the Humanities. More information about these grants can be found on the MHC website.
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In lieu of a biennial report, the MHC (with much help from our summer graphic design intern Juliet Buckholdt) has created a digital account of our work during 2020. It includes a description of how we pivoted to virtual programs, a list of our grants, as well as our financial information.
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Next Major MHC Grant Deadline September 15
The Mississippi Humanities Council grants program supports projects that stimulate meaningful community dialogue, attract diverse audiences, are participatory and engaging, and apply the humanities to our everyday lives. Grants may be used to support public humanities programs, exhibits, the planning of larger projects, and the development of original productions in film, television, radio or online resources.
For our September 15, 2021, and May 1, 2022, grant rounds, the Mississippi Humanities Council especially encourages proposals related to the MHC’s 50th anniversary theme of “Reflecting Mississippi.” For projects related to the “Reflecting Mississippi” theme, applicants may request up to $10,000. More information, visit the MHC Grants website.
These projects may include but aren’t limited to: local history; Mississippi literature; stories of underrepresented communities; parts of our history and culture that have often not been reflected in mainstream narratives; and how major national and global events have shaped Mississippi. Projects may explore where we have been and who we are today. Projects may also examine how our narratives have, or have not, reflected Mississippi.
The MHC is also offering a virtual grant workshop September 1 at 10:00 a.m. The event is free, but registration is required:
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'Crossroads' Wraps Up Mississippi Tour
On August 14, Crossroads: Change in Rural America left Mississippi after a memorable 11-month statewide tour.
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Crossroads visited six sites, traveled over 950 miles on Mississippi roads, and was viewed by thousands of Mississippi residents, all while surmounting challenges caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The host sites were able to successfully navigate and pivot much of the programming and communication for Crossroads to the virtual world, while maintaining safe experiences for in-person visitors to the exhibit.
In addition to the exhibit itself, all six host sites planned Crossroads-related programs and their own local exhibits. Highlights included: a program and demonstration about soul food in the South by Dr. Brinda Willis in Greenwood, the curation of a local history pamphlet for Mount Olive, a Zoom presentation from Dr. Rachael Carter about Mississippi's rural economic development, a virtual exhibition tour from Northwest Mississippi Community College, a presentation about the transformation of rural Hancock county into part of the John C. Stennis Space Center, and the creation of a historic walking tour in Columbia.
"I am not sure where to begin," said host site coordinator Bernie Cullen from the Ground Zero Waveland Hurricane Museum. "COVID-19 threw us a curveball when we had to postpone our original date for the exhibit, but it turned out to be a blessing. This was such an amazing, uplifting event during such troubled times."
The exhibit's success would not have been possible without the content expertise of state scholar Dr. John Green, Museum on Main Street's excellent exhibit design, and each of the host sites for their dedication to the exhibit's success.
Next up on the Smithsonian traveling exhibit docket is "Voices and Votes: Democracy in America," which will arrive in Mississippi in spring 2022. Stay tuned for more details.
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Reaching Out to New Partners
MHC Program & Outreach Officer John Spann has been busy engaging with new and familiar partners over the last month, and helping to find ways MHC can support local humanities organizations even during uncertain times:
This month has been a whirlwind of activity as I’ve settled into my new position as program and outreach officer. I took the position in the midst of our American Rescue Plan grant cycle, so I hit the ground running, making connections with humanities organizations in the Delta and the northeast part of the state. I chose those regions because I was tasked with connecting with humanities groups that haven’t been consistently applying for grant opportunities with MHC. Most of the list I developed based on those requirements fell in those regions. This list included such organizations as the Ida B. Wells-Barnett Museum and Cultural Center in Holly Springs, the Burns-Belfry Museum and Cultural Center in Oxford, the Chickasaw Heritage Center in Tupelo, the Oren Dunn City Museum in Tupelo, the Mound Bayou Museum, the Rev. George Lee and Fannie Lou Hamer Civil Rights Museum in Belzoni, the Emmett Till Historic Intrepid Center in Glendora, and the Freedom House Civil Rights Museum in Canton.
My main goal in these meetings was to strengthen the relationship between them and the MHC. Some of these meetings were held through Zoom or over the phone and others were in person following CDC guidelines. Speaking to the directors of these institutions was a joy. To hear their stories and feel their passion toward the work was hopeful and inspiring. This pandemic has affected all of us, including our small museums, but learning about the ARP grant opportunities and how the MHC can provide aid gave the museum directors hope and inspiration as well.
Driving back to Jackson, I was very pleased to know that there are great people in these communities sharing the stories of their past and present. Stories about great women like Ida B. Wells-Barnett and the community of freed slaves who built the Burns Methodist Episcopal Church in Oxford not only represent the best of Mississippi history, but the strong ideals of freedom and the pursuit of happiness America was founded on. These are the stories that the MHC wants to help uplift, stories that will empower Mississippians and help us understand our identity. These outreach initiatives will continue beyond the last round of ARP funding, to establish a larger MHC footprint throughout the state and to continue helping humanities organizations tell our stories. I am truly enjoying my new role with the Mississippi Humanities Council and I love being able to travel all over our beautiful state even more. So, if you see me on the road or in your city, don’t be a stranger.
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Photo from the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the Mound Bayou Museum July 10 |
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MHC Prison Education Begins Fall Semester
Mississippi Humanities Council Prison Education Program, funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and private donations, continues to grow even while hampered by COVID-19 restrictions.
Mississippi Delta Community College (MDCC) recently welcomed 25 new students at Mississippi State Penitentiary, Parchman. In a brief ceremony August 12, MDCC distributed textbooks and supplies, provided through MHC’s grant. Each student also received a dictionary donated by the Rotary Clubs of Jackson and North Jackson.
Dr. Ben Cloyd, MDCC vice president of effectiveness and enrollment, explained, “U.S. History II, psychology, and public speaking are being offered this semester, and students now have the opportunity to take two or even three of these classes simultaneously. This makes the goal of attaining an associate of arts degree more attainable for students at Parchman than ever before.”
A highlight of the ceremony was MHC Project Coordinator Carla Falkner announcing the Mississippi Humanities Council would award a Certificate of the Humanities to students successfully completing 12 academic hours in the MHC Prison Education Program. Falkner urged the students to maintain high grades so they would be eligible to join Phi Theta Kappa, the international community college honors society.
Mississippi Department of Corrections Director of Education Shaniece Mabry told the students, “To see the bad history that Parchman has had and now you have the opportunity to be a part of a positive history. After 12 hours of class, we will have the first honor society in a correctional facility in the state of Mississippi.”
Parchman courses are taught remotely but in real time so students can interact with the instructor. Unfortunately, the rise in COVID cases is delaying the start of classes in prison facilities without the technology needed to offer remote synchronous learning. The program is poised to move into additional facilities when it is safe to do so.
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