Mississippi Humanities Council Newsletter - January 2020
Assistant Director's Message
The Complicated Path to Woman Suffrage

Carol Andersen
Assistant Director
I share a home state (Iowa) and an alma mater (Iowa State University) with one of the most powerful forces behind the woman suffrage movement, Carrie Chapman Catt. I also lead a local chapter of a national organization founded by Catt, the League of Women Voters. Virtually everything I heard or read, prior to relocating to Mississippi, inspired pride and admiration for Catt and the other prominent leaders of the first-wave feminist movement in the United States, women like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Anna Howard Shaw.
 
But my time in Mississippi has taught me hard truths about Catt and some of the other white women typically credited with leading the fight for women's voting rights. While the leaders who pushed for suffrage generally started out as abolitionists and temperance activists, some chose a path that put white women's right to vote ahead of black women's. They made a calculated decision to separate their movement from black suffrage efforts in order to gain the votes of legislators who refused to consider universal suffrage, who clung to a vision of white sectarianism. Some, including Mississippi suffragist Carrie Belle Kearney, actively campaigned for woman suffrage as a means of preserving white political dominance, arguing that "the enfranchisement of women would insure immediate and durable white supremacy."
 
White leaders feared that not only would the 19th Amendment enfranchise black women, but it would also require the federal government to enforce the 15th Amendment, which it had not done since the end of Reconstruction. As woman suffrage gained momentum, some southern congressmen even introduced measures to dismantle the 15th Amendment. At the same time, leading white suffragettes, including my Iowa foremother, Carrie Chapman Catt, acknowledged that black women in the South would likely be disenfranchised under the new 19th Amendment in the same the way black men had been disenfranchised under the 15th Amendment because it would be "subject to whatever restrictions may be imposed by state constitutions." As it turned out, Catt was correct and southern black men and women would not gain full access to the polls until the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

We must also ensure significant black suffragists like Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells and Mary Church Terrell have their place in history, a place equally as prominent as that of white suffrage leaders.
 
The missteps of these early white suffragists do not mean we should not celebrate their work to bring about ratification of the 19th Amendment. We should, but we must also ensure significant black suffragists like Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells and Mary Church Terrell have their place in history, a place equally as prominent as that of white suffrage leaders. 

In the lead-up to 2020, the 100th anniversary of both the founding of the League of Women Voters (Feb. 14, 2020) and the ratification of the 19th amendment (Aug. 18, 2020), the Mississippi Humanities Council has created a Speakers Bureau category with historians who can speak to the work of both white women and black women in the long-fought battle for women's right to vote, including Black Women and the Suffrage Movement in Mississippi, 1863-1965, by Dr. Shennette Garrett-Scott of the University of Mississippi, and The Challenges of the First Fifty Years of Women's Suffrage, by Dr. Rebecca Tuuri of the University of Southern Mississippi. We have also awarded grant support for projects that delve beneath the dominant history of woman suffrage to tell a more full and complete story of the long and complicated battle for the ballot box. The League of Women Voters of Oxford-North Mississippi received an MHC grant to work with legal scholars and historians to develop a multi-media presentation to be presented next month at The Lyric in Oxford to ensure Mississippians are fully aware of the role black women played, as well as the barriers that still exist for African Americans' voter participation.

Through our grants and sponsored programs, the MHC wants Mississippians to understand the full story of voter suffrage. While we commemorate this important achievement and we celebrate the work of leaders like Catt, we also encourage a deeper look at the c omplex--and not always heroic--tactics  used to achieve woman suffrage.
Natasha Tretheway
MHC to Honor Acclaimed Poet Natasha Trethewey at 2020 Awards

The Mississippi Humanities Council is delighted to announce recipients for its 2020 Public Humanities Awards, which recognize outstanding work by Mississippians in bringing the insights of the humanities to public audiences. These recipients will be honored at a public ceremony and reception Friday evening, March 27, at the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson.

Former Mississippi and U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey will receive the Cora Norman Award in recognition of her distinguished career as a poet and writer. A native of Gulfport, Trethewey is the author of five collections of poetry, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning Native Guard and the nonfiction book Beyond Katrina: A Meditation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

"Throughout her career, Natasha Trethewey has used her art to give voice to people who have too often been overlooked, hidden from our traditional narratives. Her work is a testament to the power of truth and remembering in coming to terms with the weight of our history," said Stuart Rockoff, executive director of the Mississippi Humanities Council. "We can't think of a more appropriate person to honor with our Cora Norman Award, named after the founding director of the Council."

In addition to honoring Trethewey, the MHC will also recognize:

Humanities Scholar Award: Dr. James Giesen, associate professor of history at Mississippi State University, for his work as the official scholar for the Mississippi tour of the Smithsonian Institution exhibit, "Waterways."

Humanities Partner Award: The Mississippi Book Festival for becoming the state's preeminent literary event, fostering a love of reading among Mississippians young and old, and enriching the cultural life of our state.

Humanities Educator: Marta Smally for her work leading a bilingual family reading program at the public library in Horn Lake. As the co-organizer and discussion leader for the Luci érnagas reading program, Smally engages families in meaningful discussions about their lives, inspiring them to take pride in their cultural heritage while helping them feel connected to their new community.

Preserver of Mississippi Culture: Hawkins vs. Town of Shaw Project, which produced a play and a series of historical markers telling the story of a local freedom movement in the Mississippi Delta that culminated in a groundbreaking federal civil rights case.

The MHC will recognize 30 recipients of the 2020 Humanities Teacher Awards, which pay tribute to outstanding faculty in traditional humanities fields at each of our state's institutions of higher learning.

"This year's winners reflect Mississippians' thirst for the humanities. The humanities can empower communities to preserve and share their important stories, help us understand the experiences of others, and enable us to put our own lives into a larger context," said Rockoff. "Each winner is a wonderful example of our belief that the humanities are for everyone."

The Council invites everyone to join us at the 2020 Public Humanities Awards ceremony and reception March 27 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 online at www.mshumanities.org or by sending a check to the Mississippi Humanities Council, 3825 Ridgewood Road, Room 317, Jackson, MS 39211.

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Hiram Revels
Foner to Help Commemorate Election of Hiram Revels

On February 11 at the Old Capitol Museum, the Mississippi Humanities Council is partnering with the Department of Archives and History to sponsor a talk by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Dr. Eric Foner as part of a commemoration the 150th anniversary of the historic election of Hiram Revels as the first African American U.S. senator.
 
Eric Foner, DeWitt Clinton Professor Emeritus of History at Columbia University, will deliver
the keynote speech for the program. His 1988 book Reconstruction: America's Unfinished
Revolution, 1863-1877 was a groundbreaking survey of the Reconstruction era, redefining
the role of Hiram Revels and other African American elected officials during the period. Foner has written many other seminal works in 19th century U.S. History, including the Pulitzer-winning The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery, and most recently The Second Founding: How the Civil War and Reconstruction Remade the Constitution.
 
Hiram Revels was born in North Carolina in 1827. After studying for the ministry at
seminaries in Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois, he was ordained in 1845 in the African Methodist
Episcopal Church. When the Civil War began, Revels served as a chaplain in Vicksburg,
Mississippi. In February 1870, the Mississippi legislature convened in the Old Capitol and elected Revels to the U.S. Senate. After serving in the Senate, Revels became the first president of Alcorn A & M College, now Alcorn State University, and later taught theology at Shaw University, now Rust College, in Holly Springs, Mississippi.

Dr. Eric Foner
In addition to Foner, program participants will include MDAH director Katie Blount; Birdon Mitchell Jr., pastor of Zion Chapel A.M.E. Church in Natchez; and Felecia M. Nave, president of Alcorn State. This program is part of the "Democracy and the Informed Citizen" Initiative, administered by the Federation of State Humanities Councils, with funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
 
A reception will take place at 5:30 p.m. and the program will begin at 6 p.m. The program will take place in the historic House of Representatives Chamber in the Old Capitol  Museum, located at 100 South State Street, Jackson, MS 39201. There is no charge to attend.

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MHC board member Brother Rogers (right) presents Humanities Teacher Award to Jay Wilson of Holmes Community College in 2019
Humanities Lectures Continue into February

Humanities Teacher Award lectures are happening throughout the state in February and March. One outstanding humanities educator at each of the state's institutions for higher learning is selected each year for this award, which includes a cash award and special recognition at the Mississippi Humanities Council's annual awards gala in March. These lectures offer Mississippians a unique experience to hear scholarly presentations on a wide range of humanities subjects.
Upcoming lectures include:

Feb. 4: Laura Hammons, Hinds Community College,  Packmule Educator:  Building Readers and Writers One Book at a Time at CMCF
Feb. 4: Earnestine Lee, Alcorn State University,  Applied Sociology at Work: Working for Social Change, Climage Change, and Climate Justice in Our Social World
Feb. 11: Jacquelyn Moore, Mississippi Delta Community College,  Exploring Community-Based Organizations as an Answer to Healthcare Disparities of the Mississippi Delta
Feb. 18: Dr. Courtney Luckhardt, University of Southern Mississippi,  Medievalisom: The Uses of the Middle Ages in the Modern World
Feb. 18: John Robert Hall, Holmes Community College,  The History and Phenomena of John Newton's Amazing Grace within American Christianity and Beyond
Feb. 18: Dr. Micah Rueber, Mississippi Valley State University,  Time Bomb in a River: Ross Barnett, JFK, and 2 Million Pounds of Missing Chlorine
Feb. 18: Dr. Christian Pinnen, Mississippi College,  "1619" and the Meaning of Slavery in North America to the Present
Feb. 19: Dr. Kristen White, Belhaven University,  International Service-Learning: Faculty Engagement and Transformation
Feb. 19: Dr. David C. Davis, Millsaps College,  The Shadow of Death: Southern Baptists and the Politics of Compassion in the Nigeria-Biafra War 1967-70

A full listing of HTA winners can be found on our website. For more information on these and other upcoming lectures, please visit our  website calendar .

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Ideas on Tap will return with its first program of the year on February 18
Families participate in a reading exercise during last spring's Hernando Prime Time program
Prime Time Spring Semester Visits Families in North and South Mississippi

Later this month, the MHC's Prime Time Family Reading Project will begin programs in Hernando and Perkinston, offering families at both ends of the state an opportunity to participate in humanities-based discussion and storytelling.

The Hernando program will take place in conjunction with the City of Hernando, the local Excel By 5 committee, and the Hernando Public Library. The Hernando Public Library will host the six-week Prime Time program free of charge for community-area families. This will be Hernando's second time to host a Prime Time program, after hosting the first pilot program last spring. The Hernando program will be partially funded by a generous grant from the Mississippi Arts Commission.

In addition to the Hernando program, the MHC will also host a family reading program for families in Perkinston. This program is sponsored by Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College's Perkinston Campus and will take place on campus with area families.

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. In addition to Prime Time programs, the MHC also offers Spanish-English programs for bilingual families. All of the MHC's family reading programs are free for sites to host and for families to attend. We are now registering host sites for summer and fall 2020 programs. For more information or to learn how to host a program in your community, contact Caroline Gillespie.

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MHC Receives Grant to Support Journalism and Democracy Initiatives

As part of the national "Democracy and the Informed Citizen" initiative, funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the MHC has received a $30,000 grant from the Federation of State Humanities Councils to support an array of public programs about the importance of journalism. 

"We are very excited to continue this important initiative," said MHC Executive Director Stuart Rockoff. The MHC received a previous grant in 2018 as part of the original initiative of the same title. "The Mellon Foundation was impressed with how the network of state humanities councils developed creative programs that fostered important public conversations about the crucial role journalism plays in our democracy, and they are excited to continue their support," said Rockoff.
With this new grant, the MHC is supporting several different programs, including the second iteration of the "People, Politics, and the Press," symposium, which took place January 11 in Jackson, and the lecture by acclaimed historian Eric Foner at the Old Capitol Museum on February 11. The MHC is also partnering with the Mississippi Press Association and four local newspapers from around the state on a series of public programs about media coverage of important local issues. The MHC will also work with the School of Journalism at the University of Mississippi to organize a series of programs later this year based on their students' investigative reporting about the impact of climate change on the state. Entitled "Weathering Change," this project is part of a larger collaboration with the Nebraska Humanities Council and the School of Journalism at the University of Nebraska.

Stay tuned for more details about these "Democracy and the Informed Citizen" programs.
31st Natchez Literary & Cinema Celebration to Explore Southern Hospitality

The 31st annual Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration will explore the theme "Visits, Vittles & Vines: The Culture of Southern Hospitality." The Mississippi Humanities Council grants program has supported this annual conference since its inception.

The 2020 event, scheduled February 27-29 at the Natchez Convention Center, will explore how acts of hospitality contribute to southern identity. Scheduled presentations and events will highlight films, books, academic research, and the culinary and performing arts that celebrate the food, gardens, and entertaining for which the region is so well-known.

The NLCC festivities begin Thursday afternoon, February 27, at 3:30 p.m. with an unveiling ceremony for a new Mississippi Writer's Trail Marker in honor of Richard Wright at the Judge George W. Armstrong Library. The Mississippi Writer's Trail is supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Events to follow include a screening of a documentary film on Faulkner family life in Oxford; a conversation with Mississippi restaurateur Robert St. John and artist Wyatt Waters, of the Mississippi Public Broadcasting TV series, Palate to Palette, on the foodways and cultural arts of Mississippi; and a full weekend slate of speakers who will focus on cultural identity through foodways and hospitality. Scheduled speakers include Andrew Haley, University of Southern Mississippi; Southern Foodways Alliance's oral historian Annemarie Anderson; Ebony Lumumba, Tougaloo College; Ashli Quesinberry Stokes, University of North Carolina at Charlotte; Wendy Atkins-Sayre, University of Memphis; archaeologist Meg Kassabaum, University of Pennsylvania; Adrian Miller of Denver, award-winning author of Soul Food and most recently, The President's Kitchen Cabinet; Felder Rushing, MPB's The Gestalt Gardener; Liz Williams, founder of the National Food & Beverage Foundation; and others.

Ann J. Abadie, professor emerita, University of Mississippi, and founding member of the Southern Foodways Alliance, will be honored with the Thad Cochran Award for Achievement in the Humanities, and Mississippi chef and author, Martha Foose, will receive this year's Richard Wright Award for Literary Excellence.

There will be book signings throughout the weekend, an on-site book store and an Art Market to showcase local artists and their works available for purchase at the conventions center. Although many events are free, the weekend schedule includes five ticketed activities, including a home tour, a dinner, a Saturday luncheon, a cocktail party, and a musical evening that will bring Broadway to Natchez.

For more information, visit   www.colin.edu/nlcc  or email nlcc@colin.edu .

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Coming Up: Humanities Programs Sponsored by MHC
 
Dr. Shennette Garrett-Scott
Speakers Bureau: Black Women and the Suffrage Movement in Mississippi
January 30, 2020, 6:00 p.m.
Mississippi University for Women, Columbus
Shennette Garrett Scott provides an overview of the 100-year-fight by Black women in Mississippi to maintain their place in public political discourse, from the Civil War to passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965.


HTA: Applied Sociology at Work
February 4, 2020, 12:00 p.m.
Alcorn State University, Lorman
Humanities Teacher Awardee for Alcorn State University, Earnestine Lee, will present her public lecture exploring inadequate societal evidence of increasing global warming, especially in terms of reducing carbon emissions, and emphasizing that social scientists have recognized that climate change is a human problem caused by human actions. Lee's research focuses on the long-term threat to human and collective action to improve it.

HTA: Packmule Educator
February 4, 2020, 1:30 p.m.
Eagle Ridge Conference Center, Raymond
Humanities Teacher Awardee for Hinds Community College, Laura Hammons, will present her public lecture focusing on her time as an educator at Central Mississippi Correctional Facility.

Illustration of Colonial Natchez
Speakers Bureau: Slavery in Colonial Natchez
February 4, 2020, 7:00 p.m.
South Mississippi Genealogy Library, Hattiesburg
This presentation examines how slaves and colonists weathered the economic and political upheavals that rocked the Lower Mississippi Valley in the years between the American Revolution and the Civil War. Dr. Christian Pinnen focuses on the fitful--and often futile--efforts of the English, the Spanish, and the Americans to establish plantation agriculture in Natchez.


Bridging Cultures: The Struggle for Freedom in America
February 13, 2020, 5:30 p.m.
International Museum of Muslim Cultures, Jackson
A conversation about the African American freedom struggle, with a focus on the African American Muslim Movement and its connection to the Civil Rights Movement, as one freedom struggle. Speakers include: Imam Plemon El-Amin (Atlanta Masjid), David J. Dennis, Sr. (Southern Initiative Algebra Project), Dr. Safiya Omari (City of Jackson), and Khalid Hudson (Facilitator, Working Together Baton Rouge.)

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