Special Guest Message

The Human Impact of the Humanities

During a recent meeting of the Mississippi Humanities Council-sponsored Freedom Within Book Club at the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman, a member shared a powerful statement about the Council’s prison-based educational programs. With his permission, we are running it in full because it expresses beautifully how the humanities can change lives.

Dr. Stuart Rockoff

MHC Executive Director

For a person in prison, often times the journey is a long, lonely desolate one. The term "outta sight, outta mind" becomes a stark reality far too quickly. Those people you once called friends, as well as most of those you called your family seem to forget that you even exist. So it’s a blessing to have an Administration willing to open the gates and allow outsiders freedom to enter our cold world to shine some light. It's an even bigger blessing to have someone from the “free world” willing to come inside these walls and give of themselves, their money, and their free time to facilitate such programs as a book club, a creative writing workshop, or an artistic expression group for the inmate population. All too often such a program as the one we celebrate here today can mean the difference between actually living and merely existing, for many of its participants, groups like this Freedom Within Book Club, with Dr. Ebony Lumumba and Mrs. Carla Falkner, to many of us has become a safe haven during the raging storms of incarceration.

Lots of times even if unannounced, most participants feel that our rag tag groups are an opportunity to relax, strip off the masks we all create as a means of survival in such a hectic environment and be our true selves without fear of judgement. I for one am an example of the effects such a program can have on an individual, Before I joined the Outside the Box Creative Writing Work Shop with Dr. Allison Turner and the Freedom Within Book Club with Dr. Ebony Lumumba and Mrs. Falkner of the Humanities Council which led to my enrollment in Mississippi Delta Community College and the Prison Writes Initiative Art Program, I was in a place so dark and lonely that most days I’d pray to go to sleep and not wake up. I had no quality of life. I was merely existing. It’s programs like these that gave me something to look forward to, a reason to wake up. If it wasn't for such programs as this Freedom Within book club and caring compassionate individuals like Dr. Lumumba and Mrs. Falkner selflessly giving of themselves to say to us, “You still matter, you are not forgotten, you are loved,” sadly, it could have meant a greater number of lives lost to the system. So, I’d like to say from me personally: thank you so much for all y'all do for us—without y’all I might not be here. Thank you for giving me back my life and will to live.

Testimonials like this show how our prison education programs build a sense of human connection in one of our society’s most dehumanizing environments. We are grateful to the Mellon Foundation and the McMullan/O’Connor Fund for their financial support of this vital program. If the humanities can have this type of impact within the walls of Unit 30 at Parchman, they also can have an impact within the museums, libraries, schools, and cultural centers in your area. Let us know how we can help bring the benefits of the humanities to your community.

Dr. Stuart Rockoff

MHC Executive Director

MHC Prison Book Clubs featured at Mississippi Book Festival

Join the Humanities Council as we highlight our prison book clubs at the Mississippi Book Festival September 14.

You can hear firsthand from both members and facilitators about how the book clubs provide a chance to move beyond merely existing to truly engaging with life, despite the limitations of their environment.

“Transforming Lives: The Impact of Prison Book Clubs on Incarcerated Individuals” will be at 9:30 a.m. in Room 201A of the Mississippi Capitol.

The MHC will also be sponsoring several panels at the 2024 Mississippi Book Festival, including the Mississippi Youth Poetry Project; Pride and Prejudice; Literary Fiction; and Reckoning. This year the Mississippi Book Festival celebrates its 10^th year. The MHC is proud to have been a partner and supporter since the festival’s beginning.

Changing Lives: Positioning Students for Success

You can now register for the Mississippi Consortium for Higher Education in Prison (MCHEP) Convening, September 25-26, 2024, at the Eagle Ridge Conference Center and Resort in Raymond, MS.

Join us as we discuss best practices, policy updates, Pell implementation information designed to assist colleges, universities, and partners in prison education work to provide meaningful instruction leading to degree completion. 

This event is free and open to anyone interested in this work in our state.

MCHEP was created by the Mississippi Humanities Council, Woodward Hines Education Foundation, the Mississippi Community College Board, and the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning to help coordinate and promote higher education programs in prisons.

For more information about MCHEP, its mission, vision, and resources, visit Prison Education - Mississippi Humanities Council (mshumanities.org).

Ideas on Tap: Reimagining Statuary Hall

In the U.S. Capitol, each state has two statues on display that reflect native sons and daughters who had a significant impact on American history. In recent years, southern states like Arkansas, Alabama, and Florida have updated their statues, replacing 19th century political figures with more modern heroes like Mary McLeod Bethune, Johnny Cash, Daisy Bates, and Helen Keller. Our next Ideas on Tap program will explore how Mississippi might follow in these footsteps.

On August 29 at 6:00 pm, join the MHC and Mississippi Today to help us reimagine Mississippi’s representation in Statuary Hall. Hear from Rick Cleveland, Pam Junior, Jerry Mitchell, Nick Wallace, and others as they share their favorite Mississippian and make a case for why they should represent the state in Statuary Hall. After the ten short presentations, the audience will have a chance to vote in a straw poll to select their two favorites.

So join us next week, grab a slice of pizza, a cold beverage, and learn about great Mississippians from our history, some of whom are well known and others you may not have heard of.

The event will be at Fondren Yard located behind The Station at 3025 North State Street in Jackson.

The Mississippi Humanities Council working in partnership with Visit Mississippi, expanded the Mississippi Freedom Trail outside of the state, unveiling a marker in Atlantic City, NJ. The new marker honored the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) and their pivotal role at the 1964 Democratic National Convention.

We were honored to have Governor Tate Reeves, New Jersey Lt. Governor Tahesha Way, David Dennis Sr., Dr. Roy DeBerry, and Dr. Tiyi Morris join us for the celebration. David Dennis, a key organizer of the MFDP, and Dr. DeBerry, a young SNCC volunteer, both shared their invaluable perspectives from the 1964 convention. Dr. Morris, representing her mother Euvester Simpson, highlighted the crucial role of women in the movement.

Thank you to the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, Visit Mississippi, New Jersey Tourism, and Atlantic City Tourism for their vital partnership in making this Freedom Trail marker a reality. The day also included a panel discussion moderated by Dr. Christopher Fisher, and co-sponsored by the NJCH, which delved into the revolutionary impact of the Mississippi Freedom Summer Project.

Roy DeBerrry points at image of himself as a teenager on the newly unveiled Mississippi Freedom Trail Marker in Atlantic City. (PhotoCredit: Associate Press Photo Ted Shaffery)

We appreciate all of our media partners who covered this historic event including The New York Times. You can read their article here: NYT Article.

Small Museums Conference Registration Open

Register for the 2024 Mississippi Museum Conference

hosted at the Two Mississippi Museums on September 16–17!

Staff, volunteers, and people passionate about sharing their local history are invited to join the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, the Mississippi Humanities Council, and the Mississippi Museum Association in discussing, learning, and collaborating on the activities of cultural institutions.



Deadline to register is September 10, 2024.

This conference is free and open to the public.

The Two Mississippi Museums are located at 222 North St. in downtown Jackson. To register, get full conference details and find more information on hotels, visit this link here.

Thank you to our generous sponsors below.

Possumtown Book Festival Premieres in Columbus Saturday

Friendly City Books in Columbus will host more than 20 award-winning authors for the inaugural Possumtown Book Festival Saturday, August 24. A full day of book talks, author signings, a book fair and more are scheduled – all free to the public, with support from the Mississippi Humanities Council.

This brand-new cultural event is designed to celebrate and promote literature and the joy of reading, says Emily Liner, owner of Friendly City Books. Activities will be centralized at two locations in downtown Columbus—Friendly City Books and the Rozenzweig Arts Center. “Our theme for our first festival, 'Intersections of Food & Literature,' explores the rich tapestry of cultural identity through the lens of culinary traditions and storytelling,” Liner notes.

The goal of the festival, Liner says, is to offer something for everyone, from free book giveaways to story time for kids and a fiction-writing master class. Liner says the new Columbus-based festival is a partner with the statewide Mississippi Book Festival, which takes place in Jackson on Sept. 14. The Golden Triangle festival gives those who cannot make it to the larger festival an opportunity to meet authors in person, Liner says, and acts as a “small preview” for those who do plan to attend the larger festival a few weeks later.

For more information about the kick-off Possumtown Book Festival and to register for the fiction master class (free, but registration is required), visit https://www.friendlycitybooks.com/

Headlines

History Day Traveling Exhibit

On August 28, Mississippi History Day projects from students at the Youthful Offenders Unit (YOU) will be on display to the public at the COFO Civil Rights Education Center in Jackson.

These projects are the culmination of the work and research of students at the YOU during classes led by Dr. Christina Thomas, a Mellon Visiting Scholar at Jackson State University’s Margaret Walker Center, that centered around the 60th anniversary of Freedom Summer. Over the course of the program, students conducted original research using a collection of primary sources, including Freedom Summer applications and Freedom School records, curated by civil rights veteran Jan Hillegas, and conducted oral history interviews with civil rights veterans.

The Mississippi History Day program at the YOU, the first program of its kind in the country, is a part of a larger MHC effort to provide opportunities for education and humanities engagement to incarcerated Mississippians.

This project was supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

MHC launches new website

We are thrilled to announce the launch of the newly updated Mississippi Humanities Council website!!

This revamped site is designed to enhance your experience with a fresh, user-friendly interface and improved functionality.

Apply for grants using our online portal or book your next speaker by clicking the Speakers Bureau tab. Explore our youth reading programs and Ideas on Tap to learn how the Mississippi Humanities Council can support humanities programming in your community.

Whether you're a student, faculty member, or simply interested in the humanities, the new website provides valuable information at your fingertips.

Visit us today at mshumanites.org and see what's new!

You're Invited:

Mississippi Humanities Council is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Mississippi Humanities Council Documentary Film Grant Workshop

Time: Sep 4, 2024 10:00 AM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88394739065?pwd=zOiaqtgPVdNxh1au5HT3i6NaOl6uad.1

Meeting ID: 883 9473 9065

Passcode: 472029

Rising Hope

Join us for a screening of Rising Hope at 2 p.m. on Sunday, September 8, in the Craig H. Neilsen Auditorium of the Two Mississippi Museums.

Watch how Mississippians flip the narrative of systemic rural poverty through vibrant testimonies of hope.

This screening is part of the ongoing Sunday Screenings at the Two Mississippi Museums and is followed by a Q&A session.

Watch Trailer

This program is co-sponsored by the Mississippi Humanities Council, Mississippi Department of Archives and History, the Mississippi Film Office and the Mississippi Film Society.

View All Activities...