Director's Message

MHC to Help Coordinate Mississippi Freedom Trail

Visit Mississippi, the state’s tourism office, has asked the MHC to partner on the next phase of the Mississippi Freedom Trail, the statewide network on historical markers highlighting the major events and leaders of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement. With special federal funds to support tourism development, Visit Mississippi has funding in place for twenty new markers, which will increase the size of the trail by over 60%.

The MHC will coordinate the selection, writing, and dedication of these twenty new markers. The council has assembled a scholars committee of historians and humanities practitioners to select the next eleven civil rights sites to be commemorated through the trail. The remaining nine will come from an open application process for Mississippi communities. The first deadline for these Freedom Trail applications will be August 1.

“We couldn’t be more excited to work with Visit Mississippi to preserve and promote Mississippi’s vital civil rights history,” said MHC Executive Director Dr. Stuart Rockoff. “Our hope is these markers not only attract tourists but also strengthen our communities by helping all Mississippians appreciate our state’s vital civil rights history.”

For more information about the Freedom Trail application process or to discuss your efforts to preserve the civil rights history of your community, contact MHC’s Program and Outreach Officer John Spann.

Incarcerated Students Complete College Semester

Fifteen community college students celebrated their academic success this month as they received a Certificate of Humanities from the Mississippi Humanities Council’s Prison Education Program. Since January 2021, the Council supports community colleges offering for-credit humanities courses to Mississippians who are incarcerated. A grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation funds the work.

“Taking courses in a prison environment is extremely difficult, but instructors repeatedly tell us these are some of their most committed students,” explained MHC Executive Director Dr. Stuart Rockoff. “Our new Certificate of Humanities recognizes the determination of students who earned at least 12 hours through our program.”

In a completion ceremony at Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman on May 11, one of the four student speakers emphasized the importance of education in preparing for reentry to society. He urged his classmates to use the opportunities provided through the partnership of the college, MHC, and Mississippi Department of Corrections “to do what we think we cannot do—change.”

To reach these students, colleges have shown both persistence and creativity. COVID19 restrictions, the availability of classroom space, and whether a prison allows live streaming are some of the factors influencing how many hours a college could teach.

Over the past three semesters, Mississippi Delta has live streamed 18 hours in the humanities plus two developmental courses. Ten Delta students received MHC’s Certificate of the Humanities in courses that included English, history, Public Speaking, psychology and sociology.

Hinds Community College students at Central Mississippi Correctional Facility have had the opportunity to earn 12 hours in English and history courses this academic year. Five students earned certificates for completing all four courses.

Two cohorts of Northeast Mississippi Community College students at Alcorn County Correctional Facility earned six hours for United States History I and Public Speaking in separate semesters.

All three colleges will be offering courses this summer and fall. In addition, MHC is extending funding to Mississippi Valley State University to teach English in a regional prison.

Participating in these courses provides more than academic accomplishment. Expressing gratitude to MHC for the opportunity, one student told MHC Prison Education Coordinator Carla Falkner, “Taking these courses makes us feel human again.”

'Reflecting Mississippi" with Jesmyn Ward

Using her own life experiences, award-winning Mississippi writer Jesmyn Ward explored narratives in our state’s history that have been distorted or altogether omitted, at a Mississippi Humanities Council 50^th anniversary keynote event in Jackson recently. Ward’s presentation drew more than two hundred people who responded with tears and a standing ovation for her deeply personal reflections on the “bad faith stories” Mississippians have often told themselves about slavery, race and oppression and their persistent legacies. Ward’s presentation was one of several anniversary events the Council is sponsoring throughout the year, encouraging Mississippians to explore the diverse stories of our state, especially those parts of our history and culture that have often not been reflected in mainstream narratives. To read full coverage of Ward’s recent presentation, visit the Mississippi Link.

Jesmyn ward with the MHC staff

Ideas on Tap Panel Discusses Mississippi's Healthcare for Women

On Tuesday, May 17, the Mississippi Humanities Council held an Ideas on Tap program at the Rick House in Jackson that addressed issues pertaining to women’s equitable access to healthcare in Mississippi. The MHC partnered with The Women’s Foundation of Mississippi for this event. Frances Patterson Croft and Latisha Latiker from The Women’s Foundation helped organize a panel of medical professionals to cover this timely topic. Dr. Sandra Melvin (CEO of Institute for the Advancement of Minority Health), Dr. Nekitra Burse (CEO of Six Dimensions, LLC), Wengora Thompson (CVS Health, Health Equity Lead). Latiker served as moderator. If you missed the in-person event, you can view the recorded version here.

To learn more about Ideas on Tap, contact MHC Program & Outreach Officer John Spann. 

Program Spotlight: Speakers Bureau

Have you ever wondered how youth played a part in the Civil Rights movement? Or how "Soul Food" got its name? Do you have an interest in Mississippi's historical markers, and how you can learn about our state by visiting them? You can learn about all of these topics (and hundreds more!) through the MHC's speakers bureau.

The Speakers Bureau features our state’s finest historians, writers and storytellers talking about a wide variety of subjects related to Mississippi and beyond. For no cost, you can bring these scholars to speak at an event. The MHC selects speakers based on their credentials and the quality of their program and pays them an honorarium for presenting to nonprofit groups around the state.

Whether you want to learn about contemporary blues music, the history of Mississippi’s prisoner of war camps, or how the Civil Rights Movement has transformed our state, the MHC Speaker’s Bureau brings informative and thought-provoking programs to your community.

As part of our 50th anniversary in 2022, the MHC has created a speakers bureau roster on the theme “Reflecting Mississippi,” which can be found here.

If you are interested in becoming a Speakers Bureau scholar, or if you are interested in hosting a program, contact MHC Program Officer Molly McMillan.

Upcoming MHC-Sponsored Events

Central Mississippi:

A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration

April 9 – September 11

Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson

A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration explores the profound impact of the Great Migration on the social and cultural life of the United States from historical and personal perspectives. Co-organized with the Baltimore Museum of Art, the exhibition features newly commissioned works by 12 acclaimed Black artists across a variety of media.

Learn More

Voices and Votes Exhibit in Utica

May 23 – June 28

Hinds Community College, Utica

The Hinds Community College campus in Utica will host Voices and Votes: Democracy in America, a Smithsonian traveling exhibition, from May 23 until June 25.

Learn More

Speakers Bureau: The Mississippi Plan and the Rise of Jim Crow

June 8, 11:30am

Canopy Children’s Solutions, Jackson

Dr. Robert Luckett explains how The Mississippi Plan and Jim Crow stood on the shoulders of black disfranchisement, segregation and sharecropping to guarantee white power as well as second-class citizenship for African Americans throughout the South, a status black southerners have fought ever since.

Learn More

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

June 18, 6:00pm

A-1 Event Center, Jackson

This presentation by Jerry Jenkins will give the listener a glimpse of the Mande Culture of West Africa using drums and traditional music.

Learn More