Executive Director's Message | |
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Two weeks ago, I had the honor of speaking about the MHC during the weekly “Friday Forum” program in Jackson. Presenting my short “stump speech” about the Council’s work has gotten increasingly challenging as we expand our program offerings into new areas. The sheer number of programs we helped organize during the week following my presentation is extraordinary.
Last Sunday, we helped screen the first documentary in our SouthArts “Southern Circuit” partnership with the Mississippi Film Office and the Mississippi Department of Archives & History. On Monday, our program officers Molly McMillan and John Spann met with the principal of a local high school to discuss bringing New Stage Theatre’s production of “Anne & Emmett” to their school. We are partnering with New Stage on this program with support from the United We Stand special initiative from the National Endowment for the Humanities. John and Molly also met New Stage performers to guide them in discussing the play’s themes and the history of Emmett Till’s murder and the Holocaust. Molly also attended a speakers bureau presentation at Mississippi College by Dr. Robby Luckett of Jackson State University.
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"You’ll notice in every example I mentioned there is at least
one vital partner. If we tried to “go it alone,” we wouldn’t have anywhere near the statewide reach and impact that we do."
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Later in the week, Molly traveled to Senatobia and Natchez for special teacher training workshops for National History Day. We received a special initiative grant from the NEH to support outreach efforts related to National History Day and are working with the Mississippi Department of Archives & History to spread the word about the amazing educational opportunities the NHD competition provides. John and our new office administrator Katie Molpus were in Indianola Thursday for our first-ever Ideas on Tap program in that Delta town. Hosted at Club Ebony by our friends at the B.B. King Museum, the panel discussion explored issues related to food, land ownership, and economic power in the Mississippi Delta.
Also last week, we co-hosted 150 educators, administrators, and nonprofit leaders at the Mississippi Consortium for Higher Education in Prisons conference in Raymond. Council staff members Carol Andersen, Carla Falkner, and Kam Ridley worked closely with our MCHEP partners at the Mississippi Community College Board, the Institutions of Higher Learning, and the Woodward Hines Education Foundation to present national leaders in the field as keynote speakers and several breakout sessions about how educational institutions can expand for-credit courses in Mississippi prisons. The entire conference was funded by grants MHC received from the Laughing Gull and Mellon Foundations.
The point of this message isn’t just to list a series of programs we’ve sponsored (and I didn’t even mention any of the programs we’ve funded through our grants), but rather to highlight the secret ingredient in our work: partnership.
"You’ll notice in every example I mentioned there is at least one vital partner. If we tried to 'go it alone,' we wouldn’t have anywhere near the statewide reach and impact that we do."
Collaborating with others is in our DNA as an organization.
This is the time of year when we ask our friends to support the MHC. Because of our commitment to collaboration, all donations we receive have a large ripple effect as they are leveraged by the money and effort of a wide array of partners. If you like the work we do and want your donation to have a large impact, please consider supporting the Mississippi Humanities Council. You can donate online here.
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MUW Hosts Public Events for Banned Books Week | |
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The Mississippi University for Women (MUW) will host several local events in association with national Banned Books Week October 1-7. One of the events, a Banned Books Week Panel, is supported with a grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council.
The Banned Books Week Panel will take place Wednesday, Oct. 4, from 4-5:30 p.m. in the Gail P. Gunter Multipurpose Room in Fant Library. Panelists include librarians, educators and legal professionals who have been affected by book bans and challenges.
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The event will be recorded and live-streamed. Visit here for the zoom link and full conference schedule. | |
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Earlier this year, the MHC was awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to expand and promote National History Day, a nationwide competition that encourages middle and high school students to develop creative, original historical research around an annual theme. The 2024 theme is “Turning Points in History.”
Mississippi History Day, the state’s NHD affiliate operated by the educational outreach team at the Mississippi Department of Archives & History, is a cross-curricular program focusing on in-depth research and critical analysis. While the program’s basis is in history, students can study topics that fit all subject matter, from science to math to foreign languages and cultures. Students are even able to display their technology, art, or acting skills in different categories.
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The MHC partnered with the MDAH team earlier this month to offer workshops for teachers interested in bringing the program to their schools, communities, and students. At the workshops in Senatobia (hosted by the Senatobia Public Library) and Natchez (hosted by the Historic Natchez Foundation), educators learned the ins and outs of coaching students on primary source research and presentation from NHD Deputy Director Lynne O’Hara, a former teacher herself.
If you are a teacher who would like to learn more about Mississippi History Day, or know a student who may be interested in participating, contact Mississippi History Day Coordinator and MDAH Director of Education Al Wheat (awheat@mdah.ms.gov)
Click here for the 2024 contest overview.
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Changing Lives: Supporting Incarcerated Students in the Prison Classroom and Beyond | |
A panel of college students attending classes in Mississippi prisons provided the climax for the Mississippi Consortium for Higher Education in Prison 2023 convening. | |
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The students, who live-streamed from five prisons, focused on the difference higher education in prison makes in their lives. Another student, who began her college career at Central Mississippi Correctional Facility and now attends classes on campus, joined in person. The panel included students from Mississippi Valley State University, Mississippi Delta Community College, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, and Hinds Community College.
Gratitude for an opportunity to put their lives on a different trajectory was the dominant theme. One father said his favorite class was general psychology because it helped him understand his autistic son. Others mentioned how hard they worked to stay eligible for the program, and they proudly shared their academic accomplishments.
Approximately 150 educators, corrections staff, and representatives of nonprofits attended the September 11-12 event, which explored how to best expand quality higher education in Mississippi prisons.
In the keynote address, National Alliance for Higher Education in Prison Executive Director Ved Price stressed how higher education in prison creates pathways for students to sustain themselves and their families both during and after incarceration.
Dyjuan Tatro, an alum of the Bard Prison Initiative, featured in the docuseries “College Behind Bars,” discussed both his experiences and his advocacy work.
Through breakout sessions, the convening addressed practical issues for both administrators and classroom instructors. Particular emphasis was given to reentry and a college or university becoming eligible to access Pell grants on behalf of incarcerated students.
MCHEP is a collaboration between the Mississippi Humanities Council, Mississippi Community College Board, Mississippi Institutions for Higher Learning, and Woodward Hines Educational Foundation led by director Yolanda Houston.
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On September 14, Ideas on tap hit the road and headed to Indianola to dive deep into the topic of "Land, Food, and Power," with Dr. Bobby J. Smith II, an associate professor at the University of Illinois, and Chris Johnson, a USDA biologist and board member of the Delta Fresh Food Initiative as panelist.
Smith, the author of the book "Food, Land, and Politics: The Food Story of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement," connected the dots between the history of food disparity in the Mississippi Delta, using the 1962 Greenwood food blockade as a backdrop. He also shed light on the power structures and systems that continue to perpetuate these disparities.
Johnson, in his talk, provided a clear picture of the people and organizations actively working to eliminate food disparity in the Mississippi Delta. He emphasized the importance of engaging young people, mentioning organizations like Delta Fresh Foods, Happy Foods LLC, and Start2Finish Co-op. These groups are focused on educating Delta youth about agriculture, farm cooperatives, land ownership, farm management, and sustainable crop cultivation, all with the aim of empowering their communities. The hope is that these young individuals will become future farmers and landowners in the Delta, effectively ending the food apartheid that has plagued the region for so long.
During the Ideas on Tap conversation, we learned that having the ability to choose what food to eat and how to access it when you're hungry is a form of power. Thank you to the staff at Club Ebony and the BB King Museum for providing a catfish meal and a great atmosphere.
If you're interested in learning more about Ideas on Tap, reach out to our program and outreach officer, John Spann: jspann@mhc.state.ms.us.
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Cacao and Chocolate: A Powerful Legacy Exhibit
September 19-22
John C. Fant Memorial Library, Columbus
Mississippi University for Women celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with “Cacao and Chocolate: A Powerful Legacy,” a multi-day event centering on Hispanic culture and cuisine.
"Cacao and Chocolate" is a project composed of four parts. a library display for Hispanic Heritage Month will be at Fant Library Sept. 15- Oct. 15; student presentations run Sept. 21 from 12 -1:30 p.m; September 21 from 6-7 p.m. will be an MHC funded forum presentation with keynote speaker Margarita Vargas discussing, "Transforming Feminine Spaces in El eterno femenino, "La muneeca menor," and Como agua para chocolate."
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Plant-Based Pigments with Robin Whitfield
September 23, 1-3 p.m.
The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg
The Center of American Indian Research and Studies (CAIRS) at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) is partnering with the Mississippi Humanities Council, WECAN (Women's Earth & Climate Action Network) and the Telenutrition Center to present four events throughout the year at the Medicine Wheel Garden, located on the USM Hattiesburg campus behind the Liberal Arts Building.
Plant-Based Pigments with Robin Whitfield begins at 1 p.m.; native plant-based snacks will be provided at each event.
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"Murder on Pretty Creek: New Revelations on an Old Case"
September 26, 5:30 p.m.
Historic Natchez Foundation, Natchez
The killing of Ben Chester White, one of the brutal murders that occurred in Natchez during the civil rights movement in the 1960s, will be discussed by Stanley Nelson at the Tuesday, Sept. 26, meeting of the Natchez Historical Society. The meeting begins with a social at 5:30 p.m. and Nelson’s presentation at 6 p.m., at the Historic Natchez Foundation at 108 S. Commerce St. The event is free to the public.
Nelson’s presentation is titled, "Murder on Pretty Creek: New Revelations on an Old Case." It will focus on White, the 67-year-old Black man who was murdered in 1966 by the Ku Klux Klan. Nelson will talk about his alleged killers, two of whom, Ernest Avants and James Lloyd Jones, were charged but not convicted in 1967 and a third, Claude Fuller, who was never brought to trial.
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MS Delta Civil Rights Heritage Tourism Summit
September 27, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
BB King Museum, Indianola
The day-long Mississippi Delta Civil Rights Heritage Tourism Summit will feature panel discussions and presentations on a range of topics including the Mississippi Freedom Trail and tourism marketing/promotion presented by John Spann, MHC program and outreach officer, preserving Mississippi Freedom Houses, developing and engaging Civil Rights storytellers, and funding opportunities with panelist including Carol Andersen, MHC assistant director.
An evening screening of the film “Promised Land: A Story About Mound Bayou” will take place at historic Club Ebony, which is part of the BB King Museum complex.
The Summit, organized by the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area and the MHC, is free and open to the public. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner will be provided.
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Invisible Histories Project
September 29, 5 p.m.
Municipal Art Gallery, Jackson
Exhibit and related public programs documenting and exploring Mississippi’s LGBTQ history from the 1960s through the 2000s including text and artifacts, textiles, audio/visual and art.
Learn More
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MHC Unveils New Documentary Film Grants | |
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The Mississippi Humanities Council will begin offering an annual RFP for documentary film projects starting Dec. 15. Requests up to $15,000 to fund pre-production, production and/or post-production will be invited, with successful proposals announced in late February 2024. “The Council has supported documentary film projects for many years through its regular grants program, believing such films offer unique insight into the diverse lives and experiences of Mississippians,” said MHC Assistant Director Carol Andersen. “We are excited to create this new opportunity to support great storytelling through the power of documentary film.”
Documentary film projects will NOT be accepted for the September 15 regular grant deadline and should instead be submitted on the new documentary film grant form when it becomes available. Watch the Mississippi Humanities Council website for more details and access to our new documentary film grants.
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Hattiesburg native Katie Molpus joined the MHC team in September 2023. She received a B.A. in psychology from Mississippi State University and an M.A in English from the College of Charleston.
Since returning to Mississippi in 2019, Katie has worked with the Mississippi Book Festival, the Mississippi Historical Society, and Lemuria Bookstore.
“I’ve been an admirer of the Humanities Council for a long time so I’m very excited to join the team! Sharing the story of our state, the history, literature, and culture, is important to our past, present, and future, and I can’t wait to help support the programs doing that work across Mississippi!”
Katie provides administrative support, assists with event planning, and coordinates the Humanities Teacher Awards.
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