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For additional information about the tour in Mississippi, contact: |
David Morgan
Mississippi Humanities Council
(601) 432-6752
david@mhc.state.ms.us |
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Dr. Cora Norman, executive director of the Mississippi Humanities Council from 1972 to 1996, was among six individuals recently recognized by the Fannie Lou Hamer National Institute on Citizenship and Democracy. Norman received a Fannie Lou Hamer Humanitarian Award for her efforts, as director of the Mississippi Humanities Council, to create and maintain a statewide dialogue on race and gender. Norman built an extensive statewide and national network and established the Council as a leader in forging an ongoing liberal arts community in the state. Under her guidance, the board took on the most difficult issues of the day, including the closely-related topics of race relations, integration and public education. During her tenure as director, the council organized public meetings in far reaches of the state that brought whites and blacks together for the first time in the same place to |
Dr. Barbara Carpenter, left, executive director of the Mississippi Humanities Council, was among those who celebrated with Dr. Cora Norman, founding director of the Council, at the recent Fannie Lou Hamer Humanitarian Awards ceremony at Jackson State University.
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| discuss issues together. As the Council grew and matured, other programming developed and the focus on such issues as education, civil rights, women’s rights and the Constitution expanded into other traditional liberal arts emphases, but Norman continued to insist on full and equal input and participation from minorities in all projects. Her influence continues to this day in MHC deliberations and support of public programs. |
The Fannie Lou Hamer Humanitarian Awards were created to recognize and honor leaders who encouraged positive social change. Other honorees include Dr. L.C. Dorsey, Dr. Marvin Hogan, Alderman Hattie Robinson Jordan, Dr. Aaron Shirley and the Rev. Dr. Keith Tonkel. The awards were presented at the 3rd Annual Fannie Lou Hamer Humanitarian Awards Luncheon April 17 at Jackson State University. For more information about the Fannie Lou Hamer National Institute on Citizenship and Democracy, visit www.jsums.edu/hamer.institute. |
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| MHC is a private nonprofit corporation funded by Congress through the National Endowment for the Humanities to provide public programs in traditional liberal arts disciplines to serve nonprofit groups in Mississippi.
MHC sponsors, supports, and conducts a wide range of programs designed to promote understanding of our cultural heritage, interpret our own experience, foster critical thinking, encourage reasonable public discourse, strengthen our sense of community, and thus empower Mississippi's people with a vision for the future. |
 MHC Staff |
| Letter from the Chairman |
| Letter from the Director |
| History of the Council |
| MHC Council Members |
| MHC Statement of Objectives |
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The Mississippi Humanities Council announces several important changes to its grants program. Beginning Jan. 1, 2009, minigrant applications will be accepted four times per year rather than six. The deadlines will be Jan. 15, April 15, July 15 and Oct. 15.
Due to current budget constrictions, the maximum amount that may be requested for minigrants will be $1,200. Regular grants will have a maximum of $3,000 for applications submitted during 2009. The two annual deadlines will remain unchanged: April 15 and Sept. 15.
The Council will review these new lower limits for 2010.
Minor changes have been made in guidelines related to the MHC Speakers Bureau program, as well. Mississippi nonprofit organizations may request a maximum of three speakers per year, and speakers may accept a maximum of six MHC-funded engagements per year.
Please watch the Mississippi Humanities Council web site for new grant guidelines to appear in June 2009.
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(JACKSON, MS) - Rod Risley, chair of the Mississippi Humanities Council, welcomes announces a new board member, Dr. William Lewis, president of Pearl River Community College. Lewis was elected to a four-year term on the Mississippi Humanities Council board of directors at the Council’s February meeting. A native of Clinton, MS, Lewis earned a bachelor’s degree from Mississippi College, as well as master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Southern Mississippi. He has 30 years of service to the state’s public education system, including teaching, coaching and administration. Dr. Lewis became the 10th president of Pearl River Community College in 2000. Since his appointment, Pearl River has experienced significant growth in enrollment, developed a national reputation for excellence in teaching and learning, produced a national championship in football and is widely recognized for the quality of its arts program. Lewis and his wife, Janet, have two children, Kelli, a graduate of the University of Mississippi, and Jay, a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi. They also have two grandchildren. |
Council officers include Risley, chair; Dr. Charles Sallis, Jackson, vice chair; Pamela Pridgen, Hattiesburg, secretary; and Dr. Harold Fisher, Jackson, treasurer. |
The Mississippi Humanities Council is funded by Congress through the National Endowment for the Humanities to provide public programs in traditional liberal arts disciplines to serve nonprofit groups in Mississippi. |
Twenty-two Mississippians serve four-year terms on the Council as volunteers. Five Council members are appointed by the governor and the others elected by the Council. Half of the members are public and half academic, and every effort is made to maintain balance by race, gender and geographic distribution to assure representation for all Mississippians. |
Any Mississippi resident may nominate persons to serve on the Council. Calls for nominations are regularly announced in the Council’s publications and at Council-supported events. |
The Mississippi Humanities Council does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability or age. |
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| Between May of 2009 and March of 2010, the Smithsonian Traveling Exhibit: Journey Stories, stories of immigration, migration, and transportation in America, will be displayed at six locations across Mississippi. Host sites include Clinton (A.E. Wood Memorial Library and Clinton Visitor Center, sponsors), Southaven (M.R. Davis Library, sponsor), Natchez (Institute for Southern Jewish Life and Historic Natchez Foundation, sponsors), McComb (McComb City Railroad Depot Museum, sponsor), Hazelhurst (Hazelhurst Depot Museum and Copiah Co. Office of Cultural Affairs, sponsors), Long Beach (University of Southern Mississippi, sponsor). Congratulations to all of these sites which were selected based on strength of community support and plans for complimenting local exhibits and programming. |
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MHC awards grants to nonprofit organizations to sponsor projects and public programs which use the knowledge and insights of one or more areas of the humanities to increase understanding of any aspect of human experience.
Mini Grants up to $2,000 are awarded six times per year. Regular Grants over $2,000 are awarded twice per year. |
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| The Mississippi Oral History Project is a joint venture by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, the University of Southern Mississippi, and MHC to document and preserve the history and culture of our state. |
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