Mississippi Humanities Council

The Orators: Democratic Faith in Dark Times
2019-02-20 14:00 - 17:00 (America/Chicago) | Mississippi State University, Bost Theater, Starkville, MS
“Democratic Faith in Dark Times” will be a meditation on piety, faith, and the transformative potential of self and society.
Melvin Rogers grew up in the Bronx and was educated at Amherst College, Cambridge, and Yale University. After holding professorships at University of Virginia in Political Science, Emory University in Philosophy, and the UCLA in Political Science and African American Studies, he joined Brown University as Associate Professor in Political Science.
Rogers has wide-ranging interests in democratic theory and the history of American and African-American political and ethical philosophy. The key figures that shape Rogers’ intellectual outlook include David Walker, Frederick Douglass, John Dewey, W. E. B. Du Bois, Anna Julia Cooper, Ralph Ellison, James Baldwin, Cornel West and more distantly Martha Nussbaum. He is the author of The Undiscovered Dewey: Religion, Morality, and the Ethos of Democracy (2008), editor of John Dewey, The Public and Its Problems (2016), and co-editor of Oxford’s New Histories of Philosophy book series. Presently, he is the book review editor for Political Theory. In addition to his academic publications, he has also published on contemporary issues in Boston Review, Dissent, and Public Seminar.
LOCATION: Forum Room, Griffis Hall, MSU campus

Melvin Rogers, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Dept. of Political Science, Brown University

HTA: The Interesting Question that History Can Answer (or Not)
2019-02-20 12:30 - 13:30 | 165 Reeves Hall, 501 E. Main Street, Raymond, MS, 39154
Humanities Teacher Award winner Sheila Hailey (Hinds Community College) will present her public lecture, “The Interesting Question that History Can Answer.” Reception to follow.
“This presentation will focus on unusual and off-beat questions that students have asked me in my years as a teacher. These questions range from when did we start using forks to why do people have tattoos. I have been spurred to research many topics to answer these questions and will share some of the answers in this lecture.”

Water/Ways @ Columbus: Ebbs and Flows of Mississippi History
2019-02-19 19:00 - 20:00 | Columbus Convention & Visitors Bureau, 117 3rd St S, Columbus, MS, 39701, United States
On February 19, the Tenn-Tom Waterway Transportation Museum will host Dr. Jim Giesen of the MHC’s Speakers Bureau to present his free program, “Ebbs and Flows of Mississippi History.” The free program will take place in conjunction with the Smithsonian traveling exhibit Water/Ways, on display at the Tenn-Tom Waterway Transportation Museum through March 8.
There are few states where water has been more central to its history and culture than Mississippi. From ship-building on the coast to Native American migration along rivers and streams, from Civil Rights Movement wade-ins to Civil War strategy, water has played a central role in how and why the Magnolia State looks and operates as it does today. From massive natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the 1927 Mississippi River Flood, to great success stories like the shipbuilding and fishing industries, to less well-known incidents where water played an important role in the development of small communities and towns, the talk will tell not just the well-known water histories of the state, but show how water has become an often overlooked factor in our past, present, and future
Water/Ways is a traveling exhibit offered by the Museum on Main Street division of the Smithsonian Institution. The exhibit explores water’s connection to all aspects of our society, including the endless motion of the water cycle, water’s effect on landscape, settlement and migration, and its impact on culture and spirituality.
Exhibit hours are Monday-Friday 9am-3pm and Saturday by appointment. School and group visits are welcome but are encouraged to schedule a visit by contacting the library in advance at 662-328-8936.
Future Water/Ways events in Columbus:
February 26, 5pm: Mississippi Water: Shaped By the Past, Molding the Future

The Struggle Continues: Equity in Education
2019-02-19 18:30 - 20:00 | Hancock Performing Arts Center, 7140 Stennis Airport Rd, Kiln, MS, 39556, United States
In 2018, the Hancock Performing Arts Center received a grant for a series of lectures entitled, “The Struggle and the Music It Created.” The purpose of the project was to address race in Mississippi and to discuss the relevance of the music that defined the movement. The majority of the audience attending was students. After the lectures ended, Kevin Allemand, a history teacher, noticed a shift in conversations where his students were engaged in the civil rights movement and asking questions and making comments. He realized that placing the students in the historical context as they listened to the lectures was transformative. For the 2019 Spring semester, “The Struggle” conversations will continue by addressing equity in education in a series of three lectures and a poetry reading.
FEBRUARY 12: Dr. Sherita L. Johnson from the University of Southern Mississippi will give a lecture and discuss the story of Clyde Kennard’s admission to the university and how his story united the campus to secure his legacy.

Delta Hill Riders
2019-02-19 18:30 - 20:00 | Delta Arts Alliance, 104 S. Court Street, Cleveland, MS, 38732
In mid-February 2019, the first solo photography exhibit of Rory Doyle will open at the Delta Arts Alliance. The public exhibit will feature work from over two years of documenting the African-American cowboy and cowgirl subculture in the Mississippi Delta. On opening night, February 19, Dr. Shalando Jones of Delta State University will present a lecture on the history of black cowboys in Mississippi and across the country. The exhibit will hang until March 15, 2019.

SB: The Soul of Southern Cooking I & II: Miz Bob's Second Batch Cooking from a Mississippi Slave Girl's Table
2019-02-19 18:00 - 19:00 | Train Depot, 308 Newman Street , Hattiesburg , MS
Miz Bob (known as Bob Hunter to friends and family) learned to cook from her mother and her grandmother. Her mental catalogue includes over 500 recipes and follows the art of cooking from the slave kitchen to her great-grandmother’s table. Miz Bob began teaching her daughter, Kathy Starr, all 500 recipes at about age 5, and in the process, Kathy Starr has preserved a lost art of cooking for future generations.
Speakers Expertise:
Kathy Starr received a Congressional honor for her book The Soul of Southern Cooking and has appeared on numerous cooking shows, talk shows, in magazine and newspaper articles.

Ideas on Tap: Locked Up: Criminal Justice in Mississippi
2019-02-19 17:30 - 19:00 | Hal & Mal’s, 200 Commerce Street, Jackson, MS, 39201, United States
On February 19, join the Mississippi Humanities Council for the first in a two-part series on criminal justice in Mississippi.
The February 19 program, “Locked Up: Criminal Justice in Mississippi” will examine the state of the criminal justice system in Mississippi, existing laws, and ongoing reform efforts. Hear from panelists Jennifer Riley-Collins (ACLU of Mississippi), James Robertson (Empower Mississippi), and Johnnie McDaniels (Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center) as they share their thoughts.
As always, snacks and great conversation are on us, and drinks are on you.

SB: Margret and H.A. Rey: A Partnership that Created and Icon
2019-02-19 10:00 - 11:00 | Thames Conference Center, Wesson, MS
For 75 years, children have been captivated by “Curious George.” Much is known about “George,” but little is know about his creators. The lived of Margret and H.A. Rey are as interesting as the little monkey they created-if not more so. This presentation will examine their lived- telling of their lives in Hamburg, Germany, as well as the journeys that brought them to the United States. The de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection at The University of Southern Mississippi holds the Rey’s literary archive, containing diaries, correspondence, autobiographical sketches, original illustrations, audio and video tapes, and their creative process.
Speakers Expertise:
Training and experience as a librarian, educator, grant writer, and instructor of children’s literature gives me the background for my topic. Currently serving as the Curator of the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection with the University of Southern Mississippi Libraries.

HTA: Sharp Bargainers: John Eaton, Jr's 63rd VSCT
2019-02-18 18:00 - 19:00 | McCarty-Varnell Building, 150 Rust Ave., Holly Springs, MS, 38635
Humanities Teacher Award winner Dr. Alisea McLeod (Rust College) will present her public lecture titled, “Sharp Bargainers: John Eaton, Jr’s 63rd VSCT.” Reception to follow.

"Baltimore" Performance & Discussion
2019-02-15 19:00 - 20:00 | Lamar Hall at University of Mississippi, 615 Grove Loop, Oxford, MS, 38655
The Sunflower County Freedom Project youth drama will present Baltimore, a play by Kirsten Greenridge. Baltimore focuses on a group of college students whose lives are shaken when someone draws an offensive picture of the wall of their residence hall. The play shines light on issues of equality, racism, community, and the question of who gets to belong where. After the performance, the students and audience will participate in a facilitated conversation.

HTA: Global Perspective on Social Work Practice
2019-02-14 12:30 - 13:00 | J.D. Boyd Library, 1000 Asu Dr #539, Lorman, MS, 39096
Humanities Teacher Award winner Sandra M. Dembly-Davis (Alcorn State University) will present “Global Perspective on Social Work Practice”

Global Social Work Practice with individuals, families, and communities around the world that have been impacted after a disaster requires social workers to have a specific set of skills and knowledge to help these individuals, families and communities face many challenges to return to some level of normalcy.

HTA: The Humanity of Teaching (and Learning) English
2019-02-13 09:00 - 10:00 | Greenville Higher Education Center, 2900 US-1 South, Greenville, MS, 38701
Humanities Teacher Award winner Renee Moore (Mississippi Delta Community College) presents her public lecture, “The Humanity of Teaching (and Learning) English.” Reception to follow.
Language study represents the heart of the humanities. Any English classroom, face-to-face or digital, knowingly or unwittingly generates powerful interactions of human emotion and intellect. For over two decades, I have researched and written about the teaching of English and the role of teachers, especially in relation to African American students. This presentation explores how teachers and students can approach this most human of subjects with integrity, rigor, and mutual respect.

HTA: On Behaving Honestly When the Crowd is Untruth
2019-02-12 19:00 - 20:00 | Aven Hall, 200 Capitol Street, Clinton, MS, 39056
Humanities Teacher Award winner Dr. John Meadors (Mississippi College) presents his public lecture titled, “On Behaving Honestly When the Crowd is Untruth.” Reception to follow.

"Baltimore" Performance & Discussion
2019-02-12 18:00 - 20:00 | B.B. King Museum, 400 2nd St, Indianola, MS, 38751, United States
The Sunflower County Freedom Project youth drama will present Baltimore, a play by Kirsten Greenridge. Baltimore focuses on a group of college students whose lvies are shaken when someone draws an offensive picture of the wall of their residence hall. The play shines light on issues of equality, racism, community, and the question of who gets to belong where. After the performance, the students and audience will participate in a facilitated conversation.

HTA: Documenting Freedom in Ancient Greece, and a Bronze Inscription in Oxford, MS
2019-02-11 18:30 - 19:30 | 209 Bryant Hall, University, MS, 38677
Humanities Teacher Award winner Dr. Brad L. Cook (University of Mississippi) will present his public lecture, “Documenting Freedom in Ancient Greece, and a Bronze Inscription in Oxford, MS.”

Freedom in the ancient Mediterranean could be tenuous. In some parts of the Greek world, you could find people setting up public declarations of the freeing of slaves. A small bronze inscription, now at the University Museum in Oxford, MS, documents the freeing of a woman named Philista in the early 2nd century BC. Was this her personal, portable copy, her ancient “freedom papers”? Dr. Cook’s talk will address that question as he reconstructs the life story of this palm-sized bronze plaque.

"Body and Soul" Film Screening
2019-02-10 15:00 - 17:00 | Malco Oxford Commons, 206 Commonwealth Blvd, Oxford, MS, 38655
Body and Soul: An American Bridge
Rating: All Ages
Director: Robert Philipson TRT: 58 min.
Sunday February 10 2019, 3 pm Oxford Commons Malco Screen 1
Logline: Out of all the cross-cultural encounters that have resulted in the richness of American popular music, none has been so prominent or so fraught with fraternity and conflict as the relationships between African Americans and American Jews. Body and Soul: An American Bridge aims to tease out the strands of this cultural knot by focusing on the early performance history of the jazz standard, “Body and Soul.”

Special Screening. Panel hosted by Jewish Federation of Oxford and Mississippi Humanities Council to follow. Free Screening.

Do Drink the Brown Water: Literary Series (Julian Rankin)
2019-02-07 17:30 - 19:30 | Washington County Welcome Center, 1512 US-82, Greenville, MS, 38701
Do Drink the Brown Water: Literary Series was started June 2018 as a Summer trio of events to focus on and celebrate the rich literary history of Washington County, MS and the surrounding Delta. These programs are free and open to the public. The February 7th event will feature Julian Rankin, executive director of the Walter Anderson Museum of Art and author of Catfish Dream: Ed Scott’s Fight for His Family Farm and Racial Justice in the Mississippi Delta

HTA: The Dangers of Informing: The Suppression of Journalism from a Historical and Contemporary Perspective
2019-02-07 12:30 - 13:30 | Dees Hall, 51 Main Street, Perkinston, MS, 39573
Humanities Teacher Award winner Ryan Schilling (Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College) will present his public lecture “The Dangers of Informing: The Suppression of Journalism from a Historical and Contemporary Perspective.”
An independent press is essential to a free and open society. With this in mind, the presentation will explore the ways that authoritarian regimes have sought to silence journalists, both in the past and in our current times. A variety of topics will be discussed, including the methods that states often use to control information, growing authoritarianism throughout the world, and the recent assassination of Jamal Khashoggi.

HTA: Gender Stereotypes: Raising Children in the 21st Century
2019-02-07 11:00 - 12:00 | Crosby Hall, River Road, Poplarville, MS, 39470
Humanities Teacher Award winner Kira Arthurs (Pearl River Community College) will present her public lecture, “Gender Stereotypes: Raising Children in the 21st Century.” Reception to follow.

HTA: Violence, Victory, and Voice: Millennials and Social Justice in Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give
2019-02-07 10:00 - 11:00 | COFO Building, 1017 J.R. Lynch St., Jackson, MS
Humanities Teacher Award winner Dr. Shanna Louise Smith (Jackson State University) will present her public lecture titled, “Violence, Victory, and Voice: Millennials and Social Justice in Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give.” Reception to follow
Violence, Voice, & Victory: Millennials and Social Justice in Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give interrogates how millennials come to voice in ways that challenge social issues that feature, impact, and represent them specifically. When Baby Booming and Gen X figureheads fail to articulate her truth, and use thug imagery to cast a pall over the image/reputation of her murdered friend, Khalil, Starr determines to speak for him – and herself. This presentation maps contemporary expressions of orality as both social justice weaponry and an intersectional positioning that places a black teenage girl as the vocal, moral center. Starr’s action answers the call of Margaret Walker Alexander, who demands, after campus protests leave two young black men dead, “What is your role as students in this black struggle for freedom?” (“Reflections on May 1970: The Jackson State University Massacre” 181).

HTA: I'm Here to Tell You Why Those White Supremacists Matter
2019-02-06 12:00 - 13:00 | Millsaps College, 1701 N. State Street, Jackson, Mississippi, 39202
Humanities Teacher Award winner Dr. Stephanie Rolph (Millsaps College) will present her public lecture, “I’m Here to Tell You Why Those White Supremacists Matter” (Or “Things I Never Thought My Humanities Training Would Prepare Me to Say in Public”)

Stephanie Rolph, author of Resisting Equality: The Citizens’ Council, 1954-1989, will reflect on her scholarship as well as the surprising ways that humanities work has deeply impacted her work outside of the academy.

HTA: The Elephant in the Room Wants a Cup of Coffee
2019-02-04 18:00 - 19:00 | 113 Painter Hall, 1100 College Street, Columbus, MS, 39701
Humanities Teacher Award winner Thomas Kris Lee (Mississippi University for Women) will present his public lecture, “The Elephant in the Room Wants a Cup of Coffee: A Brief How-To on the Power of Visualization.” Reception to follow.

Lee’s presentation, entitled, “The Elephant in the Room Wants a Cup of Coffee,” is a good-humored, engaging talk about the impact visualization can have on problem-solving and show you how ridiculously easy it is for the problem-solver to stop saying No and start being In-The-Know.

"Baltimore" Performance & Discussion
2019-02-02 14:00 - 16:00 | COFO Building, 1017 J.R. Lynch St., Jackson, MS

"Baltimore" Performance & Discussion
2019-02-01 18:00 - 20:00 | Ruleville Community Center, 803 Stansel Drive, Ruleville, MS, 38771

The Struggle Continues: Equity in Education
2019-01-29 18:30 - 20:00 | Hancock Performing Arts Center, 7140 Stennis Airport Rd, Kiln, MS, 39556, United States
In 2018, the Hancock Performing Arts Center received a grant for a series of lectures entitled, “The Struggle and the Music It Created.” The purpose of th eproject was to address race in Mississippi and to discuss the relevance of the music that defined the movement. The majority of the audience attending was students. After the lectures ended, Kevin Allemand, a history teacher, noticed a shift in conversations where his students were engaged in the civil rights movement and asking questions and making comments. He realized that placing the students in the historical context as they listened to the lectures was transformative. For the 2019 Spring semester, “The Struggle” conversations will continue by addressing equity in education in a series of three lectures and a poetry reading.
JANUARY 29: Robbie Luckett from Jackson State University will lecture and discuss “Equity in Education in MS.” He will address the history of education equity for the blacks, Choctaws, and Jewish, Italian immigrants who have struggled to overcome obstacles in their education. In addition, he will discuss the work of the sovereign commission.

SB: “Chimneyville,” The Destruction of Jackson, MS during the Civil War, Fact or Myth!
2019-01-29 12:00 - 13:00 | Manship House Museum, 420 E. Fortification St., Jackson, MS, 39202
This presentation lays out the facts pertinent to what happened during the four occupations of the city by Federal forces during the Civil War.
Speakers Expertise:
Grady Howell has worked for the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and has written extensively about Mississippi’s Civil War history.

Exploring Hip Hop & History
2019-01-29 10:00 - 17:00 | GRAMMY Museum Mississippi, 800 West Sunflower Rd, Cleveland , MS, 38732, United States
Two workshops with Jonathan Blanchard that uses hip hop music to teach students more about history, cultural heritage, and language.

Representing the Experiences of Women from the English Renaissance to Right Now
2019-01-28 17:00 - 20:00 | Fleming Education Center, USM Gulf Coast Campus, Long Beach, MS, 39560
On January 28, USM Gulf Park will kick-off the series by hosting a pop-up art exhibition featuring two women artists from the Mississippi Gulf Coast community: Julia Reyes, a local multimedia artist and co-owner of Almost Circle gallery in Biloxi, and Paulette Dove, local artist and former art teacher at Biloxi High School. Critically, this exhibition event will open with a humanistic talk for the general public by USM Art Professor Jennifer Torres. The general scope of Torres’ talk, which may make direct reference to some of the works on display in the exhibition, will be the relationship between artistic representation and the treatment/expectations of women in society.

HTA: Changing the World Through Effective Communication & the Spirit of Excellence
2019-01-25 13:00 - 14:00 | B.F. McLaurin Vocational Building, 3240 Friars Point Road, Clarksdale, MS, 38614
Humanities Teacher Award winner Dr. Kishki Hall (Coahoma Community College) will present her public lecture, “Changing the World Through Effective Communication & the Spirit of Excellence.” Reception to follow.
The presentation will give a clear view into the inspirational and unique experience of Dr. Kishki Hall’s public speaking class at Coahoma Community College. The mission is to demonstrate how effective communication can change the world and the importance of operating in the spirit of excellence. Dr. Hall believes that students and people in general will only perform and rise to the expectations set for them. It is her endeavor to inspire students to dream dreams, see visions, and work to make those dreams and visions a reality. She also endeavors to motivate others to be the best version of yourself possible and to never settle for mediocrity.

Water/Ways in Columbus
2019-01-25 - 2019-03-08 | Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Transportation Museum, 318 7th St. N, Columbus, MS, 39703, United States
The Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Transportation Museum will host Water/Ways, a traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution, from January 25 through March 8.
Water/Ways is a traveling exhibit offered by the Museum on Main Street division of the Smithsonian Institution. It consists of five free-standing display units incorporating photographs and text as well as numerous interactives ranging from basic flip charts to state of the art audio and video devices. Requiring a display area of a minimum of 650 sq. ft., the exhibit is designed for smaller venues, thereby achieving the goal of “bringing the Smithsonian to Small Town America.”
Water/Ways explores the endless motion of the water cycle, water’s effect on landscape, settlement and migration, and its impact on culture and spirituality. It looks at how political and economic planning have long been affected by access to water and control of water resources. Human creativity and resourcefulness provide new ways of protecting water resources and renewing respect for the natural environment.
