Mississippi Humanities Council

Dirt and Deeds in Mississippi/ Impressions of the Struggle
2025-03-13 17:30 - 21:00 (America/Chicago) | University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg , MS - Mississippi, 39406
In conjunction with the screening of the Television Academy award-winning documentary, Dirt and Deeds in Mississippi, the University of Southern Mississippi is inviting a veteran of the civil rights movement from the Delta community of Mileston. Ms. Virgie Clark will join a conversation with filmmaker David Shulman, moderated by faculty member Dr. Rebecca Tuuri. This conversation will highlight the little-known story of African-American property owners who risked their land while providing financial support to further the fight for civil rights. The screening of the film will be followed by a special viewing of the exhibition, Impressions of the Struggle. The primary source documents and accompanying gallery talk will tell the story of Mileston in the context of the broader civil rights movement in Mississippi while conveying the subjugation, threats and tensions of the era.
Thursday, March 13, 2025, beginning at 5:30 pm. The venues will be the Gonzalez auditorium and the McCain Library and Archives.
5:30-7:30 Discussion and screening of ‘Dirt and Deeds in Mississippi’
7:30-9:00 Special viewing of ‘Impressions of the Struggle’ exhibition

Sunday Screeing: "My Mind To Me A Kingdom Is"
2025-03-09 14:00 - 16:00 | TWO MISSISSIPPI MUSEUMS, 222 NORTH STREET , JACKSON, MS, United States
Join us for a free screening of “My Mind To Me A Kingdom Is” on Sunday, March 9, at 2 p.m. in the Craig H. Neilsen Auditorium of the Two Mississippi Museums. Directed by David Rae Morris, this thirty-minute documentary focuses on the life and career of Dr. Jane Ellen McAllister, the first African American woman to earn a doctorate in education.

This program is in partnership with the Mississippi Humanities Council, Mississippi Film Office, and the Mississippi Film Society. For more information, call 601-576-6850

_Local People_ at 40: Reflecting on the Impact and Legacy of John Dittmer’s groundbreaking work
2025-03-07 10:30 - 12:00 | TWO MISSISSIPPI MUSEUMS, 222 NORTH STREET , JACKSON, MS, United States
When it was first published in hardback in 1994 (with paperback published in 1995), John Dittmer’s _Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Mississippi_ made a tremendous impact in the scholarship of the Mississippi civil rights movement. While working at Tougaloo and later at Brown and DePauw, Dittmer collected oral histories and consulted countless archival repositories and newspaper articles related to the Mississippi movement. His detailed and careful review of the Mississippi movement from the post-World War II era through the late 1960s, reflected the passion and care that he brought to this story as both a scholar and longtime resident of the state. His book was praised by scholars and activists alike, winning the Bancroft Prize in American History, the historical profession’s highest prize for any book written on American History, in 1995.
Sadly Dr. Dittmer passed in July 2024. Instead of holding a retrospective symposium, the Mississippi Historical Society will now be hosting a panel at its annual meeting that will feature prominent scholars of the Mississippi civil rights movement whose research and scholarly trajectories were impacted by Dittmer and Local People. These panelists represent different eras of scholarship that were impacted.
This panel will be held at the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson during the Mississippi Historical Society’s annual meeting; however, this panel will be free and open to the public (unlike the rest of the conference).

Reading the Room
2025-03-06 18:00 - 20:00 | Urban Foxes, Jackson, MS, 39202, United States
Hey book community! It’s that time again! Join us for our next Reading the Room event on Wednesday, February 12th at 6:00 pm, at Urban Foxes! Bring any book and enjoy time to read, talk books with your community, and celebrate Mississippi’s vibrant literary culture with us! Reading the Room is presented in partnership with Mississippi Book Festival.

HTA Lecture: The Ice Age of Making Babies and (Pro)creating Meaning in the 21st Century
2025-03-04 16:00 - 17:30 | Mississippi University for Women – Fant Memorial Library, 1200 5th Ave S, Columbus, MS, 39701, United States
Jill Drouillard is Mississippi University for Women’s 2025 Humanities Teacher of the Year. Drouillard’s lecture, The Ice Age of Making Babies and (Pro)creating Meaning in the 21st Century, will be presented 3/4/25 at 4:00 pm on the college’s campus in the Fant Library.
Drouillard will be among those honored at the Mississippi Humanities Council Awards Ceremony March 28, 2025 at the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson. The event pays tribute to outstanding faculty in traditional humanities fields at each of the state’s institutions of higher learning.

HTA Lecture: Traditional Poetry: I'm Not Dead Yet
2025-03-04 14:00 - 15:30 | Holmes Community College, 1 Hill Street, Goodman, MS, 39079, United States
William Moorer is Holmes Community College’s 2025 Humanities Teacher of the Year. Moorer’s lecture, Traditional Poetry: I’m Not Dead Yet, will be presented 3/4/25 at 2:00 pm on the college’s campus in McMurrough Library (Goodman Campus).
Moorer will be among those honored at the Mississippi Humanities Council Awards Ceremony March 28, 2025 at the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson. The event pays tribute to outstanding faculty in traditional humanities fields at each of the state’s institutions of higher learning.

HTA Lecture: Gloria Anzaldua as a Feminist Revolution and Vindication of the Myth of "La Llorona"
2025-03-04 13:00 - 14:30 | William Carey University, 710 William Carey Parkway, Hattiesburg, MS, 39401
Janie Covarrubias is William Carey University’s 2025 Humanities Teacher of the Year. Covarrubias’s lecture, Gloria Anzaldua as a Feminist Revolution and Vindication of the Myth of “La Llorona, will be presented 3/4/25 at 1:00 pm on the college’s campus Room 100, Asbury Academic Center.
Covarrubias will be among those honored at the Mississippi Humanities Council Awards Ceremony March 28, 2025 at the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson. The event pays tribute to outstanding faculty in traditional humanities fields at each of the state’s institutions of higher learning.

Speakers Bureau: "Parallels of Southern Storytelling and Folktales from Around the World"
2025-03-02 14:00 - 15:30 | St. Peters Telling, 246 CR 471, Water Valley, 39065, United States
Diane Williams presents: “Parallels of Southern Storytelling and Folktales from Around the World.”
Diane uses the art of storytelling to uncover folktales from the south, oral history from Mississippi, often paralleling these story motifs with folktales from around the world.

HBCUs: Their Legacy and Continued Relevance in Southern Black Higher Education
2025-02-28 17:30 - 19:30 | Crossroads Cultural Arts Center, 332 Delta Ave, Clarksdale, MS, 38614, United States
What a fun and enlightening way to round out the 2025 Black History Month Celebration! Attendees are encouraged to wear your Greek and/or HBCU attire and share this fabulous evening among friends and family!
We are excited to welcome speaker Jean Greene, co-director of the Utica Institute Museum who will speak about The Legacy of William H. Holtzclaw.
William H. Holtzclaw, son of former slaves and mentee of Booker T. Washington, founded the Utica Normal & Industrial Institute for the Training of Colored Young Men and Women in Utica in 1903. The Institute, initially a privately funded facility and later a public school, has been in operation in the Utica community for more than 100 years. Now known as Hinds Community College-Utica Campus, the Institution retains its HBCU status and traditions. The Utica Jubilee Singers, founded by Holtzclaw to promote the school and help raise funds, remains one of the defining elements of the school. This presentation gives an overview of the Utica Institute from its founding in the Jim Crow-era South through the Civil Rights years and beyond.
Arrive at 5:30 to mix and mingle at the Crossroads Cafe and mocktail bar including door prizes and more! Program begins at 6:00

HTA Lecture: From Incarceration to Education: An Analysis of Barriers to Higher Education in Mississippi Prisons
2025-02-28 13:00 - 14:30 | Southwest Mississippi Community College, 1156 College Drive, Summit, MS, 39666
Ashley Weathers is Southwest Mississippi Community College’s 2025 Humanities Teacher of the Year. Weathers’ lecture, From Incarceration to Education: An Analysis of Barriers to Higher Education in Mississippi Prisons, will be presented 2/28/25 at 1:00 pm on the college’s main campus in the Holmes Student Union Auditorium.
Weathers will be among those honored at the Mississippi Humanities Council Awards Ceremony March 28, 2025 at the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson. The event pays tribute to outstanding faculty in traditional humanities fields at each of the state’s institutions of higher learning.

Charles Evers Freedom Trail Marker Unveiling
2025-02-28 12:00 - 13:00 | Jefferson County Courthouse, 1483 Main St, Fayette, MS, 39069, United States
The Mississippi Humanities Council, in partnership with the Visit Mississippi, will unveil a Freedom Trail marker February 28th in Fayette at the Jefferson County Courthouse at 12 pm to honor the extraordinary work of Charles Evers. Evers was elected in Fayette, Mississippi, as the first African-American mayor of a biracial town in Mississippi since the Reconstruction era, following passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which enforced constitutional rights for citizens.

The Evolution from Traditional Blues to Southern Soul
2025-02-27 18:00 - 20:00, 2025-02-20 18:00 - 20:00 | BB King Museum, 400 Second Street, Indianola, MS, 38751, United States
B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center and Mississippi Humanities Council is hosting two programs for Black History Month to celebrate special stories and initiatives. Join us for this free program moderated by Jimmie Lee, Jr with panelists Willie Clayton, Chris Ivy, J’Cenae and Dr. Alphonso Sande

Black History Month Talk at IMMC
2025-02-27 18:00 - 19:30 | International Museum of Muslim Cultures, 201 East Pascagoula Street, Jackson, MS, 39201
Join the International Museum of Muslim Cultures for their first Gallery Talk of the year with special guests: Debora Heard, Prof of Anthropology, Nubian Archaeology and Egyptian History at the University of Chicago, Dr. Rico Chapman, Jackson State University Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Professor of History, Daniel Heboe, Tougaloo College Prof of French

Thursday February 27th, 2025 at 6pm in the Museum Atrium
Mississippi Arts Center
201 E Pascagoula St
Jackson MS
Sign Up at Link in Bio

A Centennial Conversation: The Legacy of Medgar Evers, 100 years Later
2025-02-27 17:30 - 20:00 | Smith Robertson Museum & Cultural Center, 528 Bloom St., Jackson, MS, 39202
In honor of the centennial birthday of Medgar W. Evers, the Mississippi Humanities Council and the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument will co-host a program titled A Centennial Conversation: The Legacy of Medgar Evers, 100 years Later.
The program will consist of a conversation between Dr. Miranda Freeman, Dean of Humanities at Tougaloo College and Dr. Michael V. Williams, Chair of the African American Studies department at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and also the author of Medgar Evers: Mississippi Martyr. This program will take place at the Smith Robertson Museum in Jackson February 27th from 6:30 to 8 pm, with reception at 5:30 pm.

Speakers Bureau: “A Look at Mande (West African) Culture Through Traditional Music”
2025-02-27 17:00 - 18:30 | Jackson Hinds Library System, 605 E Northside Dr, Clinton, MS, 39056-3456, United States
This presentation, by Jerry Jenkins, will give the listener a glimpse of the Mande Culture of West Africa. In the tradition of the Mande, the history and culture is orally preserved in the minds and through the music of the Djeli (oral librarian/mandenka hereditary professional musicians). The establishment of the Mali Empire can be recalled and retold in the musical piece of the legendary Densoba (great warrior) Sunjata. This discussion explores the function of the Mande music and musical instruments, Mande class system, songs, ceremonies and stories. The discussion also examines the influence of West Africa on American culture and why the djembe was outlawed during slavery. Participants will learn about the djembe, its introduction by drummers like Babatunde Olatunji in 1950 and Ladji Camara from Guinea, and how it spread throughout America.

HTA Lecture: Educators Perceive Biliteracy as a Resource for Students in Mississippi
2025-02-27 16:00 - 17:30 | Blue Mountain Christian University, 201 W Main St, Blue Mountain, MS, 38610
Rosalynn Rutland is Blue Mountain Christian University’s 2025 Humanities Teacher of the Year. Rutland’s lecture, Educators Perceive Biliteracy as a Resource for Students in Mississippi, will be presented 2/27/25 at 4:00 pm on the college’s campus in the Paschal Student Union Building. This is a presentation of portions of a qualitative study, “Listening to the Voices of Educators in the Implementation of the Mississippi Seal of Biliteracy,” conducted in two Mississippi schools whose educators expressed their perceptions of biliteracy as a resource for students. The participants in this study are educators from one school that has adopted the Mississippi Seal of Biliteracy and one school that has not adopted the seal. Regardless of the adoption of the seal, all educators perceived English plus another language as a beneficial educational policy.
Rutland will be among those honored at the Mississippi Humanities Council Awards Ceremony March 28, 2025 at the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson. The event pays tribute to outstanding faculty in traditional humanities fields at each of the state’s institutions of higher learning.

Speaker Series: Paula C. Johnson
2025-02-25 17:30 - 19:00 | Historic Natchez Foundation, 108 S. Commerce St., Natchez, MS, United States
The 2024-2025 season is an annual program of the Natchez Historical Society, consisting of 8 regular monthly presentations by expert speakers on humanities topics pertinent to the history of the Natchez area. Scheduled for February 25, 2025:
Paula C. Johnson, Professor, Syracuse University College of Law; Co-Founder and Director of the Syracuse University College of Law Cold Case Justice Initiative: Memory Lessons: Meeting the Imperative for Racial Justice Through Memory, Memorials, Knowledge, and Empowerment

Speakers Bureau: "The Mississippi Plan and the Rise of Jim Crow"
2025-02-25 17:00 - 18:30 | Margaret Walker Alexander Library, 2525 Robinson St, Jackson, MS, 39209
Dr. Robbie Luckett presents: “The Mississippi Plan and the Rise of Jim Crow”
After the Civil War, African Americans in the South, newly freed, expressed a tangible optimism that led to the reuniting of families, the development of social institutions like the black church, the rise of cultural expressions like the Blues and jazz, the establishment of black-owned businesses and other economic endeavors, and the wielding of significant political power. On the other hand, as Dr. Luckett explains in this talk, most white southerners, especially in Mississippi, saw this rise of black social, economic and political power as a direct threat to their hegemony, which had been so well established during the era of slavery, and whites sought to “redeem” their place in the southern hierarchy through violent extra-legal measures like lynching and through the realm of law. The invention of Jim Crow and what became known as the “Mississippi Plan” became the models for the rest of the South. 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.

Annie Devine Freedom Trail Marker Unveiling
2025-02-25 10:00 - 13:00 | Canton High School, 634 Finney Rd, Canton, MS, 39046, United States
The Mississippi Humanities Council, in partnership with the Visit Mississippi, will unveil a Freedom Trail marker February 25th at Canton High School 10 am in Canton to honor the extraordinary work of Annie Devine, one of the first three Black women to stand on the floor of the House of Representative in Washington, she demanded that the House deny membership to the representatives-elect because African Americans were still denied the right to vote.

Speakers Bureau: "Pushing Forward: Hezekiah Watkins and the Youth Movement of Mississippi"
2025-02-24 13:00 - 15:00 | Hines Hall Auditorium, 101 Cunningham Blvd., Booneville, MS, 38829
In 1961, young Hezekiah Watkins was arrested at the Greyhound Bus Station in Jackson, Mississippi at the age of 13 where he was sent in a paddy wagon to Mississippi’s State Penitentiary, known as Parchman Penitentiary, and placed on Death Row. His crime? Allegedly participating with a group known as the Freedom Riders who had embarked on a journey from Washington D.C. to New Orleans to push for equal rights for African-Americans, while also desegregating bus terminals throughout the south. After spending five days at Parchman, Hezekiah’s life would forever be changed. He would continue his involvement in Mississippi’s fight for equality, resulting with him being arrested over 100 times more in the years to follow. These experiences guided him along a path to focus on improving the quality of life for African-Americans everywhere, eventuallly resulting in Hezekiah’s recognition by the 112th Congress of the United States for his service to Mississippi and to mankind. Pushing forward tells the story of a young man who became a grown up overnight, and whose life continues to focus on serving a much greater cause

HTA Lecture: An Act of Hope: Teaching Research-Based Academic Writing Through the Literature of Octavia E. Butler
2025-02-21 11:00 - 12:30 | Northwest Mississippi Community College, 4975 Hwy 51 N, Senatobia, 38668
Ramona Brawner is Northwest Mississippi Community College‘s 2025 Humanities Teacher of the Year. Brawner’s lecture, An Act of Hope: Teaching Research-Based Academic Writing Through the Literature of Octavia E. Butler, will be presented 2/21/25 at 11:00 am on the college’s campus.
Brawner will be among those honored at the Mississippi Humanities Council Awards Ceremony March 28, 2025 at the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson. The event pays tribute to outstanding faculty in traditional humanities fields at each of the state’s institutions of higher learning.

HTA Lecture: Stories That Save Us: Teaching Elie Wiesel and the Holocaust
2025-02-21 09:30 - 10:30 | Meridian Community College, 910 Hwy 19 N, Meridian, MS, 39307
Amanda Thompson is Meridian Community College’s 2025 Humanities Teacher of the Year. Thompson’s lecture, Stories That Save Us: Teaching Elie Wiesel and the Holocaust, will be presented 2/21/25 at 9:30 am on the college’s campus in the McCain Theatre.
Thompson will be among those honored at the Mississippi Humanities Council Awards Ceremony March 28, 2025 at the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson. The event pays tribute to outstanding faculty in traditional humanities fields at each of the state’s institutions of higher learning.

HTA Lecture: The Paradox of Narrating Violence
2025-02-20 15:00 - 16:30 | Mississippi State University, Bost Theater, Starkville, MS
Dr. Sol Peláez is Mississippi State University’s 2025 Humanities Teacher of the Year. Dr. Peláez’ lecture, The Paradox of Narrating Violence, will be presented 2/20/25 at 3:00 pm on the college’s campus in the Grisham Room, Mitchell Memorial Library.
Dr. Peláez will be among those honored at the Mississippi Humanities Council Awards Ceremony March 28, 2025 at the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson. The event pays tribute to outstanding faculty in traditional humanities fields at each of the state’s institutions of higher learning.

HTA Lecture: Service to Others: A Christian Perspective on Social Work Values
2025-02-20 12:30 - 14:00 | Alcorn State University, 1000 ASU Drive, Lorman, MS, 39096
Valtreasa Tolliver-Cook is Alcorn State University’s 2025 Humanities Teacher of the Year. Tolliver-Cook’s lecture, Service to Others: A Christian Perspective on Social Work Values, will be presented 2/20/25 at 12:30 pm on the college’s campus in Dumas Hall Lecture Room 107. The presentation explores the alignment between Christian teachings and the core values of the social work profession by focusing on the theme of service to others. Attendees will gain insights on how to apply these values to create meaningful, positive impacts in their communities.
Tolliver-Cook will be among those honored at the Mississippi Humanities Council Awards Ceremony March 28, 2025 at the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson. The event pays tribute to outstanding faculty in traditional humanities fields at each of the state’s institutions of higher learning.

HTA Lecture: Elevated: The Influence of Vernacular Music on American Art Music
2025-02-18 18:00 - 19:30 | Aven Hall, 200 Capitol Street, Clinton, MS, 39056
Dr. Renee Wilson is Mississippi College’s 2025 Humanities Teacher of the Year. Dr. Wilson’s lecture, Elevated: The Influence of Vernacular Music on American Art Music, will be presented 2/18/25 at 6:00 pm on the college’s campus in Jean Pittman Recital Hall, Aven Hall Rm 202. The presentation explores vernacular music as music of the people. Lovingly passed along within and among culture groups, it both preserves and shares the culture(s) among us. It includes folk music and, in the United States, it includes styles such as jazz and blues. This presentation calls attention to masterworks for band, choir, and orchestra which have been clearly influenced by folk music, jazz, and blues.
Dr. Wilson will be among those honored at the Mississippi Humanities Council Awards Ceremony March 28, 2025 at the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson. The event pays tribute to outstanding faculty in traditional humanities fields at each of the state’s institutions of higher learning.

HTA Lecture: “Women Directing Humanity: Models of Women’s Leadership in Creative Approaches to Social Change”
2025-02-18 17:30 - 19:00 | Gonzales Auditorium, 1999 Pearl St, Hattiesburg, MS, 39401, United States
Dr. Candice Salyers is the University of Southern Mississippi’s 2025 Humanities Teacher of the Year. Salyers’ lecture, “Women Directing Humanity: Models of Women’s Leadership in Creative Approaches to Social Change,” will be presented 2/18/25 at 5:30 pm on the college’s campus in Gonzales Auditorium in the Liberal Arts Building on the Southern Miss (LAB room 108) Hattiesburg campus.
Salyers’ will be among those honored at the Mississippi Humanities Council Awards Ceremony March 28, 2025 at the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson. The event pays tribute to outstanding faculty in traditional humanities fields at each of the state’s institutions of higher learning.

Speakers Bureau: "Mississippi Foodways"
2025-02-18 17:00 - 18:30 | Walthall County Library, 707 Union RD, Tylertown, MS, 39667-2261
This presentation, by Malcolm White, offers observations by a longtime connoisseur of Southern food and culture on topics ranging from the history of Comeback Dressing to how the tamale came to Mississippi to the evolution of dining out in Mississippi.

Speakers Bureau: "Robert Johnson at the Crossroads"
2025-02-18 15:30 - 17:00 | Boys and Girls Club of North Mississippi, 1242 S Green St, Tupelo, MS, 38804, United States
Since 1920 the number of farmers in America has been dropping, yet the place of farming — and of rural life generally — in the American mind is stronger than ever. The images we encounter in country songs, labels at the grocery store and in country-fried restaurants tell us that to live the rural life is to live the most American of lives: to work honestly, for long hours and for mostly internal rewards. Our culture presents farmers as nothing short of heroes. But this was not always the case. This talk, by Wendy Garrison, charts the rise, fall and rise again of the American farmer and rural life in the American consciousness with images from music videos, snippets of song lyrics, Cracker Barrel billboards and even some Congressional testimony. It seeks to answer the questions, why does this particular image of the farmer hold such sway, and what do the changes in that image over time tell us about Americans’ insecure relationship with its history?

Speakers Bureau: Ida B. Wells: The Mother of the American Human Rights Movement
2025-02-18 11:00 - 12:30 | Jackson Association of Black Journalists, 4412 Will O Run Dr, Jackson, MS, 39212, United States
C Sade Turnipseed presents a lecture: “Ida B. Wells: The Mother of the American Human Rights Movement.”
Ida B. Wells’s life has intriguing ties to Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Susan B. Anthony, President William McKinley, Booker T. Washington, Duke of Argyll and Sir John Gorst. She was a journalist who wrote about human rights and had a clear understanding about her rights as a woman. This presentation highlights her fearless campaign to realize the most significant contribution to the investigation and avocation against human lynchings. Yet, she is unknown to most people of this generation.
