Mississippi Humanities Council Board Meeting
2025-10-17 10:30 - 17:00 (America/Chicago) | Mississippi Library Commission, 3881 Eastwood Dr, Jackson, MS, 39211, United States
The Mississippi Humanities Council will hold its regular board meeting at the Mississippi Library Commission tomorrow, Friday, October 17, at 11 a.m.

Spill the Tea: LGBTQ&A History and Experiences Panel
2025-10-17 17:00 - 18:30 | The Depot – Tupelo, 208 N. Front Street, Tupelo, MS, 38804, United States
Spill the Tea: LGBTQ&A History and Experiences Panel
The Depot | 208 N. Front Street
Tupelo, MS
5-6:30 p.m.
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Speakers Bureau: "The Mississippi Melting Pot"
2025-10-21 17:00 - 20:00 | Walthall County Library, 707 Union RD, Tylertown, MS, 39667-2261
Andrew Haley presents: “The Mississippi Melting Pot”

A brief history (from tamales to red beans and rice) of the various ethnic and racial culinary traditions that have shaped Mississippians’ diets.

Speakers Bureau: "Why We Call It Soul Food"
2025-10-28 12:00 - 14:00 | Holmes Community College – Ridgeland Campus, 412 W. Ridgeland Avenue, Ridgeland, MS, 39157
Dr. Brinda Fuller Willis presents: “Why We Call It Soul Food”
“Why We Call It Soul Food” tells the story of why southerners, especially African American southerners, call the foods we eat “soul food.” Dr. Willis discusses the emotional and physical aspects of soul food as it relates to our culture and history. She also discusses the bonds attached to the growing, nurturing and preparation of these foods as it relates to our culture and way of life in the South.

Speakers Bureau: "Mississippi Telling"
2025-10-28 15:00 - 18:30 | Community Market Oxford/Lafayette, 1801 University Ave, Oxford, MS, 38655, United States
Rebecca Jernigan presents: “Mississippi Telling”

The presenter provides an overview of the storytelling Renaissance in America with emphasis upon the oral tradition in Mississippi. The literary tradition of Mississippi owes much to the rich storytelling legacy that riddles the tales of our families and our communities as reflected in the works of many of our best authors: Welty, Wright, Faulkner, Henley, Williams. As part of the presentation, Dr. Jernigan performs as a story teller calling upon on her rich repertoire of original tales and literary masterpieces gearing her choices of tales according to her audience and offers material for children and adults.

Speakers Bureau: "Developing Community Spaces: Storytelling, Stewardship, and the Soul of Place"
2025-10-30 10:00 - 12:00 | Mississippi Cultural Crossroads, 507 Market Street , Port Gibson , MS, 39150, United States
Kevin Brown presents: “Developing Community Spaces: Storytelling, Stewardship, and the Soul of Place”
In “Developing Community Spaces,” Kevin Brown explores how physical spaces—especially neglected lots, abandoned properties, and overlooked landmarks—can be transformed into powerful sites of memory, cultural identity, and civic healing. By honoring and acknowledging a community’s past, these forgotten sites can become reflections of historical pain and new hope.
Drawing from Kevin’s work creating Gertrude’s Garden in the historic Burglund District of McComb, Mississippi, this presentation offers insight into revitalizing historical spaces, engaging the community through oral histories, art, and public programs, and connecting with state-wide resources. “Developing Community Spaces” shares a living model of how the humanities can come alive through the land itself.

Remembering Emmett: From Silence to Social Change
2025-11-01 11:00 - 17:00 | Morning Star Baptist Church, 2050 Thornton Ave, Gulfport, MS, 39501, United States
“Remembering Emmett: From Silence to Social Change” is an exhibit by the Emmett Till Interpretive Center in support of the Community Read. This event is also supported by the Mississippi Humanities Council.

Speakers Bureau: "Prehistoric Native American Stone Tools"
2025-11-06 13:00 - 15:00 | Hatley Elementary School, 60286 Hatley RD, Amory, MS, 38821-7215
William Arinder presents: “Prehistoric Native American Stone Tools”
Program about how prehistoric Native Americans made and used stone tools. Includes “hands on” artifact display with audience participation encouraged.
Speakers Expertise: Mr. Arinder has studied Early American and Native American cultures for nearly 50 years, assembling a sizeable collection of artifacts which he uses to leade living history programs for local schools, civic clubs and museums. He volunteers as an interpretive historian with the Natchez Trace Parkway, leading monthly history and pioneer craft demonstrations at the Visitor Center in Tupelo.

Speakers Bureau: “Prehistoric Native American Stone Tools”
2025-11-07 13:00 - 15:00 | Hatley Elementary School, 60286 Hatley RD, Amory, MS, 38821-7215

Mississippi Freedom Trail Unveiling: Jackson Civil Rights Lawyers (Young, Hall, Brown)
2025-11-14 11:00 - 14:00 | Big Apple Inn, 509 N. Farish Street, Jackson, MS, 39202, United States
Mississippi Freedom Trail Unveiling: Jackson Civil Rights Lawyers (Young, Hall, Brown)
Big Apple Inn
Jackson, MS

11 a.m.

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Remembering Emmett: From Silence to Social Change
2025-11-15 11:00 - 13:00, 2025-12-04 18:00 - 20:00 | Mound Bayou Museum of African American Culture & History, 200 Roosevelt St, Mound Bayou, MS, 38762, United States

Speakers Bureau: “From The Fields To The Factory: The Great Migration of African Americans from the Fields of Mississippi to the Cities and Factories in the North"
2025-11-22 10:30 - 12:00 | City of Hernando, 475 W Commerce St, Hernando, MS, 38632-2102, United States
Dr. Brinda Fuller Willis presents: “From The Fields To The Factory: The Great Migration of African Americans from the Fields of Mississippi to the Cities and Factories in the North”

This presentation will explore the Great Migration of African Americans from the rural South to the urban North in the 20th century.

Speakers Bureau: "The Queen's Critters: Victorian Era Influence on Mississippi Animals
2025-11-22 12:00 - 15:00 | Desoto County Courthouse, 2535 US-51, Hernando, MS, 38632, United States
Andi Lehman presents: “The Queen’s Critters: Victorian Era Influence on Mississippi Animals”
Few people realize the huge influence of the Victorian Age and Queen Victoria on our view and treatment of animals in Mississippi and across the United States. The Queen’s Critters: Victorian Era Influence on Mississippi Animals explains how Victorian reformers ushered in a new way of looking at animals as companions and not just as beasts of burden or commodities (without implying there is anything wrong with either of those services to humanity.)
As Queen Victoria, Andi will explain how the Queen’s love for animals and her royal support helped shape the domestic destiny of animals on both sides of the Atlantic and present a quick overview of the Victorian laws passed in England and review the history of our current laws that govern animal rights in MS.
She will introduce several species that were popular as pets in Victorian times and some additional species that are popular today, including a rabbit, a common rat, a working therapy dog, a talking bird, and two reptiles. This presentation of the history of animal welfare and advocacy from England to Mississippi is educational and fun and engages both adults and children in a positive look at life with animals in our state.

Speakers Bureau: "A Look at Mande (West African) Culture Through Traditional Music"
2025-12-03 09:00 - 11:00 | Casey Elementary School PTA, 2101 Lake Cir, Jackson, MS, 39211, United States
Jerry Jenkins presents: “A Look at Mande (West African) Culture Through Traditional Music”

This presentation 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.

Speakers Bureau: “A Look at Mande (West African) Culture Through Traditional Music"
2025-12-11 17:30 - 21:00 | Mississippi Children’s Museum, 2145 Museum Blvd, , MS, Jackson, MS, 39202, United States

Reading the Room
2025-12-11 18:00 - 20:00 | Urban Foxes, Jackson, MS, 39202, United States
The Mississippi Humanities Council is pleased to partner with the Mississippi Book Festival and Urban Foxes to present our next Reading the Room event.
If you love reading, socializing, and any excuse to talk about books, then join us!

Thursday, December 11th at 6:00 pm
Urban Foxes
826 North St, Jackson, MS 39202

Bring any book you are currently reading, enjoy some time set aside to read on your own, and talk books with your neighbors over drinks and snacks. Come celebrate Mississippi’s vibrant literary culture with us!

Speakers Bureau: "The American Revolution in the Gulf South"
2026-01-12 11:30 - 13:30 | Historic Natchez Foundation, 108 S. Commerce St., Natchez, MS, United States
Max Grivno presents: “The American Revolution in the Gulf South”
The history of the American Revolution along the Gulf South is seldom told. Although most of the Europeans who called the region were sympathetic to the British — or at least hoped to remain neutral — the conflict soon engulfed the territory of what would, in time, become Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida. This presentation examines how the American Revolution transformed the Gulf South. It tells the story of how the Americans, British and Spanish vied for control of the Mississippi River and Gulf seaports, and how the Choctaws and Chickasaws struggled to preserve their homelands by courting the rival powers. It describes James Willing’s disastrous raid on Natchez, the Choctaw occupation of Natchez and the campaign launched by Spanish Bernardo de Galvez, who conquered Natchez and Pensacola and drove the British from the region. The lecture also discusses the consequences of the Revolution for the people of the Gulf Coast In the aftermath of the war, the Spanish and the Americans vied to control Natchez and the territory around present-day Vicksburg, while native confederacies like the Choctaw and Chickasaw grappled with the rising power of the United States.

Speakers Bureau: "Ida B. Wells: The Mother of the American Human Rights Movement"
2026-01-27 12:00 - 15:00 | Columbus-Lowndes Public Library, 314 7th St N, Columbus, MS, 39701, United States
Dr. Cassie Sade Turnipseed presents “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.

Speakers Bureau: "Spanish Dons in Colonial Mississippi: The Spanish roots of Mississippi’s Cotton Kingdom"
2026-04-16 12:00 - 15:00 | Columbus-Lowndes Public Library, 314 7th St N, Columbus, MS, 39701, United States
Christian Pinnen presents: “Spanish Dons in Colonial Mississippi: The Spanish roots of Mississippi’s Cotton Kingdom”
Spain has a short, but important part in Mississippi’s history. Between 1779 and 1798, Spanish administrators sought to wrangle profits and people in small outpost, most prominently Natchez, along the Mississippi River. Enforcing Spanish laws and customs in a polyglot and largely Anglo-American population proved treacherous and created economic and social dynamics that gave rise to more than one chaotic episode as people tried to gain influence and power along the Mississippi.

Speakers Bureau: "The American Revolution in the Gulf South"
2026-04-21 12:00 - 15:00 | Columbus-Lowndes Public Library, 314 7th St N, Columbus, MS, 39701, United States
