Executive Director's Message

The Humanities as an Open Door

A few weeks ago, I attended a special dinner in honor of David Person, who was a key part of the Behind the Big House program in Holly Springs before he passed away in 2021. David, an elderly white man from Texas, had purchased a beautiful antebellum home in town. One attendee at the memorial dinner, Deborah Davis, told a story about David that has resonated with me ever since.

She spoke about her efforts to trace her family’s genealogy and had learned that her ancestors had been enslaved on the property David Person now owned. As she was driving through Holly Springs during a research trip one day, Deborah made the impulsive decision to knock on the front door, not knowing what the owner’s response would be. When he learned that her family had once lived at the property, he welcomed her inside his home and wanted to learn more about her and her research. This initial interaction soon blossomed into a warm friendship, with David welcoming their family back to his property for reunions.

At a time when there is much division about how we teach and understand our past, let us be inspired by this interaction. At their best, the humanities open doors to greater understanding and connection.

Since that night, I’ve thought a lot about that initial interaction: a stranger shows up at your door to inform you that your beautiful historic home was connected to her family’s enslavement. Instead of shutting his door or trying to ignore this difficult history, David Person welcomed Deborah Davis inside. From that decision grew a meaningful relationship that benefited both David and the Davis family.



One reason for David’s openness was his involvement in the Behind the Big House program. Indeed, his property and its slave dwellings were always a part of the living history tour when he owned it. I have long admired Behind the Big House for addressing the history of enslavement in a way that humanizes those who endured it. The hundreds of school children who toured the Craft House and its slave quarters the day I was there learned how enslaved people worked and resisted their condition while creating lives and families amidst the most difficult circumstances. It was honest, compelling, and a significant step forward from the old incomplete narratives often shared during antebellum home tours. I also admire the cohort of scholars, living history experts, and local people who come together each year to put on Behind the Big House. It is among the programs the Humanities Council is most proud to support.

As I drove back to Jackson from Holly Springs, I thought a lot about Deborah Davis knocking on the door of someone she didn’t know, and David Person welcoming her in. At a time when there is much division about how we teach and understand our past, let us be inspired by this interaction. At their best, the humanities open doors to greater understanding and connection. When faced with the difficult part of our history, we should not turn away, but rather seek to understand our past and work together to build a better future.

Dr. Stuart Rockoff

MHC Executive Director

Surprise visit to Parchman's Unit 31 Book Club by author Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah



Book clubs seldom meet the authors of the books they are reading, but on April 4 the men in Unit 31 at Mississippi State Penitentiary/Parchman (MSP) enjoyed that opportunity. 

During a National Book Awards tour, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah visited Unit 31, which houses men requiring skilled nursing care. The club, which typically spends four weeks discussing a book, was reading Adjei-Brenyah’s Chain Gang All-Stars.

Described as speculative fiction, the novel is set in a future prison system characterized by systemic racism and mass incarceration.

The club’s discussion with the author centered on the themes of compassion and humanity. The book club shared how much they appreciated Adjei-Brenyah’s depiction of the incarcerated characters. One member explained, “Regardless of what these people are doing, you showed their humanity.”

Adjei-Brenyah responded by telling the men how important it was “that the book resonates with people living on the inside. It is my highest honor.”

The Unit 31 book club is led by Jeremiah Smith, cofounder and director of programming of the Rosedale Freedom Project. 

MHC offers book discussion programs at eight different Mississippi correctional facilities with support from the Mellon and The James & Madeleine McMullan Family Foundations.

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Final Stop for “Crossroads: Change in Rural America”

On Saturday, April 27, the Smithsonian traveling exhibit “Crossroads: Change in Rural America” will open at its final stop in Mississippi. The exhibit is being hosted by the Pontotoc Historical Society at the town’s Community House. 

“We have scheduled several programs including Leah Kemp from Mississippi State leading a discussion on how a community can work together to change their environment,” said project director Bob McGee. Additional programs include presentations from Gerry Wilson, Pontotoc native, discussing her recent historical novel which takes place 100 years ago in the region; Stanley Wise, a retired Extension Service agent who will provide an informative history of agriculture in the Pontotoc area; and Pat Ezzell, the official historian of the Tennessee Valley Authority who will talk about the life changing introduction of electricity to Pontotoc County.

“We also will have a program focused on the song and book, One Mississippi, for more than 600 school children,” said McGee. “Sarah Frances Hardy, an award-winning artist, illustrated the book, and will present the program to the students. Toyota is generously purchasing copies of the book for each of the school children and their teachers.”

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The exhibit is generously supported by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

MHC Empowers Incarcerated Youth Through National History Day Initiative

Last year, the National Endowment for the Humanities announced a special initiative for state councils to become more involved in National History Day (NHD), a nationwide competition that encourages middle and high school students to develop creative, original historical research based on an annual theme. Students are encouraged to research primary and secondary sources through archives, digital archives, libraries, museums, and historic sites.

The MHC quickly partnered with the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, the state affiliate for the program, to bring workshops to teachers in Mississippi who are interested in having their students participate.

Through the additional funding, the MHC also launched its own version of NHD at the Youthful Offenders Unit (YOU) at Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, the first of its kind.

“We already had a relationship with the students and faculty at the YOU, so I inquired about providing resources so the students could create projects using the principles of primary research and NHD,” said MHC program officer Molly McMillan.

“Thankfully, everybody we asked to be part of the program was enthusiastic to support it!”

For the last several weeks, Dr. Christina Thomas, a Mellon visiting scholar at Jackson State University, has been meeting weekly with the students to teach them about Freedom Summer in Mississippi.

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The Mississippi Humanities Council is now accepting grant applications for its May 1 deadline for public humanities projects and programs with budgets between $2,501 and $10,000. 

MHC grants support Mississippi cultural organizations in creating experiences that stimulate meaningful community dialogue, attract diverse audiences, are participatory and engaging and apply the humanities to our everyday lives. Grants may be used to support public humanities programs, exhibits, the planning of larger projects and the development of original productions in radio, podcasts or online resources.

Learn how to apply

Up next: "Rosenwald " May 19th at the Two Mississippi Museums at 2:00 pm

Rosenwald is a documentary on the incredible story of how businessman and philanthropist Julius Rosenwald joined with African American communities in the South to build schools for them during the early part of the 20th century. This historical partnership as well as the modern-day attempts to maintain or reconfigure the schools is an important, yet too little-known.

Stick around after the movie for panel discussion. MHC executive director Dr. Stuart Rockoff will moderate a panel with Dr. Sylvia Gist, an expert on black education, and Jennifer Baughn, chief architectural historian at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.



Sunday Screenings are always free and open to the public.

Rosenwald Trailer

This program is co-sponsored by the Mississippi Humanities Council and Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

MHC is looking for a full-time office administrator to oversee its office operations and selected MHC programs. 

The office administrator is often the first contact with grant applicants and the general public. They must be engaging, professional, well organized, and efficient. Knowledge of the traditional humanities and of nonprofit organizations is highly desirable.

Learn more about duties and requirements here.

Program Officer Molly McMillan starts new journey in Washington D.C. after 7 years with MHC

After nearly 7 years, Program Officer Molly McMillan will be leaving the Mississippi Humanities Council in May as she moves to Washington, D.C. During her time as Office Administrator for the MHC, Molly provided administrative support for the grants program, as well as managed the Humanities Teacher Awards and Speakers Bureau. She was also involved in the development and implementation of initiatives such as the “People, Politics and the Press” conference in 2018 and the Anti-Racism Reading Shelf Book grants for libraries in 2020.

Moving to the role of program officer in 2021, Molly oversaw two Smithsonian “Museum on Main Street” exhibits (Voices and Votes, Crossroads), implemented the Luciérnagas bilingual family reading program in two new communities (Starkville, Pearl), and established the American Library Association’s “Great Stories Club” as one of MHC’s ongoing teen-focused reading programs. Molly was also instrumental in various initiatives such as the Mississippi Museums Conference, the Anne & Emmett schools tour, and the expansion of National History Day via the Freedom Summer project at the Youthful Offenders Unit at Central Mississippi Correctional Facility.

“I can’t express what the last seven years have meant to me, working at the MHC,” said Molly. “Mississippi has shaped who I am as a person, and that’s something I’ll take with me wherever I go. I take so much pride in the work of the MHC and our partners because we get to tell the stories of all variations of Mississippians. I think that’s what I’m most excited about in moving to a new region of the country: I get to tell people about Mississippi and the amazing people here.”

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