January 2024 Newsletter

Executive Director's Message

Last week, I had the honor of moderating a panel discussion about the importance of humanities education during our Ideas on Tap program at Coffee Prose in Jackson. Dr. Miranda Freeman of Tougaloo College and Dr. Seth Parry of Belhaven University both spoke about the communication, critical thinking, and writing skills their humanities students learn. Dr. Freeman spoke about how many of her first-generation college students feel pulled between their love of the humanities and economic pressure to major in more “practical” subjects.

"In a diverse, pluralistic society, being able to see the world through others’ eyes, even if you do not share their worldview, is crucial to a healthy democracy."

Everyone stressed how understanding people from different backgrounds is a great benefit of humanities education. Dr. Parry explained how this idea fits into Belhaven’s emphasis on Christian education, stressing how following God’s commandment to love thy neighbor requires you to seek to understand them. This is what humanities education offers us. In a diverse, pluralistic society, being able to see the world through others’ eyes, even if you do not share their worldview, is crucial to a healthy democracy. As Dr. Didlake reminded the audience, the purpose of education is not just to train workers, but also to create engaged and informed citizens.

Of course, one need not be an enrolled student to partake in the many public humanities programs the MHC offers. The MHC works to support lifelong humanities educational opportunities to people throughout our state. This past weekend, I attended a screening of the MHC-funded documentary “Fannie Lou Hamer’s America” at the Two Mississippi Museums as part of our joint Sunday documentary film series. Though I had seen the film before, I was struck again by Hamer’s description of her life growing up as a sharecropper in the Delta. It’s a life quite different from the one I’ve experienced, but it is one that many Black Mississippians share with Hamer. Recognizing this history and its continuing legacy helps us understand our neighbors and address the continuing challenges of poverty and racism today. It makes us better citizens and our society stronger.

This is why humanities education and the work of the Mississippi Humanities Council are so important. I encourage you to support us in this work by donating, attending Council-funded programs, and even developing a humanities program of your own that we can support.

Dr. Stuart Rockoff

MHC Executive Director

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Click below to watch a clip of “Fannie Lou Hamer’s America,” and visit Fannie Lou Hamer's America, the official website of the award-winning film and The Fannie Lou Hamer Educational Resource Center.

Up next: "Butterfly in the Sky" February 11th at the Two Mississippi Museums

"Butterfly in the Sky" tells the story of the beloved PBS children's series "Reading Rainbow," its iconic host LeVar Burton, and the challenges its creators faced in cultivating a love of reading through television.

Sunday Screenings are always free and open to the public.

Headlines

Celebrating Mississippi's Literary Heritage: HOMEGROWN: A WRITERS’ EXCHANGE

Two of the largest library systems in Mississippi, the Hancock County Library System and the Harrison County Library System, which together serve much of the Mississippi Gulf Coast region, have joined forces to present a day-long conference focused on writers, aspiring writers and authors. Entitled HOMEGROWN: A WRITERS’ EXCHANGE, the event takes place this Saturday, Jan. 27, at the Hancock Performing Arts Center in Kiln, with grant support from the Mississippi Humanities Council.

This will be the second HOMEGROWN conference after premiering in November 2019 and then put on hold during COVID19. The 2024 schedule includes multiple appearances by accomplished writers, information for aspiring writers about getting published and “how to’s” on becoming a writer.

“The state of Mississippi is rich in its cultural and literary history,” says John Brdecka, executive director of the Hancock County Library System. “Our state’s Southern heritage boasts many significant authors/writers who have enriched America’s stature as one of the leading regions in the world where writers emerge and thrive.” It is this heritage the conference was created to showcase, while inspiring new generations of writers and readers.

Luciérnagas Wraps Up

Our fall/winter 2023 Luciérnagas programs are complete! Many thanks to our partners at the M.R. Dye Public Library in Horn Lake, Starkville Public Library, and Pearl Public library for hosting these community-building programs. These programs were generously sponsored by the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi!

Pearl Public Library

Starkville Public Library

M.R. Dye Public Library in Horn Lake

MHC PRISON EDUCATION UPDATE

This month college students are returning to classes all over the state, including at nine Mississippi prisons.

With support from the Mississippi Humanities Council, six community colleges and Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU) are offering for-credit courses and providing academic support for incarcerated men and women.

In 2021 MHC received a grant from the Mellon Foundation to support three colleges in three prisons. Both the number of schools teaching in prisons and individual programs are growing. This semester, Hinds Community College will be offering classes to men as well as women at Central Mississippi Correctional Facility. Both Hinds and Mississippi Delta Community College, which teaches at Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman, have prison education students who are members of Phi Theta Kappa, the international community college honors society.

Other programs include Northeast Mississippi Community College at Alcorn County Correctional Facility and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College at George and Stone County Correctional Facilities. MVSU has programs at Bolivar County and Delta Correctional Facilities.

Additionally, Meridian Community College and Southwest Mississippi Community College are teaching at the two private prisons in the state, Wilkinson County and East Mississippi Correctional Facilities.

Hinds Community College Students at Central Mississippi Correctional Facility

Art & Culture in the Movement Roundtable Discussion

Join us for the livestream of the first event of the SNCC and Grassroots Organizing discussion series, taking place at North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina.

Date & Time: Feb 2nd 6:00 PM

Free Registration

Visit the SNCC Legacy Project website for details and to learn more about this event and the series: https://sncclegacyproject.org/sncc-grassroots-organizing/