Mississippi Humanities Council

  • Interpreting Our History & Culture
  • Fostering Civil Conversations
  • Enriching Communities

Prison Education

The humanities have a unique responsibility to engage with all segments of society, offering intellectual tools for broad social understanding and critical integration into society. The Mississippi Humanities Council firmly believes that reach encompasses our imprisoned population.

With support from the Mellon Foundation and in partnership with Mississippi junior and senior colleges, the Mississippi Higher Education in Prison Program offers for-credit humanities courses at no cost to students who are incarcerated. The Council works with the Mississippi Community College Board (MCCB) and Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning (IHL) to sponsor courses that both fulfill basic degree requirements and help students recognize and cultivate the humanity of themselves and others. Currently, four schools are teaching at five locations: Hinds Community College at Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, Northeast Mississippi Community College at Alcorn County Correctional Facility, Mississippi Delta Community College at Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman, and Mississippi Valley State University at Bolivar County Correctional Facility and the Delta Community Work Center/Technical Violation Center/Restitution Center.

Realizing the far-reaching benefits of these courses, the MHC convened state leadership that could meaningfully impact this work. Joining with Woodward Hines Education Foundation, MCCB, and IHL, and with funding from the Laughing Gull Foundation, MHC is playing a vital role in the creation of the Mississippi Consortium for Higher Education in Prison (MCHEP). With representatives from community colleges, universities, and reentry organizations, MCHEP is creating partnerships, supporting students, and providing data and evaluations to expand and promote quality postsecondary education opportunities for students in prison.

MHC offers other opportunities for incarcerated Mississippians to engage in the humanities. A relatively new initiative involves area scholars leading book club discussions of both fiction and nonfiction. Additional efforts include prison book drives and hosting Family Reading Programs for incarcerated parents and their young children.

For more information or to donate to this important work, contact Carla Falkner, project coordinator for the MHC Prison Education program.