Vicksburg, MS – The Dr. Jane Ellen McAllister House Foundation will host a public symposium titled “Shaping the Cultural Environment…A Window on the World,” October 25-25 honoring the life and legacy of educator Dr. Jane Ellen McAllister (1899-1996). The symposium will be held at the Hinds Community College in Vicksburg and celebrates McAllister’s commitment to “the life of the mind” and excellence within and beyond the college classroom.
The two-day event, which is supported with a grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council, will offer an informative and insightful overview of McAllister’s life and work in higher education through keynote addresses and panel discussions. Symposium sessions will examine the cultural impact of her scholarly contributions, emphasizing her role in advancing the intellectual discourse on Black education and the broader implications of her work within academic and cultural spheres. Presenters will explore how Dr. McAllister’s intellectual legacy continues to shape contemporary educational practices and philosophies, highlighting strategies for pre- serving and advancing her vision of academic excellence and social justice. The impact of her pioneering work continues today in “challenging minds and changing lives.”
Among the featured presenters will be Dr. Ralph Eubanks of the University of Mississippi, author of A Place Like Mississippi (2021), Dr. Maryemma Graham of the University of Kansas, author of The House Where My Soul Lives: The Life of Margaret Walker Alexander (2022), and Dr. Jarvis Givens of Harvard University, author of Fugitive Pedagogy: Carter G. Woodson and the Art of Black Teaching (2021) and School Clothes: A Collective Mem- oir of Black Student Witness (2023) and co-founder of The Black Teacher Archive at Harvard University.
A highlight of the symposium will be a screening of a documentary film about Dr. McAllister by David Rae Morris entitled “My Mind To Me is A Kingdom.” The Screening will take place at the Strand Theatre, 717 Clay Street, Vicksburg, Thursday, Oct. 24, at 6:30 p.m.
For inquiries about the Dr. Jane McAllister Symposium, please call 855-933-5529 ext. 2.
