On May 20, the Museum of the Mississippi Delta will host Dr. Brinda Willis of the MHC Speakers Bureau to present her free and open to the public program “Why We Call It Soul Food.” The program will take place in conjunction with the Smithsonian traveling exhibition Crossroads: Change in Rural America, on display in Greenwood through June 26.
“Why We Call It Soul Food” tells the story of why southerners, especially African American southerners, call the foods we eat “soul food.” Dr. Brinda 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.
The Speakers Bureau program will take place at the Viking Cooking School in Greenwood. During the program, Viking Cooking School chefs will prepare classic soul food staples like fried chicken, turnip greens, and cornbread. Guests will learn how to prepare these dishes as well as taste them as Dr. Willis guides the audience through the emotional and physical aspects of soul food as it relates to our culture and history and the bonds attached to the growing, nurturing, and preparing of these foods.
Crossroads: Change in Rural America offers small towns a chance to look at their own paths to highlight the changes that affected their fortunes over the past century. The exhibition will prompt discussions about what happened when America’s rural population became a minority of the country’s population and the ripple effects that occurred.
The exhibit will be on display at the Museum of the Mississippi Delta through June 26 and is open to the public Tuesdays-Saturdays 10am-3pm. Crossroads is free to visit.
Upcoming Crossroads events in Greenwood:
June 5, 10am: Trials of the Earth community book discussion
June 12, 10am: “Rural Roots: What Did I Learn?” presentation, Rev. Herron Wilson and Gene Dattel
June 17, 6pm: A Place Like Mississippi reading and signing, Ralph Eubanks
June 24, 6pm: Trials of the Earth reading and signing, Kerry Hamilton
Upcoming “Crossroads Children” events:
My Growing Delta workshop (rising 3rd-6th grades)
May 25, 8:45am
May 26, 12:45pm
My Growing Delta workshop (rising 7th grade)
June 10, 8:45am
June 11, 12:45pm
My Musical Delta workshop (rising 5K-rising 2nd grades)
June 15, 10:30am
June 22, 10:30am
