This presentation will give the listener a glimpse of the Mande Culture of West Africa. In the tradition of the Mande, the history and culture is orally preserved in the minds and through the music of the Djeli (oral librarian/mandenka hereditary professional musicians). The establishment of the Mali Empire can be recalled and retold in Read More >

The Mississippi River Basin model is located in Jackson, MS is a scale replica of the Mississippi River Basin. The Site, which sprawls over 200 acres, was built by local Mississippians and World War II German prisoners-of-war who were housed in Camp Clinton nearby. The model was an imperative scientific experiment that , in the Read More >

The speaker will discuss how the famous Mississippi salad dressing evolved out of the Greek restaurant community in Jackson and flourished throughout the state. Malcolm White is a restaurateur, promoter, food enthusiast, author of numerous articles about food in Mississippi and creator of award-winning recipes in the Southern genre. He is the director of the Read More >

GRACE Mississippi is hosting an open forum, free to the public, where three Mississippi authors/writes will read from their current literary work. Each author will speak for 30-45 minutes to the audience. Following, the projector direct will facilitate an open discussion whereby the audience is free to ask questions to authors about the subject matters Read More >

Dr. Willis teaches educators how to integrate blues education into their lesson plans for social studies, geography and history. She gives them background information, current events, historical landmarks that are significant to blues music and blues artists. She shows photos, posters and records from her private collection and also gives first-hand information from her personal Read More >

The black freedom struggle of the post-World War II era unleashed many challenges and changes on Mississippi. No area of the state’s society, politics, and culture went untouched by this great social movement. That included the world of sports at Mississippi’s all-white universities. During the 1950s and early 1960s, institutions of higher education, state political Read More >

The presenter provides an overview of the storytelling Renaissance in America with emphasis upon the oral tradition in Mississippi. The literary tradition of Mississippi owes much to the rich storytelling legacy that riddles the tales of our families and our communities as reflected in the works of many of our best authors: Welty, Wright, Faulkner, Read More >

Whole School Initiative presents:"The Magic to Magic: A Tool for Arts and Humanities Integration," on June 13-16,2017 at MS Gulf Coast Community College Hospitality and Resort Center, Gulfport. This annual event provides the opportunity for teachers, artists, and administrators to learn and share techniques and practices for incorporating the arts across the curriculum. The Institute Read More >

This presentation will explore the crucial Battle of Brice’s Crossroads during the Civil War and the role of the controversial Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Edwina H. Carpenter serves as director of the Brice's Crossroads National Battlefield and Interpretive Center in Baldwyn, MS. Through research and artifact conservation, exhibit design, tours and events, she has Read More >

This presentation lays out the facts pertinent to what happened during the four occupations of the city by Federal forces during the Civil War. Grady Howell has worked for the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and has written extensively about Mississippi's Civil War history.

Family history research begins before a researcher arrives at the State Archives, courthouse or other records repository. A researcher should know the name of the relative, where they may have lived and when they lived. Frequently, this information can be obtained from older relatives or family papers. Approximately 70 percent of the researchers using the Read More >

Award-winning journalist Alysia Burton Steele’s Delta Jewels: In Search of My Grandmother’s Wisdom is a visual and lyrical tribute to African American church mothers from the Mississippi Delta. This groundbreaking collection of oral histories and photographs tells nationally and internationally significant stories rooted in the Mississippi Delta, a distinctive region called “The Cradle of American Read More >