Fences don’t deter gardeners who have for generations found ways over, around and under barriers (both real and figurative) to share plants, tips and recipes — really, bits of ourselves and our cultures, without regard to another gardener’s stripes or background. Since a gardener can’t give or get plants without touching another person, our garden […]

After the Civil War, African Americans in the South, newly freed, expressed a tangible optimism that led to the reuniting of families, the development of social institutions like the black church, the rise of cultural expressions like the Blues and jazz, the establishment of black-owned businesses and other economic endeavors, and the wielding of significant […]

Celebrity Reader:  Muddy’s grand-nephew, Keith Johnson A picture book celebration of the indomitable Muddy Waters, a blues musician whose fierce and electric sound laid the groundwork for what would become rock and roll. Michael Mahin (Author), Evan Turk (Illustrator) 

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 […]

In colorful costume,storytellers Rebecca Jernigan and Wendy Garrison retell the tale of legendary bluesman Robert Johnson. With music, drama and sign language, they recount his fateful encounter with the Prince of Darkness at the crossroads in the Delta. In educational venues they stress that the audience is integral to any live performance. They discuss the […]

In the fall of 1965, Jesse Morris, Doris Derby and other members of the Poor Peoples Campaign formed the Liberty House. Over the years, they trained hundreds of poor African Americans in different communities across Mississippi in crafts that were collected and sold to Liberty Houses across the nation. Each Liberty House was a store […]

Celebrity Reader:  Textile Artist Yolande van Heerden For generations, the women of Gee’s Bend, Alabama have made quilts, many of which now hang in museums as modern masterpieces.  This lyrical narrative weaves together the familial, cultural, spiritual and historical strands of life in this community.   Patricia McKissack (Author), Cozbi A. Cabera (Illustrator) 

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 […]

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 […]