Last night we received the sad news of the passing of Dr. Cora Norman, the founding executive director of the Mississippi Humanities Council, at the age of 94. Though small in stature, Cora was a giant in the cultural development of our state. In 1972, the creators of the Mississippi Committee for the Humanities hired Dr. Norman to lead and shape this newly founded entity. Not long after federally mandated integration, Dr. Norman worked to create an organization that reflected and served the full diversity of our state.
While race remained a taboo subject in many parts of the state, Cora, working with a committed board and group of diverse humanities scholars, ensured that the MCH addressed this issue head-on, using the tools of the humanities to help understand how our difficult past underlay the contemporary challenges Mississippi faced. When other cultural organizations struggled with racial representation and working with Mississippi’s African American institutions, the MCH, under Cora’s leadership, never did.
When I became only the third executive director in the history of the MCH (now MHC) in 2013, I inherited this legacy. Over the course of my tenure, I have been inspired by Cora’s example, especially as I have seen other cultural organizations continue to struggle with issues of race. Often when I think about whether we should take on a controversial or challenging project, I think to myself, “what would Cora do?”
Cora was bold and never shied away from such projects, even if they were contrary to the political status quo. Cora was not afraid of those in power. Once, I was cleaning out an old filing cabinet, and found a letter Cora had written to the then Mississippi governor, who had convened a meeting of the leaders of the state’s cultural organizations. The bulk of the letter thanked the governor and stressed the importance of celebrating and strengthening our state’s cultural life. But in a p.s., Cora added “shame on you for disbanding the commission for women’s rights.” Cora was not afraid to speak truth to power.
Not long after I started at the MHC, Cora visited Jackson and invited me to a luncheon with a large group of longtime supporters of the Council. She wanted to introduce me to some of the people who had played a crucial role in the council’s first few decades. It was a pleasant luncheon, until Cora asked me to address the group about my vision for the council. Scrambling and unprepared, I did my best to talk about the history of the council and how my leadership would build on the great achievements of Cora and her successor, Dr. Barbara Carpenter. I realized from that luncheon that Cora and these cultural and educational leaders REALLY cared about the council. They helped build it into the force for progress that it was during its first 40 years. I learned this legacy was precious, and needed to be treated as such.
And so, ever since, hardly a week goes by when I don’t reflect on Cora’s legacy and impact. Twenty-six years after she retired, the Mississippi Humanities Council continues to follow the path that Cora blazed. I am still inspired by her vision of what the council could be and how it must serve the people of Mississippi. Although she has now passed, her life and memory will continue to bless our state.
Dr. Stuart Rockoff
Executive Director
Mississippi Humanities Council