MHC featured nationally for “A More Perfect Union” Exhibit
January 30, 2023
The Mississippi Humanities Council along with several other state councils were featured in an article published by the Federation of State Humanities Councils for their work on the nationwide initiative “A More Perfect Union.” Read a snippet of the article featuring MHC below:
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(JAN 26, 2023) In September 2021, the National Endowment for Humanities (NEH) awarded $2.8 million in funding to state and jurisdictional humanities councils to support civic education, American history programs, and opportunities to explore democracy nationwide through its “A More Perfect Union” (AMPU) Initiative. Since then, the 56 councils have designed and delivered humanities projects that inspire Americans to reflect on the meaning of citizenship and build skills to participate in a just and meaningful civic life. To help Americans commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 2026, “A More Perfect Union” programs support the study of governance and creating a “more just, inclusive, and sustainable society” throughout American history. NEH’s “A More Perfect Union” Initiative illustrates the essential role the humanities play in democracy, bolsters civic participation, and deepens public understanding of the core principles of the United States of America.
Each of the humanities councils and interim partners received $50,000 to design scholar-led programs that encourage engagement, collective reflection, and community discussion of the rights and responsibilities of active citizenship. In this two-part blog series, we will explore the curation, collaborations, and community outcomes of five different “A More Perfect Union” programs across the nation.
************ source: https://www.statehumanities.org/
Throughout the state of Mississippi, communities gathered together to discuss the American value of freedom during Mississippi Humanities Councils’ “Freedom Tour.” A three-part Ideas on Tap discussion series, this public program explored questions like what does freedom mean to you? and who is free in America?, while uplifting the ways in which freedom is “unique to all of us.” Traveling to three prominent cities, Natchez, Jackson, and Columbus, the Freedom Tour invited Mississippians of all backgrounds to engage in meaningful public discussion on the nuances of freedom through various lenses of identity and socio-economic location. Made up of local historians, civil rights organizers and activists, members of the NAACP, immigrants, lawyers, and scholars, the Freedom Tour featured panelists of diverse backgrounds and experiences to demonstrate the differences in understanding of freedom and provide historical and political context for the topic.
“We made sure to have panelists from different sexual orientations, political, religious, gender, and racial backgrounds that didn’t all share the same understanding of freedom,” said John Spann, Program & Outreach Officer at Mississippi Humanities Council and coordinator of the Tour. “Due to the diverse panel makeup at every stop on the Freedom Tour, civic discourse among our audiences was provoked and uplifted. The program encouraged people to get out of their silos and share with others that might not agree with them.”
Kicking off amidst the height of political polarization among lawmakers and jurists in Washington, D.C., in June 2022, the program garnered a lot of publicity. “People were vulnerable and emotions were high, but our audience members decided to listen and learn from the shared points of view,” said Spann. “This was evident when each program ended. Instead of our guests leaving immediately, most of the audience stayed and continued to converse and share with people who disagreed with them. This was very powerful to see at all three stops along the tour.”
In addition to the panel discussions, the council also created a traveling exhibition that highlights the lives and legacies of 12 Mississippians who challenged the state and nation to become “a more perfect union.” The “More Perfect Union: Mississippi Founders” exhibit features Ida B. Wells-Barnett, John Roy Lynch, Thomas W. Stringer, Fannie Lou Hamer, Annie Devine, Lawrence Guyot, Aaron Henry, Unita Blackwell, Clarie Collins Harvey, Amzie Moore, Medgar Evers, and Vernon Dahmer. “These individuals put their lives on the line, and some paid the ultimate sacrifice in striving for a true democracy in America,” says Spann. “We dare to say that these individuals are the founders of Mississippi, the founders of a democracy that dares to say that all men are created equal and uplifts the ideals of the American constitution.” Accompanied by twelve visual interstitials such as Congressman Bennie G. Thompson, Senator Roger Wicker, and Reena Evers-Everette, the exhibit shows how these 12 founders should be seen and celebrated beyond Black History Month, as figures of American history.
“These individuals were patriots of America and should be revered in the same light as Patrick Henry and Alexander Hamilton,” said Spann. Carefully curated by a committee of six college professors from various Mississippi institutions, the “Mississippi Founders” exhibit honors the events and individuals that shaped democracy during the Civil Rights Movement, a major time where ideas of democracy, “citizenship,” and civic duty were in full focus in the state. “We knew that a project that is heavily rooted in the Civil Rights Movement could get mislabeled for Black History Month material and only that. So, we decided to frame our potential honorees as founders of a true democracy in Mississippi,” said Spann. Touring colleges, libraries, and museums throughout the state, the “Mississippi Founders” exhibit has been both deeply impactful and well received overall.
*********** Read the entire article online: Part I: Engaging History and Imagining Democracy for “A More Perfect Union” – Federation of State Humanities Councils ***********