The Mississippi Humanities Council is pleased to announce more than $113,000 in grants to 16 Mississippi organizations in support of public humanities programs. The humanities programs funded in this major round include an oral history project about Ida B. Wells’ life in Marshall County, a documentary film about a landmark civil rights case in Shaw and an exhibit celebrating the life of James Hill, a Reconstruction Era African American legislator and Mississippi Secretary of State, among other important projects.
Dr. Stuart Rockoff, executive director of the Mississippi Humanities Council, said, “We are pleased to support such a diverse array of programs in communities throughout our state. Each of the funded projects offers opportunities for Mississippians to consider different perspectives, share ideas, and understand one another better.”
Humanities grants are awarded to Mississippi nonprofit organizations in support of programs that foster the public’s understanding of our rich history and culture. Major grants are offered twice each year. Deadlines are May 1 and September 15. Please visit http://mshumanities.org/grants/, or contact Carol Andersen, carol@mhc.state.ms.us, for additional information.
The organizations and projects that were awarded grants, listed by community, include:
Biloxi:
Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art—$3,000.00
The History of Mississippi’s Food Culture: Lecture and Demonstration Series
Multi-disciplinary program series examining Mississippi’s food culture, with a particular emphasis on the history of foraging, cooking with wild edibles and their place in Mississippi food history and culture.
Columbus:
Mississippi University for Women—$3,000.00
Prototyping the Smith Collection and Deep South Digital Humanities
Public presentation interpreting the Mississippi University for Women Fant Memorial Library’s “Smith Papers” —a collection of more than 6,000 letters exchanged by Pittsboro, MS, family members between 1909 and 1975, chronicling daily rural life in the 20th century.
Lowndes Community Foundation—$6,200.00
Capturing Columbus: A Multimedia Workshop for Columbus Youth
Public history project focused on area high school students with a multimedia approach. Youths will be invited to use photography, oral history, writing, exhibition development and archiving to capture their interpretations of the Columbus “story.”
Grenada:
Activists With a Purpose Plus—$10,000.00
Summer 1966
Documentary film project about the Grenada (MS) Freedom Movement of 1966.
Holly Springs:
Ida B. Wells Museum—$6,500.00
Oral History: Life and Times of Ida B. Wells in Holly Springs, Marshall County, MS
Oral history project to capture memories of older Marshall County citizens with family connections to Ida B. Wells, Mississippi journalist, educator, and early leader in the civil rights movement.
Jackson:
Mississippi Department of Archives and History—$10,000.00
Great Migration Initiative
Mississippi exhibit and public programming to accompany the Smithsonian Institution’s The Negro Motorist Green Book exhibit at the Museum of Mississippi History.
Jackson State University—$4,500.00
Jim Hill Standing Tall: An Exhibition of the Life of James “Jim” Hill
Collaboration with Jim Hill High School to create a permanent exhibit celebrating the life of James Hill, a Reconstruction Era African American legislator and Mississippi Secretary of State, for whom the school is named.
New Hope Baptist Church—$6,725.00
No Vote—No Voice: Your Choice
Annual Black History Month program featuring historical perspectives on the African American experience in Mississippi, with a goal of highlighting significant and diverse contributions of African Americans to the cultural life of the state and nation. The 2022 theme will pay tribute to African Americans’ ongoing effort to achieve and maintain fair access to voting.
Community Health Center Association of Mississippi—$6,500.00
Knots of the Safety Net: Oral Histories of the Health Center Movement in Mississippi
Oral history project to collect personal accounts from Mississippians involved in the launch of the community health center movement in the 1960s and 1970s in this state.
The Lighthouse | Black Girl Projects—$6,500.00
Resistance Stories
Public events examining female resistance stories in the style of Unita Blackwell, through oral history listening sessions, art exhibits exploring the theme of resistance, and humanities scholar-led dialogues.
Jackson State University—$5,750.00
Liberty House and Craft Cooperatives
Virtual photo exhibit and conversation with Dr. Doris Derby on the history of Liberty Houses and craft cooperatives, which marketed handcrafts produced by African Americans as a project of the Poor Peoples Campaign to generate income.
Natchez:
Copiah-Lincoln Community College—$10,000.00
Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration (2022): A Tapestry of American Life
Annual event exploring southern history and culture through film and books.
Ocean Springs:
Mississippi Rising Coalition—$7,500.00
Dialogue on Race in Mississippi
Four six-week community dialogues on race, one in each Mississippi Gulf Coast county and a fourth in Forrest County. The goal of the series is increased understanding of what racism is and how it operates inside institutions and systems, using studies in history, juris prudence, philosophy, ethics, and the social sciences.
Oxford:
University of Mississippi—$7,128.00
The Twenty-Eighth Oxford Conference for the Book
Annual three-day event celebrating books, reading, and writing. The 2022 conference will explore a range of topics, from a reflective look at Mississippi history and culture by Ralph Eubanks, author of A Place Like Mississippi: A Journey through a Real and Imagined Literary Landscape, to explorations on the human condition through poetry.
Ruleville:
From the Heart Productions—$10,000.00
“Fannie Lou Hamer’s America” Film
Documentary film on the life and work of Mississippi Civil Rights Hero, Fannie Lou Hamer, to be broadcast on PBS in February 2022.
Shaw:
Community Foundation for Mississippi—$10,000.00
“Hawkins v. Town of Shaw” Film Project
Documentary film screening and panel discussion about the landmark Civil Rights court case, Hawkins v. Town of Shaw, over equal distribution of municipal services and infrastructure.