Happy 4th of The Lie, Merge Special Issue, Prince Masterclass, Jubilee Book Club, and Upcoming Events

Hey Y’all,

I don’t know how y’all will spend The Fourth of The Lie. But, since I don’t regularly celebrate birthdays or holidays, I will spend it as I always do—working/writing and taking some time to read Frederick Douglass’ “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?”, which y’all can read here. Y’all can also listen to a recording of poet and editor Bob McNeil reading a section of the essay in the voice of Douglass here and listen to iconic actor James Earl Jones read it here. I will also listen to Prince’s studio version of “America (here)” and watch his highly electrifying live performance of it (here) to remind me that there is no American culture without African-American culture and that true patriots love the nation enough to expose the gap between its ideal and its reality. Additionally, here is a link to article that discusses poet and activist Paul Laurence Dunbar’s two most noted essays, “The Race Question Discussed,” which responds to the violence clash on November 10, 1989, in Wilmington, NC, when a white mob rioted against a community of black skilled professionals and entrepreneurs, and “The Fourth of July and Race Outrages,” in which Dunbar remembers and responds to Frederick Douglass’ seminal essay, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”, by affirming that new forces have continued to mount against the quest to provide freedom, equality, and equity to African Americans. To read Dunbar’s essay, “The Race Question Discussed,” go here. And, here is a link to McNeil’s poem, “Frederick Douglass and the Talkin’ Drum.” Finally, before some of y’all email to call me race-baiter, hater, or unpatriotic, just know that I have a DD214 with Honorable Discharge that isn’t worth the paper on which it’s written. Moreover, ask yourself if your goal is to be sovereign or to be employed. Now, back to y’all’s regularly scheduled programming of barbecuing, line dancing, and waiting on the oppressor to love you.

C Liegh McInnis aka Resistor of the Big Boss Mane

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Hey Y’all Again,

I’m honored and overjoyed to have two poems, “Free-the-Land Man [for Chokwe Lumumba] (here)” and “Yes He Did [for Obama] (here),” and an essay, “My Pop’s Retirement [for Work Well Done] (here),” in Merge Literary Magazine’s special issue “Celebrating Black Men: 2025 Special Edition,” Summer 2025. Kudos to the editors, Mari Rice and Malkia M’Buzi Moore, for compiling so many well-crafted writers for this issue, including Opal Moore, Alice Lovelace, RaShell Smith-Spears, Jacquese Armstrong, Tamara J. Madison, Tony Medina, Charlie R. Braxton, and many more. To see the cover, go here, to read the poetry, go here, to read the short stories and essays, go here, and to read the writer bios, go here.

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Hey Y’all One Mo’ Time,

After reading Moss Point, Mississippi, native Dr. Eddie Glaude’s latest commentary, “A Moral Moment (here),” he is right that we, as a nation, must choose this day whom we will serve and what we will be. Indeed, our reaction to President Agent Orange’s Big Barbaric Bill will determine if this country is the collection of feet washers in the image of the Christ that folks claim to follow or if we are a collection of neo-Confederates who use Christianity as a cloak for white supremacy and petrified Peters who use Christianity as a cover for our cowardice.

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The Mississippi Writers Guild (MWG) will meet tomorrow for a reading session, where members can read a short (no more than five minutes) sample of their work. It can be a poem, fiction, non-fiction, a play, or even a song. For more information, see the calendar of events below.

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In celebration of Black Music Month, Jackson State University’s MADDRAMA Performance Troupe, under the direction of Dr. Mark Henderson, presented “Poetic Soul,” which honors legendary artists who paved the way and continue to inspire today’s music and can be viewed here.

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Poet, short story writer, and Prince Scholar C Liegh McInnis will be teaching a Masterclass on Prince from July 14 – July 18, 2025, at the historic 100 Men Hall in Bay St. Louis, MS, (part of the original chit’lin’ circuit) which will include four days of three-hour classes dedicated to the study of Prince’s lyrics, music, movies, and fashion within the context of American popular culture and African-American history and culture. Rather than focusing on one album or era, this class will provide an overview of Prince’s entire catalog to study and illuminate the wide and eclectic range of Prince’s genius, especially his work as an African-American artist, struggling against the confines of an industry that for so long has attempted to limit the output, imaging, and control of what an African-American artist can be. The Masterclass will culminate in a conversation between C Liegh and Mississippi native and award-winning fiction writer and memoirist Kiese Laymon on July 17, followed by vocal lessons for the students and a tribute concert by Berkley the Artist on July 18. Shoutout to Rachel Dangermond who has done the heavy lifting to make this Masterclass a reality. All events except the concert are free and open to the public, but y’all must register to attend. To read the full description of the Masterclass on Prince, go here. To read more about the conversation between Brother Laymon and me, go here. And, to read more about the tribute concert by Berkley the Artist with his band Unfazed, go here.

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The Jackson State University Margaret Walker Alexander Center has started the Jubilee Book Club, which will feature close readings of Margaret Walker Alexander’s essential novel, Jubilee, along with resources, notes from Dr. Alexander’s journals, guest contributions, and more. Rather than read one book over the course of a few weeks, or several over a few months, the JSU MWA Center will spend its time taking a deep dive into Jubilee. Think of it as a low-stakes, slow-paced literature class—Jubilee 101! Each month, The Center will send a newsletter that contains a close reading of a topic or theme in the novel. Y’all will also see further reading suggestions, links to interviews, readings, trivia and polls, materials from our digital archive, and more! Plus, The Center will add page numbers for excerpts from the novels that will be helpful to (re)read depending on the month’s topic. For more information, go here and contact mwa@jsums.edu.

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The Tougaloo College English Department has a call-for-papers for its Fall Conference, “Black Women and Girls in Intellectual Thought,” and seeks to gather graduate students, creatives, emerging and established scholars/activists/artists whose research, pedagogical practices, or creative processes illuminate Black women’s and girls’ intellectual contributions, agency, creativity, and authenticity. Critically examining how the pair manifests in these overlooked spaces is a way to disrupt narratives that silence their voices at the intersections of gender, race, and class. Recent publications, such as Nazera Wright’s Nineteenth Century Black Girlhood (2016), Aria Halliday’s The Black Girlhood Studies Collection (2019), and Saidiyah Haartman’s Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments: Intimate Histories of Riotous Black Girls, Troublesome Women, and Queer Radicals (2019), have established validity and urgency into furthering the analysis of Black woman/girlhood. The symposium’s emphasis on intellectual thought encourages an interdisciplinary discussion to allow for a more comprehensive understanding of the dynamism in Black women’s/girls’ lived and imagined experiences. For more information, see the calendar of events below.

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Dr. Carolyn J. Brown—writer, editor, independent scholar, and author of five biographies of Mississippi women, including the award-winning A Daring Life: A Biography of Eudora Welty and Song of My Life: A Biography of Margaret Walker, as well as her most recent work, To Dance, To Live: A Biography of Thalia Mara—has a great new essay, “The Extraordinary, Enigmatic Life of Mississippi Writer Neill James,” which can be read here.

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This week’s Torch Literary Arts feature is Telly Award-winning poet, librettist, and spoken word artist Ashlee Haze. To read more about Lewis and her work, go here.

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Rooted Magazine has a great new interview with seamstress, quilter, storyteller, archivist, and Mound Bayou, Mississippi, native Dr. J. Janice Coleman as part of its “Questionnaires” series that y’all can read here. To check out more of Rooted’s great content, go here. Rooted publishes weekly questionnaires with interesting Mississippi transplants, natives, and expats. Their lagniappe issues feature original prose, poetry, art, and photography from Mississippi writers and artists. Y’all can subscribe to the online magazine at rooted.substack.com.

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Award-winning poet and professor Dr. Angela Ball has two new brief but insightful commentaries: “The Boy’s Club (here),” which discusses the lifelong struggle of finding where one belongs and how poetry enabled her to do that, and “Surgery (here),” which discusses how we make peace with our bodies.

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Here is a link to poet, editor, and arts activist Bod McNeil reading his poem, “Praise for My Forebears,” from his book, Compositions on Compassion and Other Emotions, which can be purchased here.

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Award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay posted a brief discussion with noted actor Coleman Domingo in her “Off Book” section here, a thirty-minute interview with Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass regarding President Agent Orange’s attack on the city here, and an insightful article, “Fortunately, There Were Rebels,” which stresses that democracy only lives when courageous people are willing to stand against those who wish to create dictatorships and can be read here.

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The legendary Living Colour’s NPR Tiny Desk concert dropped last week, and they proved that they are still a bad-ass mutha-effin’ rock-n-roll band! Y’all can check them out here. I’ve loved this band since their 1988 debut album, Vivid. In the words of Chuck Berry, “Hail, hail rock-n-roll!”

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Two weeks ago, Ali Siddiq released his latest comedy special, Rugged (here), showing that he’s one of the few exceptional comics carrying the storytelling mantel of Bill Cosby.

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Lolwe is offering masterclasses on multiple creative writing genres and techniques. For more details, see the calendar of events below.

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Muntu Dance Theatre hosts dance workshops on various Saturdays throughout the month. For the next workshop, see the calendar of events below.

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Here is another great article, “A Moral Moment,” which asserts that “we find ourselves in a moment in the history of the nation, faced with a moral choice about who we take ourselves to be” in regards to our reaction to President Agent Orange’s Big Barbaric Bill by Moss Point, Mississippi, native and Princeton Professor Dr. Eddie Glaude, Jr., which is posted on his platform, A Native Son. Glaude’s latest book is Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own Democracy, which can be purchased here.

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Dr. Sarah L. Webb launched the global initiative Colorism Healing in 2013 to raise awareness and foster individual and collective healing through creative and critical work. Her myriad efforts to address colorism include designing college courses, hosting an international writing contest, publishing books, teaching workshops, and mentoring students across the world from Sacramento, California, to Sydney, Australia. Here is the link to Dr. Webb’s latest newsletter. Additionally, here is a link to Dr. Sarah L. Webb’s YouTube page, Colorism Healing, and here are the links to her website and Instagram page.

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Next week, Women for Progress of MS will hold their monthly Lunch & Learn, featuring Sonia Hope Cummings Carr—owner and stylist, Hair by Sonia Salon & Beauty Products—who will discuss “Empowering Styles: Defining Beauty and Function in Women’s Haircare for Personal and Professional Success.” Discover how the right hairstyle can enhance your personal confidence and professional image. Sister Carr will share her expertise on the intersection of beauty and functionality in women’s haircare, offering practical tips and inspiring insights to help you define your own unique style for success. This event is more than just a meal; it’s an opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals who are passionate about fostering progress within our community. By participating, you’ll not only gain valuable insights into career advancement but also contribute to the vital collaboration between local businesses and community members. Your involvement signifies a commitment to economic growth and the empowerment of women and families. For more information, see the calendar of events below.

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The Jackson Advocate, one of the oldest African-American newspapers, has more insightful articles, which can be read here. Also, JA has a weekly podcast that y’all can access here and here, and to receive notifications of future episodes contact janews@thejacksonadvocate.com.

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The latest issue of First of the Month.org, edited by the always-on-point Benj DeMott, can be read here. First of the Month publishes some of the most insightful essays, poetry, and fiction.

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Poet, short story writer, and Prince scholar C Liegh McInnis joined noted sociologist and African-American history professor Dr. Charity Clay aka Professor Fresh on African World Order, which is hosted by emcee and Jackson, Mississippi, community organizer, Skipp Coon aka Joecephus Martin, to discuss NBA players’ slander of Memphis and Sinners. Their discussion of the slander of Memphis involved a discussion of the anti-political black athlete and is at the beginning of their discussion, which can be seen here. Their discussion of Sinners included Brother Skipp citing various points in C Liegh’s analysis of film and them discussing Sinners, point by point and scene by scene to provide an artistic and sociopolitical analysis of the film, which y’all can watch here.

To learn more about emcee and community organizer Skipp, here is a link to a great interview with him on Black Liberation Media. Here is a link to Skipp’s song, “Color Complex,” and here is the link to “Women, Revolution, and Tennis Shoes,” both from his first album, Women, Revolution, and Tennis Shoes. His work with various community organizing agencies, such as Fahrenheit Creative Group and being an Ashe Leaders Fellow (here), shows that his artistry is a reflection of the real life he’s living. To learn more about Skipp and his work, go here and here, and to watch more great discussions on African World Order, go here.

Dr. Clay is an emcee and Former D1 basketball player who, after an injury, pivoted to teach financial literacy and the lingering effects of racial trauma and healing. She’s currently a Professor at Rhodes College, and y’all can learn more about her research and teaching here and here. And, here’s a great brief documentary about Doc Clay titled Who Is Professor Fresh?

Finally, to remind folks why we should see, discuss, and celebrate Sinners as much as possible, here is the link to C Liegh’ analysis of the film. And, to celebrate Coogler’s love letter to the blues as a primary carrier and protector of African-American culture, here is a link to Playing for Change’s cover of Robert Johnson’s “Crossroads,” featuring many of the Mississippi blues masters keeping the blues alive today with musicians and singers across the globe whose art has been greatly impacted by the blues.

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The principal founders of Thee 1877 Project, Brother Mark Dawson and Dr. Timothy Rush, Sr., joined KC 1400 Media to discuss their work as advocates for Jackson State University to ensure a proper, legal, and transparent search for a JSU’s next President. It was a wonderful conversation in which they stressed that sociopolitical advocacy is a primary part of being an alumnus, which can be viewed here. Then, later in the stream, I joined them to discuss the great news of Dr. Dawn Bishop McLin being reinstated to her position of full professorship at JSU after having been wrongfully terminated by the former JSU President. Joining Brother Dawson and Doc Rush, we were able to connect the dots of Doc McLin’s wrongful termination and the former JSU President’s resignation to years of purposeful mismanagement by IHL aka the Mississippi College Board, which y’all can watch here. Additionally, here and here are two articles that I wrote about JSU’s historical struggles against IHL.

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Here is a link to a great article celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Millsaps McMullan Young Writers Workshop that just ended. One of the cool things about this article is that it’s by “an O.G. alum of the workshop, Maeve Rigney, who attended the very first year in 2015 and each year after until she went to college (summer 2015 – summer 2018). This is her first published article.” Ms. Rigney and her article are the type of fruit for which all of us who curate and contribute to these types of workshops desire to produce by tilling the soil until the harvest is ripe. This is another example of why our artistic work is essential.

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Mississippi-based visual artist Justin Ransburg—who creates illustrations, comic books, mural paintings, and mixed media artworks—has posted his latest newsletter, which can be read here. Ransburg has created numerous public murals in Jackson and surrounding areas in Mississippi. His work is often filled with lively character designs that tell stories of their lives and usually are a reflection of specific personal interests or societal events reimagined in a new form. In 2016, he co-founded the Jackson Drawing Club as an effort to bring artists together to share techniques, improve their ideas, collaborate, and develop the mentality necessary to thrive as an artist. Currently, Ransburg teaches drawing and comics creation classes at 601 Studios while maintaining his artistic practice. Y’all can read and subscribe to his newsletter here, and for more information, y’all can view his website here.

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The latest edition of Bubba World Comix, created and curated by Mississippi native Andy Childress, is available. To read and view all of the new strips, go here.

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Narrative 4 is an organization of creatives that uses storytelling to build community and civic engagement. To read their month in review and their 2024 Annual Report, go here.

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Congrats to Jackson State University Baseball icon Earl Sanders, Jr., who was recently elected into the College Baseball Hall of Fame. After a stellar career at JSU, Sanders was taken in the first round of the 1986 Major League Base Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. For more on Sanders’ election into the College Baseball HOF, go here and here. Sanders is now the head baseball coach at Tougaloo College, and here is the link to Coach Sanders’ interview on Wednesday with Rob Jay on Talking Sports Live. Additionally, in 2021, we posted a link to a brief documentary, Grand Slam Legacy—Earl Sanders, Jr., celebrating how Coach Sanders single-handedly built the Tougaloo Baseball Program. If you love baseball, stories about black ingenuity, stories about adults dedicating their lives to improving the lives of young folks, or stories about the beauty, power, and greatness of HBCUs, then here is a story that y’all will love about former JSU baseball, pro baseball player, and, now, coach of the Tougaloo College baseball team Earl Sanders. My Pops took me to see Sanders play when he was at JSU, and, to this day, he is one of the best ballplayers I have ever seen. Yet, this story shows that he is an even better human being. If you are a dude who thinks that you are too tough to cry, I dare you to watch this video.

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Prince scholar and host of Purple Knights Podcast, Chris Johnson has started a nine-part memoir podcast series, God is in the Groove. The series explores the transformative role Prince’s music has played throughout his life, especially as a person with a disability — weaving together personal storytelling with thoughtful conversations featuring family, close friends, Prince collaborators, scholars, and advocates. Each episode highlights a different stage of Chris’ journey through music, faith, resilience, and self-discovery. This week, he’s in conversation with the powerful vocalist Shelby J, who sang with Prince from 2006 to 2012, and y’all can watch that inspiring discussion here.

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Willow Books is pleased to announce the debut of a new monthly journal, Continuum. Forged in the success of the Black Fire This Time anthology series on the Black Arts Movement, Continuum will cover every era of Black American writing, from the earliest works from centuries prior to the present. Continuum Volume 1 will feature classics from the late icon Nikki Giovanni and haiku by Lenard Moore. Additional works include original The Lion King cast member Mark Allan Davis’ “Somebody ‘Blew Up’ San Francisco State College” and poetry by Ishmael Reed. Contemporary works from the greatest current generation writers will round out every edition. For more information and to purchase a copy, go here. Additionally, Willow Books continues to publish new and upcoming authors, including Reginald Flood’s new poetry collection, Refugeed, which includes “lucid poems that liberate the voices of a little-known population—slaves who were ‘refugeed,’ smuggled away from advancing Union Armies during the Civil War to preserve slavery’s rule. Braced with historical documentation from WPA interviews, we delve across generations of American history’s whip-torn surface to explore the soul of what it means to be free. Flood has written a necessary and poignant remembrance.” For more information and to purchase a copy, go here.

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The Mississippi Museum of Art is thrilled to celebrate the public opening of the 2025 Mississippi Invitational: Call Home with a special public tour and curatorial talk led by this year’s guest curator TK Smith, Curator of the Arts of Africa and the African Diaspora at the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University. Smith’s talk will explore the concept of home as a source of creative inspiration. Drawing on themes from the exhibition, he will examine how artists engage with identity, memory, and place through their work. For more information, see the calendar of events below.

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Award-winning novelist Ellen Prewitt has published an outstanding essay, “Granddaughter of the Instigator,” which chronicles the history of her ancestor who led the Vicksburg Massacres during Reconstruction, especially the murder of Vicksburg’s first Black Sheriff, Peter Crosby, which y’all can read here. Additionally, Prewitt was asked to speak at the unveiling of the Historical Marker by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History to remember the life and legacy of Sheriff Peter Crosby. Although that event has passed, if you are ever in Vicksburg, you can view the marker, which is located at the Warren County Courthouse, 1009 Cherry Street, Vicksburg, MS.

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You are cordially invited to contribute an article or essay to the National Council for Black Studies Annual Report on the State of Affairs for Africana Communities in 2026 and beyond. This report will include short APA-style essays (between 2,000 and 2,500 words, or 8–10 double-spaced pages, including references) on new, emerging, and ongoing current issues and innovations of importance to Africana communities in the U.S. and anywhere in the global African world. NCBS’ mission is to create a space for our discipline to offer historical context, future projections, solutions, and culturally grounded analyses of current needs, concerns, innovations, and ideas of people of African ancestry anywhere in the world. The theme of this call for papers is Roots and Routes of Black Agency: Strategies for Collective Liberation, Memory, and Futurity. NCBS is inviting essays that explore how African/Black communities across the globe are rooting and cultivating themselves in ancestral knowledge, linked future, memory, and historical continuity while charting new routes (scientific, technological, political, spiritual, and educational) for development, advancement, and liberation. We particularly seek papers that demonstrate how the discipline of Black Studies contributes to understanding, sustaining, and advancing these roots and routes. For more information, see the calendar of events below.

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Before Elvis: The African-American Musicians Who Made the King is an interesting new book that studies the black musicians who influenced Elvis Presley. After Baz Luhrmann’s movie, Elvis, hit theaters, audiences and critics alike couldn’t help but question the black origins of Presley’s music and style, reigniting a debate that has been circling for decades. In Before Elvis: The African American Musicians Who Made the King​, author Preston Lauterbach answers these questions definitively, based on new research and extensive, previously unpublished interviews with the artists who blazed the way and the people who knew them. For more information and to purchase a copy, go here.

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Damon Young’s That’s How They Get You: An Unruly Anthology of Black American Humor is a collection of black humor from some of the most acclaimed writers and performers at work today. This groundbreaking anthology features the best, funniest, and blackest essays, short stories, letters, and rants. With words that roast, ignite, and burn while connecting to and coalescing around a singular thesis, That's How They Get You emphasizes how and why black American humor is uniquely transfixing. This is a mixture of not just observational anxieties and stream-of-consciousness lucidities but also acute political clarity about America. Edited and with an introduction by Young, the collection features new material from an all-star roster of contributors, including Hanif Abdurraqib, Mahogany L. Browne, Wyatt Cenac, Mississippi native Kiese Laymon, Deesha Philyaw, Roy Wood Jr., and Nicola Yoon. For more information and to purchase a copy, go here.

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Poet, short story writer, and Prince scholar C Liegh McInnis has a poem and two essays (“Eshu’s Post-Dated Poem,” “The Mythological People of Color Coalition,” and “‘This or That?’: Voting for Vice President Kamala Harris Despite Democratic Debacle and Cowardice”) published in a newly released anthology, Donald Trump’s Second Coming—Is Democracy Dead, Dying or Alive: An Anthology of North American Writers and African Writers, Vol 4., edited by Tendai Mwanaka. The collection features stories, poetry, essays, plays, fiction, mixed genres, songs, and visual art of writers from Africa and North America, discussing President Agent Orange’s impact on American democracy, global democracy, and the reaction and resistance to it. Other noted American writers included in the collection are Mississippi native, poet, playwright, editor, and cultural critic Charlie R. Braxton, who has two essays in the collection, and New York native, poet, editor, and arts activist Bob McNeal, who has four poems included. In total, the collection has seven essays, two short stories, ten artworks, and twenty-eight poems from writers and artists from Africa and North America. For more information or to purchase a copy, go here.

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This summer, Mississippi Museum of Art (MMA) will curate two dynamic events all summer long. First will be the 2025 Mississippi Invitational, which is a biennial exhibition that highlights artists living and working in our state. Guest Curator, TK Smith, chose this year’s artists. Exhibition participants will be eligible to apply for the Jane Crater Hiatt Artist Fellowship—a grant of up to $20,000 to support a single artist’s creative development. For a list of all the invited artists and the dates of their showing, see the calendar of events below. Next, MMA will present Capital Pictures, a limited engagement film series celebrating the art of great filmmaking in partnership with the Mississippi Film Society. This inaugural series kicks off this summer with the films of trailblazing director Oscar Micheaux, the first Black American to produce a feature-length film. Three of his early silent films will be paired with an improvised DJ set. Cash bar. The June film will be Body and Soul (1925), which is about an escaped prisoner who impersonates a Reverend in Paul Robeson’s motion picture debut. The screening will feature a live, improvised soundtrack by DJ Fluseph. The July film will be Within Our Gates (1920), which tells the story of Sylvia Landry, a young African-American woman goes North to raise money for a rural school in the Deep South. Her romance with a Black doctor eventually leads to revelations about her family’s past and her own mixed-race ancestry. And, the August film will be The Girl from Chicago (1932), in which a federal agent falls in love while on assignment in Mississippi. For more information about both events, see the calendar of events below.

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Obsidian received the news that its current National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grants were terminated. This decision jeopardizes the support of writers, artists, and editors, along with the publication and programmatic activities, of two issues in progress:

• Volume 50, Obsidian at 50: Looking Forward/Looking Back—Awakening & Activating the Archive

• Volume 51.2, VRY PRSNT BLK: The Black Artist as Moral Witness, edited by Duriel E. Harris and guest editor L. Renée

The staff of Obsidian knows they are not alone; many other literary and arts organizations are reeling from the news of lost funding. For Obsidian, the timing of the cut is especially alarming, as they are honoring their 50th anniversary as a peer-reviewed, award-winning publication that cultivates Black imagination and innovation, supporting Black, African, and African Diaspora creatives. Just before the announcement of our NEA grants being terminated, Obsidian participated in a first-of-its-kind study, Magnitude and Bond: A Field Study on Black Literary Arts Organizations (See below for the full announcement.). The findings show only 5% of all annual charitable giving in the US goes to arts and culture, and the percentage of that amount dedicated to literary arts is so low it’s negligible. And, before the termination of NEA grants, one of the largest percentage of common funding sources was from federal grants. So where are we now?

While often being underfunded, overworked, and under-resourced, the termination of two already awarded grants from the NEA, an institution that has for six decades played a vital role in supporting the literary arts, is distressing for Obsidian. But as Obsidian Editor Duriel E. Harris has often said, “We fully believe that through partnership and community engagement, we rise together in support of Black literature and arts toward the triumph of all people.” Now is the time for us to rise, together, as we all navigate losses in a variety of forms.

To Donate:

Make a tax-deductible donation to help Obsidian complete its work in progress.

Become a member to help protect Obsidian’s legacy of Black literary excellence and publishing independence.

To Be Heard:

Use your voice to advocate for sustained arts funding. Personalize your passion for the irreplaceable value of the arts through outreach to your elected officials. Our friends at the Americans for the Arts have generously created a series of templates:

• Send an EMAIL to your elected officials

• You can use this PHONE script when calling your Members of Congress

• Send a LETTER via the US Postal Service with a personalized note to your elected officials

To Spread the Word:

Get a subscription for yourself or a friend, or order one of Obsidian’s latest issues:

• 49.2, Outta Sight! Sonic Bodies in the Galaxy of Black Listening, edited by Duriel E. Harris and guest editor Tracie Morris

• 50.1, featuring new poetry, fiction/hybrid work, drama/performance, visual art, and the Furious Flower Poetry Prize folio, along with an introduction to Obsidian at 50: Awakening the Archive

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The Mississippi Writers Guild (MWG) has officially launched a new website and will now send all future newsletters, blog updates, and event announcements directly through its new platform at www.mississippiwritersguild.com. To continue receiving updates, please take a moment to visit the site and sign up as a subscriber or member. If you joined MWG anytime in 2025, please include that info when you sign up or email us at mississippiwritersguild@gmail.com. MWG make sure your membership is marked in the system so you can access all Members Only resources.

MWG is building something meaningful:

· A better-connected writing community

· Member-only workshops, submission tools, and publishing guides

· Blog and resource updates to keep you inspired and informed

If you’ve enjoyed being part of MWG, now’s the perfect time to make it official and become a member. Your voice belongs here — and your next chapter starts now. To join or subscribe, go here, and for additional questions contact Richelle Putnam at richelle1putnam@yahoo.com.

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Dr. John Zheng’s interview of poet, short story writer, and Prince scholar C Liegh McInnis has been published in African American Review (57.2), which is cited and archived online here by Project Muse. And, here is the link to purchase the issue. To subscribe to ARR, go here. To order a copy of this issue (57.2) by phone, contact (800) 548-1784 or jrnlcirc@press.jhu.edu. AAR has featured renowned writers and cultural critics, including Trudier Harris, Arnold Rampersad, Hortense Spillers, Amiri Baraka, Cyrus Cassells, Rita Dove, Charles Johnson, Cheryl Wall, Toni Morrison, and many more. The official publication of the Modern Language Association’s Division on Black American Literature and Culture, AAR fosters a vigorous conversation among writers and scholars in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.

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The Bob Moses Conference will be held in mid-October to celebrate and study the work of legendary Civil Rights activist Bob Moses who was one of the primary strategists for The Movement, especially for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Freedom Summer, Council of Federated Organizations (COFO), and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP). We will share program details and event registration in the coming weeks. For more information, see the calendar of events below.

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Here, here, and here are pictures and video from the 55th Gibbs-Green Commemoration to memorialize the 1970 attack on Jackson State University by the Jackson Police Department, the Mississippi Highway Patrol, and the Mississippi National Guard, which took the lives of Phillip Lafayette Gibbs, a twenty-one-year-old JSU student, and James Earl Green, a seventeen-year-old Jim Hill High School Student along with wounding eighteen others as law enforcement fired over four hundred rounds into Alexander Hall, a female Dorm. The photos include many of the speakers, including Mrs. Dale Gibbs—the wife of Phillip Lafayette Gibbs, Ms. Gloria Green McCray—the sister of James Earl Green, JSU Interim President Dr. Denise Jones Gregory, State Representative Zakiya Summers, James “Lap” Baker—JSU Class of 1970, Nadia Wright—Award-winning youth poet, C Liegh McInnis—poet, short story writer, and Prince scholar, and Dr. Robert Luckett—Director of the JSU Margaret Walker Alexander Center. Finally, props to Doc Luckett for accepting the baton from Dr. Jean “Jughead” Young and never wavering from his promise to keep this essential moment in Mississippi and American history ever-present so that all will know what happened, why it happened, and how Jackson State University and its community survived and thrived through the worst that Jim Crow and the neo-Confederates could muster. Additionally, BVC Films has an agreement with the Gibbs family to produce a six-part limited TV series, Blood on the Books, based on Phillip Lafayette Gibbs, which will also feature James Earl Green and others associated with the event. It’s great to know that BVC Films has been in talks with Doc Luckett through JSU Communications about getting story right, the possibility of filming on campus, and speaking with others who lived this event for even more research. For more about this, go here.

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Valley Voices, vol. 25, No. 1 (Spring 2025), “River and Land: The Mississippi Delta,” issue, edited by Dr. John Zheng—Chair of the Mississippi Valley State University English Department, is available, and it is a fantastic issue. The poetry contains contributions from Claude Wilkinson, Sterling D. Plumpp, Larry D. Thomas, George Drew, Philip C. Kolin, C. T. Salazar, Michelle McMillan-Holifield, and two new works celebrating the life and legacy of Dr. Jerry W. Ward by Charlie R. Braxton and C Liegh McInnis. There are also vivid essays on the land of Mississippi by Hermine Pinson and John Zheng, insightful criticism by John J. Han and Allison Wiltshire, beautiful photography by Claude Wilkinson and J. Guaner, and intriguing fiction by Jack Crocker and Dick Daniels. To purchase a copy of Abrasion & Erasing: Essays, Interviews, and Poems of Jerry W. Ward, Jr., send $10 to Valley Voices at MVSU 7242, 14000 Highway 82 West, Itta Bena, MS 38941 or valley_voices@yahoo.com.

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The group responsible for Jackson’s Black Business Directory (our version of the Green Book) is updating it and needs your help by identifying Black-owned businesses in and around MedgarEversville (aka Jackson, Mississippi). Please send the name, address, and owner of the Black-owned Businesses that you patronize to Asinia Lukata Chikuyu at afrikan_tbt@yahoo.com. This Black Business Listing is intended to promote the increased patronage of Black-owned businesses to increase the circulation of Black Dollars within the Black Community. By doing so, the Black Community will begin to take on some of the responsibilities for the socio-economic and cultural development of the community and its residents. Increasing the circulation of Black Dollars will enable Black businesses to grow and increase reinvestment in the Black Community. As such, they wanna know two thangs from y'all

1. what business categories should be in this directory?

2. what particular Black Business in Jackson do you wanna be sure is listed

They will compile the information into an updated Black Business Directory for the #HITTHEMINTHEPOCKET HARD and LONG-TERM initiative. Working together, we can make some good things happen for Jackson’s Black Community. Black Business growth and success will mean jobs, community investment, and more ops for our youth. Afrikan/Black Community Development Economics (#ABCDE) is somethang we must do. Communities around MedgarEversville are growing because those folks support their community. As Malcolm X stated, “Our people have to be made to see that any time you take your dollar out of your community and spend it in a community where you don’t live, the community where you live will get poorer and poorer, and the community where you spend your money will get richer and richer.”

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If y’all missed poet, short story writer, and Prince scholar C Liegh McInnis’ analysis of Ryan Coogler’s Sinners, y’all can read it here. Also, we’d like to share two more insightful discussions of Sinners that approach the film from different positions but are seeking the same end. Poet, literary theorist, librarian, arts activist, and Prince scholar Scott Woods’ essay, “Sinners Soars, But Act Like You Been Here Before (here),” asks that viewers, especially black viewers, engage the film with a more critical eye to understand what is and isn’t there to have a full appreciation of Coogler’s work and why black folks still need the blues. SIUE Professor and literary theorist Dr. Howard Rambsy’s brief essay, “Ryan Coogler, C Liegh McInnis, and Black Convergences (here),” asks viewers to understand Sinners as “cultural cataloging” in the most dense way to teach and celebrate black history and black genius within the limited timeframe a film allows. Finally, here is a link to “Sinners: A Reading and Resource List,” which provides a syllabus of materials to aid in the understanding and enjoyment of the film. Together, the two commentaries and the syllabus can aid in how we approach, discuss, share, and celebrate black art.

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Over the past three years, filmmaker Mark Brockway has been working on a new documentary, Where We Daily Tread, which tells the story of white supremacy, the Black Power Movement, and the May 1970 attack on Jackson State by Mississippi law enforcement. He has begun uploading very brief clips of interviews for the doc, and here is the link to give y’all a “taste” of what the doc will be. Two of the clips include insights from poet, short story writer, Prince scholar, and JSU graduate C Liegh McInnis.

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If you missed the Polished Solid #PopLife40 Prince Symposium, which celebrated 40 years of Prince’s Around the World in a Day, The Family’s self-titled album, and Sheila E.’s Romance 1600, you missed another great three days of Prince scholarship and community. Symposium curator and NYU Professor De Angela Duff has started uploading the videos of all the panels and roundtables, which y’all can watch here. These include the brilliant Prince scholar Edgar Kruize’s presentation, “Love Is the Color This Place Imparts,” which deconstructs how the album cover artwork of Around the World in a Day tells a cohesive story to reflect the message(s) of the songs, the first keynote, featuring The Family, the second keynote with saxophonist Eddie M, who is C Liegh’s favorite horn player to play with Prince, Maceo Parker notwithstanding, and more.

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The Spring 2025 edition of Ishmael Reed’s Konch Magazine has been published with its usual excellent poetry, fiction, and essays, including two tribute commentaries to poet and literary theorist Dr. Jerry W. Ward by poet and activist Julia Wright and poet, short story writer, and Prince scholar C Liegh McInnis, which y’all can read here.

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Abrasion & Erasing: Essays, Interviews, and Poems of Jerry W. Ward, Jr., edited by poet, scholar, and Mississippi Valley State University English Chair Dr. John Zheng, is available and beautiful—physically and literarily. Abrasion & Erasing is a collection of essays, interviews, and poems by Doc Ward published over the years in Valley Voices: A Literary Review and the Journal of Ethnic American Literature. Through this collection, Dr. Zheng has captured and illuminated the beauty, power, and significance of Doc Ward as one of the most important literary voices of Mississippi, the South, and America. We are extremely proud to share that poet, short story writer, and Prince scholar C Liegh McInnis’ interview with Doc Ward is included, along with interviews of Doc Ward by storyteller, visual artist, and arts activist Diane Williams and Dr. Tian Zhang—Professor of English at Central China Normal University. This collection is a testament and call to action to continue the work of Doc Ward as he served skillfully as a steward of black literature, leaving a brilliant blueprint for us to follow. As an artist, scholar, and Afro-Mississippian, I thank you for this work! To purchase a copy of Abrasion & Erasing: Essays, Interviews, and Poems of Jerry W. Ward, Jr., send $10 to Valley Voices at MVSU 7242, 14000 Highway 82 West, Itta Bena, MS 38941 or valley_voices@yahoo.com.

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President Agent Orange’s attempts to create a new American Oligarchy have impacted Mississippi again. “The Mississippi Humanities Council (MHC) received notice from the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) that its federal funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has been terminated effective immediately. MHC, along with its colleagues at other state councils and the Federation of State Humanities Councils (FSHC), are looking into a possible legal response. Meanwhile, we urgently need you to contact your elected leaders in Congress and show your support for the Council’s work in Mississippi. Remind them how important the Council’s work is in our state and urge them to stop DOGE from gutting the NEH and state humanities councils. The Mississippi Humanities Council serves as the state affiliate of the NEH, and if the termination of funding to state councils is not stopped, we will lose all of the federal funding that supports our work. Please contact your senators and members of congress to urge them to support the continued funding of NEH and state humanities councils. Remind them that in 2024, with just $1 million in federal funding, the Council presented 750 programs across 90 communities and supported 65 grants to various institutions, including colleges, historical societies, museums, and community organizations. These initiatives include traveling Smithsonian exhibits, our Speakers Bureau, the Mississippi Freedom Trail, youth reading programs, and transformative prison education courses and book clubs.” Here is a link to public talking points to support MHC, here is a link to a script for contacting elected officials, and here is a link to donate directly to MHC. In closing, I’ll leave y’all with my poem, “What Good Are Poems? (here)” which I hope makes it plain why art is important to every community.

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Here and here are links to a fantastic new funk documentary, We Want the Funk, which was just released on PBS this week. It has a host of funk legends and scholars interviewed, including noted Prince scholar and NYU Professor De Angela Duff, music archivist, DJ, and Loyola and Tulane Professor Melissa A. Weber aka DJ Soul Sister, and noted cultural critic and Duke University Professor Mark Anthony Neal. This is one of the best documentaries on Funk!

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Cultural critic and filmmaker Nelson George’s Finding the Funk is an excellent documentary despite George’s ongoing lame-ass attempt to minimize Prince from the history of funk. Luckily, the real musicians that he interviews don’t take the bait when asked about Prince and make it clear that Prince is as much of a funk musician as he is anything else. Yet, that being said, I’m clear that Finding the Funk is a great doc that y’all can watch here. Additionally, George has spent the last year or so uploading outtakes of interviews for his doc that can be seen here. There are so many highlights that I won’t do justice naming a few, but I gotta call y’all’s attention to some, namely writer and director Reggie Hudlin who manages to give a brief yet thorough history of Parliament/Funkadelic (here). Hudlin perfectly weaves history, sociopolitical context, and aesthetic theory to provide one of the best explanations of who Parliament/Funkadelic are and why they are essential. Additionally, writer, arranger, producer, and bass master Marcus Miller’s two-part interview (one and two) is a masterclass. And, writer, arranger, and producer Niles Rodgers’ three-part interview (one, two, and three) is more required viewing to understand the importance of bands and live music to black culture. Again, George, to his credit, interviewed a ton of masters for his doc, and y’all can watch many of those complete interviews and outtakes here.

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John Blake has a new article, “What Happened to the Funk: How America Lost Its Groove,” which can be read here.

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The 2025 National Black Book Festival will be in Houston this fall. They will be celebrating their 18th anniversary and are looking forward to 2025 being their best year yet! If you’re an author, publisher, or entrepreneur interested in acquiring a vendor table at 2025 NBBF, early bird registration is now open. Registrations are starting at an unprecedented rate, and they are already at 45% capacity. As a result, it’s best to place your table deposit and register as soon as possible. For more information, see the calendar of events below.

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Magnitude and Bond: A Field Study on Black Literary Arts Organizations is now LIVE! This first-of-its-kind field study focuses on Black literary arts service organizations that provide essential programming, services, and networks of support to the literary community. These organizations have modeled resilience in the face of concentric disparities often in the absence of institutional support and recognition. To produce this research, Cave Canem and Ithaka S+R collaborated closely with a working group, composed of directors from Getting Word: Black Literature for Black Liberation, as well as two literary experts in the field, to hone the research questions and instruments that would become this study. Click here to explore the Magnitude and Bond webpage, read the full study, flip through our executive summary e-zine, and learn more about upcoming programs.

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Poet, short story writer, and Prince scholar C Liegh McInnis appeared on long-time media veteran and Prince scholar Tonya Pendleton’s WURD radio show Reality Check to read his poem, “Black Man,” and discuss the continued significance of observing and celebrating Black History Month. To watch the recording, go here and then go to the 1:41:38 mark. Feel free to leave a like or comment so that Sister P knows that y’all were there. Also, if y’all would like to read “Black Man,” go here.

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On November 21, 2024, in New Orleans, poet, fiction writer, playwright, and editor Kalamu ya Salaam was joined by poet, short story writer, and Prince scholar C Liegh McInnis to discuss Salaam’s new novel, Walkin’ Blues, and their discussion was recently uploaded here.

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Callaloo: A Journal of African Diaspora Arts and Letters has released its special issue documenting and celebrating the Jackson State University Phillis Wheatley Poetry Festival. In 2023, the Jackson State University Margaret Walker Alexander Center curated the Phillis Wheatley Poetry Festival to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the original 1973 festival, which hosted most of the major black women writers of the day. In the same vein, the 2023 festival hosted many of the major black women writers of today. Callaloo: A Journal of African Diaspora Arts and Letters, one of the three major African-American literary journals, has published a special proceedings issue of the 2023 JSU MWA Phillis Wheatley Poetry Festival that includes scholarly essays, poetry, fiction, and artwork presented during the festival along with interviews, reflections, and photography from the festival. The Callaloo special proceedings issue documents this historic gathering of scholars and artists, including noted writers Jesmyn Ward, Alice Walker, Paula Giddings, Maryemma Graham, Imani Perry, Tiffany Caesar, Barbara Lewis, and a host of JSU professors and products—Tonea Stewart, Shanna L. Smith, Iely Mohamed, Roy Lewis, RaShell R. Smith-Spears, LaWanda Dickens, Ebony Lumumba, Kaitlyn Taylor, and C Liegh McInnis. To view the full table of contents, go here. For more information about the Callaloo Phillis Wheatley Poetry Festival Special Issue, go here, and to purchase a single print or electronic issue, go here. Once y’all get to the page, scroll down to the print section or the electronic section and choose The Phillis Wheatley Poetry Festival 50th Anniversary: A Special Issue Vol. 42, No. 3, Summer Issue 2024. Finally, to give y’all an idea of the type of scholarship presented during the festival and included in the special issue, here is a link to C Liegh McInnis’ edited video presentation of his paper, “‘You Will Be Moved’: Exploring Black Liberation Theology in the Work of Margaret Walker Alexander and Prince.” The complete version of his paper is in the Callaloo special issue along with his poem, “My People.” Other amazing sessions at the festival include the Opening Session, which was a Tribute to the Original Participants hosted my award-winning actress and JSU graduate Tonea Stewart (here), Dr. Maryemma Graham’s keynote, Nikki Giovanni’s talk, and Sonia Sanchez’s talk. For more about Callaloo, go here.

Additionally, Jackson State University’s The Researcher: An Interdisciplinary Journal published a special issue (In Our Own Words: The Phillis Wheatley Poetry Festival 50th Anniversary Commemorative Issue) that y’all can read here. Y’all can also purchase a print copy of the issue here. C Liegh McInnis has a poem, “For Sappho, Margaret, Marie, and Iley (After Catherine Pierce’s Message to POL),” and an essay, “The Phillis Wheatley Poetry Festival as Performative Manifestation of Margaret Walker Alexander’s Literary Manifesto and Genius,” included in the issue, along with great works by scholars and poets, such as Dr. Tiffany Caesar, Alissa Rae Funderburk, Angela Stewart, Dr. Craig Meyer, Dr. Shanna Smith, Patricia Jones, Ming Joi, Barbara Brewster Lewis, and Dr. RaShell Smith-Spears. Special thanks to Dr. Candis Pizzetta, editor of The Researcher, for compiling this wonderful special issue. This commemorative issue was crafted before the actual festival as a way to promote and highlight the festival as it was occurring.

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Poet, short story writer, and Prince scholar C Liegh McInnis appeared on The Eddrick Show, which is hosted by Eddrick Jerome, a talented writer and award-winning short film producer from Northern California. Jerome is also the former host of The Globe Newspaper Hour on KECG 88.1 FM - More Public Radio in Oakland, CA. (Shoutout to Alice Tisdale, Editor Emeritus of the Jackson Advocate, for McInnis and Jerome.) Brother Jerome asked if C Liegh would discuss songs in which Prince is directly addressing issues specific to the African-American community. Here and here are the YouTube and audio only versions of their discussion. We hope y’all enjoy the discussion, and, of course, feel free to let us know what y’all think.

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The Mississippi Book Festival has posted videos and photos of all the panels, conversations, and keynotes from this year’s festival. To see links to the full schedule, go here. And, here are links to just a few of the panels and conversations from this year. C Liegh McInnis was the moderator for the poetry panel, which included another stellar group of poets: Leona Sevick (The Bamboo Wife), Hannah V. Warren (Slaughterhouse for Old Wives' Tales), A.H. Jerriod Avant (Muscadine), and Adam Clay (Circle Back) and can be viewed here. Other great discussions feature award-winning novelist Jesmyn Ward (here), award-winning poet and former Mississippi Poet Laureate Beth Ann Fennelly with award-winning poet Major Jackson (here), Mississippi Poet Laurate Catherine Pierce and the Mississippi Youth Poetry Project (here), storyteller and visual artist Diane Williams on the Mississippi Culture Panel (here), best-selling and award-winning novelist Angie Thomas on the Middle Grade Dreams Panel (here), The Female Lead in Myth and Fantasy Panel (here), and Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and US/MS Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey (here).

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Here is a very cool video celebrating Jackson, Mississippi, the City with Soul.

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Prince scholar and NYU Professor De Angelia Duff has uploaded all of the presentations, panels, and roundtables for the #Come30 Virtual Prince Symposium. To watch all of the events, including C Liegh McInnis’ presentation, “Part I: Come as the Introduction/EP to The Gold Experience or When Life Imitates Art and/or Art Imitates Life in the Artistic Production of Prince,” go here.

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Tougaloo College grad Dr. Howard Rambsy II aka Doc HR is the author of two excellent books, Bad Men: Creative Touchstones of Black Writers and The Black Arts Enterprise and the Production of African American Poetry. He has dedicated time over the years to chronicling the work of C Liegh McInnis at his wonderful website Cultural Front, which can be read here. His latest commentary on McInnis’ work, “A Local Conscious Poet Who Knows a Lot about Prince,” can be read here.

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I am both honored and excited to have been interviewed by the brilliant Scott Woods, editor of Rock Critics.com, which features interviews with some of the most noted music journalists of the past sixty years. (This Scott Woods is not to be confused with the other brilliant Scott Woods who is a noted Prince scholar.) The title of the interview is “The Aesthetics of Prince: An Interview with C Liegh McInnis” and can be read here. It’s a very lengthy interview of my work as a Prince scholar and engages a few things that I haven’t discussed regarding my work on Prince. One of the coolest parts of the interview, for me, is that I got to shout out Prince scholar Harold Pride about midway through the interview and that I got to shout out the Polished Solid Prince Symposium and What Did Prince Do This Week? at the end of the interview. RockCritics.com is also on Twitter, which y’all know that I’m not. So, if y’all feel so inclined, locate and checkout his tweet about the interview as well. I hope y’all enjoy the interview and, as always, feel free to hit me back with your thoughts or feedback.

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The Jackson State University Creative Writing website is live and can be accessed here. Also, to give to this new program, go here. Once you are at the page, complete the amount and contact information, type “Department of English, Creative Writing,” in the “or other” box at the bottom of the form, and submit payment. And, here is a link to poet, short story writer, and Prince scholar C Liegh McInnis discussing the newly established JSU Creative Writing Concentration and Minor.

The JSU creative writing offers a concentration and minor for its Bachelor of Arts program. Unlike many creative writing programs across the country, JSU’s creative writing concentration and minor will allow students to specialize in multiple genres if they desire. Additionally, unlike most creative writing programs across the country, JSU’s creative writing concentration and minor will encourage and prepare students to use their writing to engage social justice and socio-political issues by offering a capstone class that will match a student with an organization or institution that is doing the type of social justice work that the young writer desires to engage with one’s writing. This new concentration and minor were developed as a collaborative effort between Dr. Ebony Lumumba—Chair, Dr. RaShell Smith-Spears—Graduate Coordinator, and C Liegh McInnis. For more information, contact Dr. Lumumba at ebony.o.lumumba@jsums.edu or Dr. Smith-Spears at rashell.smith-spears@jsums.edu.

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Props to the Jackson State University Faculty Senate, under the leadership of Dr. Dawn Bishop, for passing the “Resolution of the Jackson State University Faculty Senate Defending Academic Freedom to Teach about Race, Gender Justice and Critical Race Theory Adopted by the Faculty Senate January 27, 2022,” which reads, in part, “THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Jackson State University Faculty Senate resolutely rejects any attempts by bodies external to the faculty to restrict or dictate university curriculum on any matter, including matters related to racial and social justice, and will stand firm against encroachment on faculty authority by the legislature or the Boards of Trustees… BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Faculty Senate affirms the Joint Statement on Efforts to Restrict Education about Racism, authored by the AAUP, PEN America, the American Historical Association, and the Association of American Colleges & Universities, endorsed by over seventy organizations, and issued on June 16, 2021.”

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Every Monday at 6:30 p.m., Afrikan Art Gallery & Bookstore (800 North Farish Street) will hold weekly meetings to discuss and organize around the newly published Long Term Strategic Plan for Black America. For more information contact Asinia Lukata Chikuyu at afrikan_tbt@yahoo.com.

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The first Tuesday of each month, from 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., at the Capital Club, Women for Progress of Mississippi, Inc., will host its monthly Lunch and Learn, featuring various women in impactful leadership in the city and around the country. For more information, contact mail@womenforprogress.net.

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Every Wednesday from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m., Dependable Source Corp. Center for Community & Workforce Development, which is a black woman-owned business, hosts The Working Woman Report, which is a live podcast that curates conversations on a variety of topics with professional women. Y’all can join the conversation here, and for more information contact Willie Jones, owner and CEO of Dependable Source Corp at williejones@drivingyourfuturems.com.

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Every Friday from 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m., Refill Jackson—a nonprofit designed to equip young adults ages 18 – 24 with the skills needed to enter the workforce and be self-sufficient—holds its Friday Forums, which are at 136 S. Adams Street Jackson, MS 39203. For more information, contact Nicole McNamee at nmcnamee72@gmail.com or visit their website here.

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The first Friday of each month, at 8:00 p.m. at The Event Center (716 S Gallatin Street), Spoken Soul Open Mic holds its monthly open mic readings and performances. Hosted by Queen Speaks, the cost is $10. All poets and performers welcomed. For more information, contact Erica Garrett at ericamvsu03@gmail.com or (601) 500-3502.

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The first Saturday of each month, the Mississippi Museum of Art will begin its Access for All: Free First Saturdays. For more information, go here.

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The first Saturday of each month, from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., The Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience (The MAX) will host, Earth’s Bounty at the Max, which is held the first Saturday of every month and features:

8:00 – noon: Earth’s Bounty Farmers Market + Live Music

9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.: Free admission to The MAX

11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.: Art activities in upstairs classroom

To register and to learn about vending opportunities, go here.

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The second and fourth Saturday of each month, Dr. RaShell Smith-Spears (rashell.spears@jsums.edu) and Dr. Shanna Smith (shanna.l.smith@jsums.edu) coordinate a creative writing workshop that meets via Zoom. That group has been meeting for almost ten years now, and many of the works developed in that workshop have been published. In fact, I’ve had at least four works that I had workshopped by the group to be published later.

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Two Saturdays a month, Afrikan Art Gallery will host a program, Freedom School Saturdays, for middle and high school students that is modeled after the 1964 Freedom Summer/School Project. The mission is to will help with the intellectual empowerment of our children with course in Civics 101, A Meeting with the Elders: What to Expect in Life, Spiritual Pilgrimage to the Mississippi Delta, Spiritual Pilgrimage to Africatown, AL, photo-journalism exercises, cultural expressions and performances for Black-centered events through their Speech - Choir and Afrikan Cultural Pride Dance Troupe, financial literacy workshops, and so much more. For more information, contact Asinia Lukata Chikuyu at afrikan_tbt@yahoo.com.

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Every Saturday, noted Prince scholar and NYU Professor De Angela Duff is beginning another Prince project, What Did Prince Do This Week?, a very, very, very slow read of Duane Tudahl’s entire Prince Studio Sessions book series through an interactive, online, weekly book club web series. Professor Duff will be live via Streamyard video every Saturday at noon ET on YouTube and Facebook to discuss the parallel week, beginning in 1983. The weekly discussion will be recorded if y’all cannot attend the livestream. The first Saturday of the series, Duff was joined by Tudahl, and y’all can watch the recording of the first session here. To get notifications or to join Duff’s listserv, go to

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The last Saturday of every month, from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m., Mississippi Writer’s Guild and Mississippi Songwriter’s Alliance partner for writer’s meeting and workshop at The Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience (The MAX). Whether songwriter, poet, author, all writers are welcome. This is a time for writers to network and write together and have breakout sessions. Every writer is welcome to participate because we inspire each other. For more information, go here.

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Every Sunday from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., Afrikan Art Gallery & Bookstore (800 North Farish Street) will hold stimulating conversations, robust debates, and strategic action-step planning for an improved lifestyle for Afrikans. These meetings will be facilitated by the Coalition for Economic Empowerment, and for more information contact Jean at (769) 572-7441 and Asinia Lukata Chikuyu at afrikan_tbt@yahoo.com.

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Each Sunday at 5:00 p.m. CST, award-winning novelist Ellen Morris Prewitt, author of In the Name of Mississippi, and Alisha Johnson Perry, children’s book author, social justice advocate, and certified fundraising executive, have joined forces to establish Contemplative Writing Group. Each week is led by a member of the group. They catch up on their writing week, then the leader offers a contemplative writing prompt. They write for 30 - 40 minutes and share if anyone want. It’s come-and-go/participate when you can and of indefinite duration—as long as folks are getting something from it, the workshop will be offered. To join the group, folks can email the School of Contemplative Living at livingschool12@gmail.com or go here.

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Mississippi-based funnymen Merc B. Williams and Cocky McFly...real-life brothers…have joined forces to create The Vibe Controllers, which is a podcast that shows the two of them in their natural element discussing various topics, with a little humor and lots of sibling banter! Y’all can checkout the podcast via Soundcloud or YouTube at soundcloud.com/thevibecontrollers and The Vibe Controllers Podcast - YouTube.

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The Watering Hole hosts the only Southern writing retreat for poets of color and draws 50 to 60 poets to the retreat each year. The goal is to provide a space and resources for poets of color to develop who they are. They have released their workshop for the remainder of the year, which y’all can see here and here. For more information, visit their website here.

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The Stories of Us: A Genealogy Workshop Series Connecting Generations is a new genealogy workshop series to help descendants and community members of the Tulsa Race Massacre start tracing their roots and reconnecting the threads of their family history. The Stories of Us begins during the Black Wall Street Legacy Festival, when so many will already be back home in Tulsa—remembering, reflecting, and rebuilding. These workshops will be held from May to December, and for more information, go here. These are more than workshops. It’s a step toward reclaiming what was taken and honoring those who came before us. If you have any questions, please contact Justice for Greenwood at WAG@JusticeForGreenwood.org.

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Lolwe is offering masterclasses on multiple creative writing genres and techniques through October. For more details, go here.

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Each Saturday through July, from 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m., at Kennedy King College, Muntu Dance Theatre will facilitate a Community Class with a certified dance instructor. To register, go here, and for more information, contact info-muntu.com@shared1.ccsend.com and go here.

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The Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience (The MAX) has released its upcoming events for July, which can be viewed here.

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July 5, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. in the Community Room of the Ridgeland Library, the Mississippi Writers Guild (MWG) will meet for a reading session, where members can read a short (no more than five minutes) sample of their work. It can be a poem, fiction, non-fiction, a play, or even a song. For more information, contact MWG Director Susan Marquez at susanmarquez39110@gmail.com.

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July 8, 2025, at 11:30 p.m. at Char Restaurant, Women for Progress of MS will hold their monthly Lunch & Learn, featuring Sonia Hope Cummings Carr—owner and stylist, Hair by Sonia Salon & Beauty Products—who will discuss “Empowering Styles: Defining Beauty and Function in Women’s Haircare for Personal and Professional Success.” Discover how the right hairstyle can enhance your personal confidence and professional image. Sister Carr will share her expertise on the intersection of beauty and functionality in women’s haircare, offering practical tips and inspiring insights to help you define your own unique style for success. This event is more than just a meal; it’s an opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals who are passionate about fostering progress within our community. By participating, you’ll not only gain valuable insights into career advancement but also contribute to the vital collaboration between local businesses and community members. Your involvement signifies a commitment to economic growth and the empowerment of women and families. To purchase tickets, go here, and for more information, contact lynda.m.hasberry-gmail.com@shared1.ccsend.com.

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July 24, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. at Lemuria Books, poet and Director of the Mississippi University for Women’s MFA Program Dr. Kendall Dunkelberg will have a reading and signing of his latest collection of poetry, Tree Fall with Birdsong. For more information about the reading, contact kadunkelberg@muw.edu. Additionally, Dunkelberg was recently interviewed about his life as a Mississippi poet and Tree Fall with Birdsong in Rooted Magazine, which y’all can read here with two of his poems from the latest collection here. Finally, for more information about Dunkelberg, go here.

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July 24, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. Mississippi Museum of Art (MMA) will present Capital Pictures, a limited engagement film series celebrating the art of great filmmaking in partnership with the Mississippi Film Society. This inaugural series go through the summer with the films of trailblazing director Oscar Micheaux, the first Black American to produce a feature length film. The July film will be Within Our Gates (1920), which tells the story of Sylvia Landry, a young African-American woman goes North to raise money for a rural school in the Deep South. Her romance with a Black doctor eventually leads to revelations about her family’s past and her own mixed-race ancestry. And, the August film will be The Girl from Chicago (1932), in which a federal agent falls in love while on assignment in Mississippi. For more information, go here.

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Narrative 4 is an organization of creatives that uses storytelling to build community and civic engagement. They have partnered with National Schools Network to curate a national initiative aimed at overcoming the loneliness epidemic by fostering greater social connections between schools. The N4NSN is a community of select schools from across the United States, committed to experiential learning, intentional community, and supporting students and educators through storytelling and the arts. Twice a year, a new group of schools will be admitted to the N4NSN, committing to a 3-month program where they will experience and receive training to facilitate Story Exchanges, participate in an array of community workshops, and utilize Narrative 4 tools and resources in their classrooms. The deadline to apply is July 31, 2025. To apply to participate in these series, go here.

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August 14, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. Mississippi Museum of Art (MMA) will present Capital Pictures, a limited engagement film series celebrating the art of great filmmaking in partnership with the Mississippi Film Society. This inaugural series go through the summer with the films of trailblazing director Oscar Micheaux, the first Black American to produce a feature length film. The August film will be The Girl from Chicago (1932), in which a federal agent falls in love while on assignment in Mississippi. For more information, go here.

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Through September 7, 2025, Mississippi Museum of Art (MMA) will curate the 2025 Mississippi Invitational, which is a biennial exhibition that highlights artists living and working in our state. Guest Curator, TK Smith, chose this year’s artists. Exhibition participants will be eligible to apply for the Jane Crater Hiatt Artist Fellowship—a grant of up to $20,000 to support a single artist’s creative development. For a list of all the invited artists and the dates of their showing, go here.

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September 25 – 28, 2025, The Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society, Inc., based in New Orleans, will curate The Faulkner for All Festival. This is The Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society’s most complicated and expensive undertaking, as it embraces multiple disciplines and target audiences and 20 to 30 presenters annually. They attempt to create in a four-day period the kind of nurturing, entertaining, and enlightening environment which inspired writers and their fans who lived during the Bohemian heyday of New Orleans. To see the full schedule of panels and presenters, go here, and to register, go here.

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The Tougaloo College English Department has a call-for-papers for its Fall Conference, “Black Women and Girls in Intellectual Thought,” and seeks to gather graduate students, creatives, emerging and established scholars/activists/artists whose research, pedagogical practices, or creative processes illuminate Black women’s and girls’ intellectual contributions, agency, creativity, and authenticity. Critically examining how the pair show up in these overlooked spaces is a way to disrupt narratives that silence their voices at the intersections of gender, race, and class. Recent publications, such as Nazera Wright’s Nineteenth Century Black Girlhood (2016), Aria Halliday’s The Black Girlhood Studies Collection (2019), and Saidiyah Haartman’s Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments: Intimate Histories of Riotous Black Girls, Troublesome Women, and Queer Radicals (2019), have established validity and urgency into furthering the analysis of Black woman/girlhood. The symposium’s emphasis on intellectual thought encourages an interdisciplinary discussion to allow for a more comprehensive understanding of the dynamism in Black women’s/girls’ lived and imagined experiences. The deadline to submit is August 31, 2025. To submit, go here, and for more information, contact Shelia Bonner sdbonner@tougaloo.edu or Demetria White dhoward@tougaloo.edu. Also, for information about the dates of the conference, see the calendar of events below.

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October 11 – 12, 2025, The Bob Moses Conference will be held in mid-October to celebrate and study the work of legendary Civil Rights activist Bob Moses who was one of the primary strategist for The Movement, especially for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Freedom Summer, Council of Federated Organizations (COFO), and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP). We will share program details and event registration in the coming weeks. For more information, go here.

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October 23 – 25, 2025, the 2025 National Black Book Festival will be in Houston this fall. They will be celebrating their 18th anniversary and are looking forward to 2025 being their best year yet! If you’re an author, publisher, or entrepreneur interested in acquiring a vendor table at 2025 NBBF, early bird registration is now open. Registrations are starting at an unprecedented rate, and they are already at 45% capacity. As a result, it’s best to place your table deposit and register as soon as possible. For more information, go here and to register, go here.

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October 23, - 25, 2025, in Detroit, MI, Mississippi native, fiction writer, playwright, and health activist Katrina Byrd will join Kara Laurene Perncano—PhD candidate in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies and Andrea Cesar, interdisciplinary, movement artist, educator, and activist—in presenting a 60-minute roundtable presentation at the Conference on Community Writing. For more information, go here.

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October 29 – 30, 2025, The Tougaloo College English Department will host its Fall Conference, “Black Women and Girls in Intellectual Thought,” which will feature graduate students, creatives, emerging and established scholars/activists/artists whose research, pedagogical practices, or creative processes illuminate Black women’s and girls’ intellectual contributions, agency, creativity, and authenticity. Critically examining how the pair show up in these overlooked spaces is a way to disrupt narratives that silence their voices at the intersections of gender, race, and class. Recent publications, such as Nazera Wright’s Nineteenth Century Black Girlhood (2016), Aria Halliday’s The Black Girlhood Studies Collection (2019), and Saidiyah Haartman’s Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments: Intimate Histories of Riotous Black Girls, Troublesome Women, and Queer Radicals (2019), have established validity and urgency into furthering the analysis of Black woman/girlhood. The symposium’s emphasis on intellectual thought encourages an interdisciplinary discussion to allow for a more comprehensive understanding of the dynamism in Black women’s/girls’ lived and imagined experiences. For more information, contact Shelia Bonner sdbonner@tougaloo.edu or Demetria White dhoward@tougaloo.edu.

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You are cordially invited to contribute an article or essay to the National Council for Black Studies Annual Report on the State of Affairs for Africana Communities in 2026 and beyond. This report will include short APA-style essays (between 2,000 and 2,500 words, or 8–10 double-spaced pages, including references) on new, emerging, and ongoing current issues and innovations of importance to Africana communities in the U.S. and anywhere in the global African world. NCBS’ mission is to create a space for our discipline to offer historical context, future projections, solutions, and culturally grounded analyses of current needs, concerns, innovations, and ideas of people of African ancestry anywhere in the world. The theme of this call for papers is Roots and Routes of Black Agency: Strategies for Collective Liberation, Memory, and Futurity. NCBS is inviting essays that explore how African/Black communities across the globe are rooting and cultivating themselves in ancestral knowledge, linked future, memory, and historical continuity while charting new routes (scientific, technological, political, spiritual, and educational) for development, advancement, and liberation. We particularly seek papers that demonstrate how the discipline of Black Studies contributes to understanding, sustaining, and advancing these roots and routes. The deadline to submit is November 1, 2025. For more information and to submit, go here.

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