MVSU, R&B & Ballots, No Tears Project, MAX HOF, and Upcoming Events
Hey Y’all,
No commentary this week—let’s get to the upcoming events. And, as I always say, support your local artists because all national artists were once local artists.
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This morning, via Zoom and in person, the Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU) Department of English and Foreign Languages, the MVSU JH White Library, and the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area Office have combined to host the 2024 Howard Lecture Series featuring three award-winning Mississippi writers, Angela Ball, Geroge Drew, and Sterling Plumpp as well as a blues expert Michael Antonucci and a blues musician from the Mississippi Delta, Alphonso Sanders. This event will be via Zoom and in person. For more information, see the calendar of events below.
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Tonight, the Rita Brent Foundation established by Mississippi native and nationally noted comedian, spokesperson, and musician Rita Brent will join forces with One Voice of Mississippi and host a Voter Awareness Concert: Rhythm, Blues, and Ballots! This initiative aims to inspire and educate the citizens of Mississippi about the importance of voting and participating in our democratic process through the power of the arts. This event will open with a voting panel discussion featuring Jarvis Dortch—Executive Director of ACLU of MS, Mikel Bolden—Executive Director for the MS Democratic Party, and Senator Hillman Frazier of the 27th district. It will then transition immediately into a concert featuring comedian Merc B (here and here), soul-stirring songstress Tawanna Shante (here and here), soul force of nature Jonte Mayon (here), Southern soul crooner Keyrus ATG (here and here), comedian Nardo Blackmon (here), and Rita Brent. Along with being a nationally noted comedian who appears weekly on the Rickey Smiley Morning Show, her hit single, “Raised in the ‘Sipp” is making waves all around the country, and y’all can watch it here. Her previous single, “Kamala,” was all over YouTube, CNN, and just about everywhere. Y’all can vibe to “Kamala” here and the 2024 remix here. For more information about tonight’s event, see the calendar of events below.
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Today through Sunday, the No Tears Project will feature a weekend of free music and civil rights programming. The weekend of events will include a music workshop with No Tears Project jazz ensemble members in-classroom at Jackson State University’s Department of Music. Day two will begin with a Saturday morning sock hop and story time with Nadia Salomon at Myrlie Evers’ Garden with live music and dance performances. This free family-friendly event is intended for children ages 4-12, who will also receive new free books from the Freedom Library! Day two will end with the No Tears Project jazz ensemble performing at Shady Grove Missionary Baptist Church, featuring selections from the ensemble’s repertoire of civil rights tunes, plus the premiere of new music inspired by the story of the Evers Family, written by composer, bassist, and JSU alum Rodney Jordan who is currently Chair and Professor of Jazz Studies at Florida State University. Day three will feature “A Conversation on Progress and the Path Forward,” which was pre-recorded at the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument and is a dialog tracking the progress of equality and voter access in Mississippi from the past to the present. Featured guests will include Nsombi Lambright—executive director of One Voice, Allytra Perryman—deputy director of Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP, and moderator Dr. Ebony Lumumba—Chair of the JSU English and Modern Foreign Languages Department. For more information, see the calendar of events below.
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The Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience (The MAX) has announced its 2024 Hall of Fame Class, which will be inducted early next year. They are Pulitzer Prize winner and U.S./MS Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey, folklorist and educator William “Bill” Ferris, historian and fiction writer Shelby Foote, Singer/songwriter Bobbie Gentry, and musician/singer/songwriter Mac MaAnally. For more information, see the calendar of events below.
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Y’all can read the latest poetry, fiction, and essays published in the September issue of Lolwe here.
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Tomorrow, Mississippi M.O.V.E. will curate three events designed to register people to vote while creating an atmosphere of community celebration. They will be in Hattiesburg, Biloxi, and Jackson, Mississippi registering people to vote, answering questions about the voting process, networking with community leaders, and providing credited community service hours for students, while providing food, music, and fun. Mississippi M.O.V.E. is comprised of three young men—Mac Epps, George Patterson, and Sabir Abdul-Haqq—who have spent their entire lives working in the sociopolitical trenches organizing, educating, and mobilizing to enable poor and black folks to obtain each aspect of needs and rights meet to fulfill their natural citizenship. For more information, see the calendar of events below.
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The Millsaps Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Campus Center, the Millsaps Department of Government & Politics, the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Institute, and Mississippi Today have joined forces to sponsor Choosing Our Future: A Community Conversation on Voting Rights. Arekia S. Bennett-Scott, Executive Director of Mississippi Votes, will lead a panel discussion featuring:
Yehesuah Downie, Restore Your Vote Organizer at the Campaign Legal Center in Washington, DC
Valenica Richardson, Voting Rights Legal Counsel at the Campaign Legal Center
Joshua Tom of ACLU Mississippi
Vangela Wade, President and CEO of the MS Center for Justice
For more information, see the calendar of events below.
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The Jackson State University Margaret Walker Alexander Center has posted its latest newsletter, which includes information about various upcoming events, including its HBCU Radio Preservation Project, which can be read here, and its upcoming commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of Freedom Summer, which can be read here.
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Props to the Jackson State University Football Team for visiting the Mississippi Children’s Hospital—y’all can see highlights of their visit here.
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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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Congrats to two Mississippi creatives, authors, and arts activists, Diane Williams and Richelle Putnam, for having their books on sale at the Jackson, Mississippi, Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport. (See pics here.) Storyteller, visual artist, and longtime arts activist Williams’ book, The Life and Legacy of B.B. King: A Mississippi Blues Icon, can also be purchased here, and singer-songwriter, fiction writer, and essayist Putman’s book, The Inspiring Life of Eudora Welty, can also be purchased here.
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The Jackson State University Creative Writing Program is preparing for its annual Writers Series and will host poets James Cherry and Jerriod Avant. The Writers Series will include a Masterclass in Poetry from 10:00 a.m. – noon, a Poetry Reading by James Cherry followed by conversation with Dr. Kelly Ellis and a JSU student from 1:30 p.m. – 2:50 p.m., and a Poetry Cafe featuring Jerriod Avant and an Open Mic with JSU students from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. For more information, see the calendar of events below.
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Third World Press, one of the largest black-owned publishers on the planet, has wonderful collections of poetry, fiction, and prose by award-winning and historic writers. To browse their catalog, go here.
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Mississippi Humanities Council (MHC)—a private nonprofit corporation funded by Congress through the National Endowment for the Humanities to provide public programs in traditional liberal arts disciplines to serve nonprofit groups in Mississippi—has posted its upcoming events that y’all can read in 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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The Jackson Advocate, one of the oldest African-American newspapers, has more insightful articles, including an insightful article by Dr. Ivory Phillips of the possibility of turning Mississippi from red to blue, which can be read here. Then, y’all can read more great articles 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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You are invited to a Musical Kwanzaa Celebration with opera phenome DeAnna Tisdale Johnson and Friends. For more information, see the calendar of events below and contact Jackson Advocate Editor Emeritus Alice Tisdale at alicethomastisdale@gmail.com.
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November 1 – 4, 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, last year’s festival hosted many of the major black women writers of today. As part of the 2023 festival, JSU’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.
Additionally, Callaloo, one of the three major African-American literary journals on the planet, will be publishing a special proceedings issue of the 2023 Phillis Wheatley Poetry Festival that will include scholarly essays, poetry, fiction, and artwork presented during the festival along with interviews, reflections, and photography from the festival. Combined, The Researcher Commemorative Issue and the forthcoming Callaloo Proceedings Issue will make a great collection to document this historic gathering of scholars and artists. The Callaloo Proceedings Issue will be published in November as a one-year celebration of the festival, and we’ll include info for preorders as soon as they are posted. For more about Callaloo, go here.
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Off the critical success of Black Fire This Time, edited by Dr. Kim McMillon, Black Fire This Time, Volume Two, edited by Dr. Derrick Harriell and Professor Kofi Antwi is available for preorder here and here, and the publisher has scheduled dates for a national tour to promote the anthology. To see the upcoming dates, go here and scroll to the bottom of the page. Louisiana Poet Laureate Dr. Mona Lisa Saloy has written the introduction for the anthology. And, we are proud to inform y’all that C Liegh McInnis will have a poem, “Mississippi Like…” and a short story, “Kroger Cart,” included in this new volume. Like Volume One, Volume Two will have some of the most noted black poets, fiction writers, and essayists in the tradition of the Black Arts Movement.
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As most of y’all know, the Jackson State University Sonic Boom of the South has been selected to march in the 2025 Rose Bowl Parade, and there is a fundraiser to cover some of the costs. Although entities are selected for the Rose Bowl Parade, they must finance their way there. Here is the link to the fundraiser. After a successful day of raising over $200,000 for “Give the Boom Their Roses Day,” the Jackson State University Thee Sonic Boom of the South and the Prancing J-Settes invites fans and supporters to continue to donate to help send Thee Sonic Boom of the South to Pasadena, CA, for the 136th Tournament of Roses Parade presented by Honda! For more information and to donate, go here, here, here, and 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 Concertation 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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Thanks to everyone who sent kind and encouraging feedback regarding my interview with 1$t Letter—an emcee, educator, and entrepreneur who is doing a lot with his talents to improve our community. Since the interview is so long, here are links to a few clips:
First, for my Prince folks, I discuss Prince mostly from the midway point of part two and all of part three: here
and here.
Here is a clip where I discuss how Charlie Braxton, Jimmy Kimbrell, and Jeff Gibson all impacted me early as a writer. I’ve discussed Charlie and Jimmy at length before so I’m glad that I got to discuss how Jeff impacted me as a JSU classmate, watching him be a serious writer while we were in college. At the end, I briefly discuss how my embracing the myth of American Individualism kept me from being tutored by Margaret Walker Alexander when I was in college. The entire segment is about five minutes and thirty seconds long. Y’all can stop watching when I begin discussing how James F. Cooper almost caused me to fail eleventh grade English.
Here is a clip where I discuss how my wife and stepchildren taught me the real definition of manhood.
Here is a clip where I discuss having multiple part-time jobs in college and learning how not to be a toxic male.
Here is a clip where I discuss my respect for local poet, emcee, and activist Skipp Coon and people not supporting conscious artists yet being disappointed when the artists they do support don’t meet a major moment with impactful art.
And, y’all can watch the entire interview here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Again, thanks to all of y’all who emailed your feedback and especially to y’all who watched all six parts. That is, indeed, some true love and support. In the words of the great poet Smokey Robinson as vocalized by David Ruffin of The Temptations, “I don’t need no money, fortune, or fame. I’ve got all of the riches one man can claim. What makes me feel this way? My folks, my folks, my folks, talkin’ ‘bout my folks!”
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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 every 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 10:00 a.m. – 9:00 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 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 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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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 Center for the Study of Southern Culture has posted its September events in its latest newsletter, which can be read here.
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Mississippi Humanities Council (MHC)—a private nonprofit corporation funded by Congress through the National Endowment for the Humanities to provide public programs in traditional liberal arts disciplines to serve nonprofit groups in Mississippi—has posted its September that y’all can read here. For more information, contact kam@mississippihumanitiescouncil.ccsend.com.
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Narrative 4 is an organization of creatives that uses storytelling to build community and civic engagement. To see their upcoming September events, go here.
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September 27, 2024, from 9:00 a.m. – noon, via Zoom and in person, the Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU) Department of English and Foreign Languages, the MVSU JH White Library, and the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area Office have combined to host the 2024 Howard Lecture Series featuring three award-winning Mississippi writers, Angela Ball, Geroge Drew, and Sterling Plumpp as well as a blues expert Michael Antonucci and a blues musician from the Mississippi Delta, Alphonso Sanders. This event will be via Zoom and in person. To join via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82749529368?pwd=f0vniTYL3LbErlbC2gy7si5oSABKzB.1
Meeting ID: 827 4952 9368
Passcode: Howard
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September 27, 2024, from 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m., at Kennedy King College, Muntu Dance Theatre will facilitate a Community Class with Nicholas Gwyn. For more information, contact info-muntu.com@shared1.ccsend.com and go here.
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September 27, 2024, beginning at 6:00 p.m., at Johnny T’s Bistro and Blues, the Rita Brent Foundation established by Mississippi native and nationally noted comedian, spokesperson, and musician Rita Brent will join forces with One Voice of Mississippi and host Voter Awareness Concert: Rhythm, Blues, and Ballots! This initiative aims to inspire and educate the citizens of Mississippi about the importance of voting and participating in our democratic process through the power of the arts. This event will open with a voting panel discussion and transition immediately into a concert featuring comedian Merc B (here and here), soul-stirring songstress Tawanna Shante (here and here), soul force of nature Jonte Mayon (here), Southern soul crooner Keyrus ATG (here and here), comedian Nardo Blackmon (here), and Rita Brent. Along with being a nationally noted comedian who appears weekly on the Rickey Smiley Morning Show, her hit single, “Raised in the ‘Sipp” is making waves all around the country, and y’all can watch it here. Her previous single, “Kamala,” was all over YouTube, CNN, and just about everywhere. Y’all can vibe to “Kamala” here and the 2024 remix here. For more information about tonight’s event, go here or email info@uniteonevoice.org.
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September 27 – 29, 2024, the No Tears Project will feature a weekend of free music and civil rights programing. The weekend of events will include a music masterclass with No Tears Project jazz ensemble members in-classroom at Jackson State University’s Department of Music. (Go here for more information on the masterclass.) Day two will begin with a Saturday morning Sock Hop and Story Time with Nadia Salomon at Myrlie Evers’ Garden with live music and dance performances. This free family-friendly event intended for children ages 4-12, who will also receive new free books from the Freedom Library! (Go here for more information about the sock hop and story time.) Day two will end with the No Tears Project jazz ensemble performing at Shady Grove Missionary Baptist Church, featuring selections from the ensemble’s repertoire of civil rights tunes, plus the premiere of new music inspired by the story of the Evers Family, written by composer, bassist, and JSU alum Rodney Jordan who is currently Chair and Professor of Jazz Studies at Florida State University. (Go here for more information about the concert.) Day three will feature “A Conversation on Progress and the Path Forward,” which was pre-recorded at the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument and is a dialog tracking the progress of equality and voter access in Mississippi from the past to the present. Featured guests will include Nsombi Lambright—executive director of One Voice, Allytra Perryman—deputy director of Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP, and moderator Dr. Ebony Lumumba—Chair of the JSU English and Modern Foreign Languages Department. (Go here for more information about the roundtable conversation.)
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September 28, 2024, Mississippi M.O.V.E. will curate three events designed to register people to vote while creating an atmosphere of community celebration. They will be in Hattiesburg, Biloxi, and Jackson, Mississippi registering people to vote, answering questions about the voting process, networking with community leaders, and providing credited community service hours for students, while providing food, music, and fun.
From 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., Mississippi M.O.V.E. will be in Hattiesburg, MS: Join their trusty vote-gathering volunteers at their booth as they help kick off the festivities at 19th Annual Mobil St. Renaissance Festival at 601 E. Pine Street. Enjoy vibrant music, delicious food, and cultural performances. Don’t miss the fun!
From 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., Mississippi M.O.V.E. will be in Biloxi, MS: Can’t make it to the Hub City? Head a couple of counties south to Annual Community Fest, located at Main St. Division and Murray Street. Discover local businesses, network with entrepreneurs, register to vote, and learn about the amazing opportunities in the community. It’s a great chance to connect and grow!
From 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., Mississippi M.O.V.E. will be in Jackson, MS: Voter awareness and registration at the Infant Mortality Awareness Summit at the Jackson-Hinds CHC on 3502 W. Northside Drive.
Mississippi M.O.V.E. is comprised of three young men—Mac Epps, George Patterson, and Sabir Abdul-Haqq—who have spent their entire lives working in the sociopolitical trenches organizing, educating, and mobilizing to enable poor and black folks to obtain each aspect of needs and rights meet to fulfill their natural citizenship. For more information, visit their website, email sabir@msmove.org, or call (662) 205-6683.
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September 29, and October 6, 13, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. GMT, Lolwe is offering a masterclass on “Anatomy of the Short Story” taught by Troy Onyango. In this class, participants will explore the short story structure and its elements. Aspects to be covered in depth include: building a well-constructed plot that drives the narrative forward and using narrative frameworks to add depth and complexity to stories. There are limited slots available, so go here to register.
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September 28, 2024, at 11:00 a.m., The Toni Morrison Society and the Historic Mobile Street Renaissance Festival invite you to attend a Re-dedication Ceremony, celebrating the 15th Anniversary of the placement of a “Bench by the Road,” honoring the leading role of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, in multifaceted field work for Civil Rights in 1964 known as “Freedom Summer.” For more information, contact tonimorrisonsociety@gmail.com.
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September 28, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. at Ice House, in Jackson, MS, the Mississippi Coalition against Domestic Violence will host Midnight Blues Gala: A Purple-Tie Event, to honor domestic violence survivors, advocates, and allies. Enjoy great food, drinks, and a silent auction while experiencing a live blues performance. Let’s unite and show our solidarity in the fight against domestic violence. Together, we have strength! For more information about the event, contact support@mcadv.org and go here. And, for more information about the MCADV, go here.
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Kansas University’s History of Black Writing (HBW) is creating a Digital Humanities (DH) Resource Toolbox, a curated collection of DH resources. The goal of the toolbox is to build a glossary of DH teaching resources, with the target audience being teachers and professionals at the high school and undergraduate level. HBW is seeking your recommendations for:
Specific Articles, Digital Publications, and/or Books
Websites – i.e., for specific tools related to DH
Organizations
Additional resources – i.e., resource pages with a large collection of useful links and tools
Along with this project, HBW will be hosting, curating, or participating in several DH workshops. For more information, see the calendar of events below.
Please email your resources to BLACKDH@ku.edu by September 30, 2024.
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The Alcorn State University Girls’ Coalition is hosting a Fall Festival as a fundraiser. The event will feature a variety of vendors, games, and exhibitions for students, faculty, and staff to enjoy. They aim to offer a diverse selection of vendors to appeal to everyone’s interests. The purpose of the event is to provide fun activities, even though ASU is in a rural area. They want to create an enjoyable experience while also offering voter registration opportunities for those interested. ASU GC is currently seeking vendors/companies to display for students and other guests. There is plenty of Space to set up, but they ask that you bring your own trash can, supplies, chairs, etc. The Vendor fee will be $40 for the festival, which will be open to all students, faculty, staff, and neighboring communities. The festival will be on October 16, 2024, from 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. at the ASU Medgar Evers Complex, and the deadline to register as a vendor is September 30, 2024. For more information, contact Raven McDonald at ravenmcdonald333@icloud.com or at her website here.
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October 3, 2024, from 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., at the Jackson State University COFO Civil Rights Education Center, the JSU Margaret Walker Alexander Center will commemorate the 60th Anniversary of Freedom Summer. The full schedule of panels, panelists, and presentations can be read here.
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October 3, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. in room 215 of the Millsaps Getrude C. Ford Academic Complex, the Millsaps Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Campus Center, the Millsaps Department of Government & Politics, the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Institute, and Mississippi Today have joined forces to sponsor Choosing Our Future: A Community Conversation on Voting Rights. Arekia S. Bennett-Scott, Executive Director of Mississippi Votes, will lead a panel discussion featuring:
Yehesuah Downie, Restore Your Vote Organizer at the Campaign Legal Center in Washington, DC
Valenica Richardson, Voting Rights Legal Counsel at the Campaign Legal Center
Joshua Tom of ACLU Mississippi
Vangela Wade, President and CEO of the MS Center for Justice
For more information, contact Dr. Michael Pickard (Eudora Welty Chair of Southern Literature) at pickawm@millsaps.edu.
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October 4 – 29, 2024, in honor of Reel Sisters 27th Anniversary, African Voices will present an exciting season of films produced, directed, and written by women of color, during their calendar of in-person and virtual programs that will occur at different venues in Brooklyn and Manhattan. Enjoy a month of special panels, workshops, network and exclusive events. For more information, go here.
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October 5, 2024, from 11:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. EST at the Kansas University’s History of Black Writing (HBW) will curate a Detroit Public Libraries Workshop, “Gaming and Content Creation Workshop,” facilitated by Dr. Kishonna Gray. For Registration link, email hbw@ku.edu.
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October 5, 2024, at the UNCF-Mellon Conference, Kansas University’s History of Black Writing (HBW) will facilitate a Panel on the Digital Humanities and Archives, featuring Dr. Ayesha Hardison, Dr. Doretha Williams, and Ashley Simmons. For more information, email hbw@ku.edu.
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October 5, 12, 19, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. GMT, Lolwe is offering a masterclass on “Speculative Fiction,” taught by writer Wole Talabi—engineer, Nommo Award-winning author of the critically-acclaimed speculative fiction collection Incomplete Solutions and novel Shigidi, and editor of Africanfuturism: An Anthology. Speculative fiction takes readers on an adventure into worlds entirely different from the one in which they live. This genre proposes novel realities using diverse characters, new rules, and the promise of exciting possibilities. The focus of this class will be Science Fiction as a subgenre of the broad speculative fiction category. You will learn how to build stories around themes that engage futuristic sciences and technologies. With a focus on the African terrain, this class will show you how to craft peculiar narratives unbeholden to the Western gaze. It will also cover tips on how to write an effective science fiction story, embellished with otherworldly elements, yet grounded in reality and entertaining to readers. For the duration of this class, there will be readings geared towards broadening your horizon. You will study the works of various science fiction writers, particularly those of African descent, unravel their styles, and attempt to assimilate same into your work. The class is open to writers at all stages, especially those with a keen interest in the science fiction genre who have hopes of producing work in the short fiction form. To register, go here.
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October 5, 2024, Caltech will facilitate its 5th annual virtual FUTURE Ignited program. Caltech recognizes that the diversity of background, experience, and thought is essential to achieving and maintaining scientific excellence. The FUTURE Ignited program is designed to support and encourage aspiring graduate students by providing the opportunity to learn more about graduate programs at Caltech and, more broadly, the graduate school admissions process. Please share this information with your top rising Junior and Senior students, in STEM fields — who may be interested in pursuing a PhD — to participate. Faculty nominations are not necessary, and students are able to register themselves. For more information, contact Candace Rypisi—Assistant VP and Director of Student-Faculty Programs at candacer@caltech.edu. And, to register, go here.
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Cave Canem, one of the most important organizations in the development and nurturing of black poets, has announced the 2025 Cave Canem Fellowship. Accepted Fellows receive an unparalleled opportunity to study with esteemed faculty, and to join an expansive community of Black poets. Fellows receive:
• Invitation to the Retreat, a week-long series of intensive poetry workshops, presentations, readings, and creative discourse
• Exclusive access to the Fellows & Faculty Fund, as well as scholarships to select writing residencies
• Archival training
• Inclusion in Cave Canem public programming
• and more!
Deadline to apply is October 15, 2024. For more information and to apply, go here.
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October 16, 2024, from 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. at the ASU Medgar Evers Complex, the Alcorn State University Girls’ Coalition is hosting a Fall Festival as a fundraiser. The event will feature a variety of vendors, games, and exhibitions for students, faculty, and staff to enjoy. They aim to offer a diverse selection of vendors to appeal to everyone’s interests. The purpose of the event is to provide fun activities, even though ASU is in a rural area. They want to create an enjoyable experience while also offering voter registration opportunities for those interested. For more information, contact Raven McDonald at ravenmcdonald333@icloud.com or at her website here.
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October 17, 2024, at 7:00 p.m., Millsaps College and Lemuria Books will host an evening with New York Times bestselling author and humorist David Sedaris. For more information and to purchase tickets, go here.
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October 17 – 19, 2024, Cushcity.com will host the annual National Black Book Festival (NBBF). As one of the largest online sources for African-American authors and literature, NBBF attracts a wide array of authors, publishers, book clubs, libraries and individual readers from the Southwest U.S. and nationwide. For more information, including a detailed list of authors and events, go here.
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October 18 – 19, 2024, Kansas University’s History of Black Writing (HBW) will facilitate a BBIP Virtual Mini-Conference. For more information, email hbw@ku.edu.
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October 19, 2024, from 12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., join the 16th Annual Langston Hughes Literary Arts Festival at Langston Hughes Community Library and Cultural Center. This year’s theme is “Power of the Written Word,” and includes a spoken word artist, an author conversation, a Book Ban discussion, and performances. All presenters’ books will be available for sale. For more information, go here.
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October 19 – 20, 2024, Reel Sisters, the first Oscar Qualifying Film Festival for narrative shorts devoted to women filmmakers, will premiere the original works of women filmmakers at the 27th Annual Reel Sisters Film Festival. For more information, go here.
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October 26 – 27, 2024, Muntu Dance Theatre will host its Rebirth Concert and Rebirth Dance Conference. For more information, see the calendar of events below. The concert will be October 26 at 7:30 p.m. at Kennedy-King College. The conference will be from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. at Barbara A. Sizmore Academy. For more information and to purchase tickets, go here.
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National Council for Black Studies has a Call for Papers for its Annual Report on the State of Affairs for Africana Communities in 2024 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. Their mission is to create a space for their 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 refocusing and reaffirming Black studies’ community relevance, particularly in the following areas: 1) Black community approaches to food security, 2) artificial intelligence and its impact on Black families and communities, 3) the visions and works of the founding activist scholars of the discipline of Black studies, 4) Pan-Africanism at the close of the International Decade for People of African Descent, 5) agency and policy analysis in the climate of resurgent reactionism to Black agency, and 6) how to establish disciplinary identity and defining goals in the midst of a diversity of identities and interests within the discipline. For this issue, NCBS is especially seeking essays that engage agentic and culturally grounded methods and approaches to resistance and solutions across the African world. It is important that essays in this report specifically highlight strategies used by African collectives in specific locales of the world to counter oppression, which can be utilized throughout the African world. The deadline to submit is November 1, 2024. For more information, go here.
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International Journal of Africana Studies (IJAS) has a Call for Papers on the theme of “The Transatlantic Slave Trade and National Reckonings: Remembering, Repressing, Repairing.” With 2025 representing the 160th anniversary of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, abolishing legalized slavery throughout the country, the IJAS invites article manuscripts for a special themed issue to capture this commemorative moment. Focusing on multiple Black Atlantic contexts, the IJAS issue will examine governmental and civil society responsiveness or resistance to efforts to reckon with various legacies of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Guest editors R. Drew Smith and Bertis D. English encourage contributors to explore local, state, national, or international debates; institutional or policy directives; and related topics regarding the public importance of such legacies, especially in the Americas, Africa, and Europe, though contributors may explore other geographical areas. The deadline to submit is November 1, 2024. For more information, go here.
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November 7, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. – noon, The Watering Hole, which hosts the only Southern writing retreat for poets of color and draws 50 to 60 poets to the retreat each year, will curate a virtual craft talk with award-winning poet Phillip B. Williams. For more information, go here, and to learn more about TWH, visit their website here.
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November 14, 2024, the Jackson State University Creative Writing Program will hold its annual Writers Series and host poets James Cherry and Jerriod Avant. The Writers Series will include a Masterclass in Poetry from 10:00 a.m. – noon, a Poetry Reading by James Cherry followed by conversation with Dr. Kelly Ellis and a JSU student from 1:30 p.m. – 2:50 p.m., and a Poetry Cafe featuring Jerriod Avant and an Open Mic with JSU students from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. For more information, see the calendar of events below.
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November 15, 2024, One Voice of Mississippi facilitate their Mississippi Black Leadership Summit (MBLS), which is a premier gathering for statewide and local elected officials, as well as community leaders. This summit has consistently provided a platform to address pressing issues facing our state and to forge collective strategies and solutions to tackle them. It has long been a space for meaningful dialogue and collaboration aimed at meeting the needs of our people. For more information, contact info@uniteonevoice.org and to register, go here.
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November 23, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. GMT, Lolwe is offering a masterclass on “Crafting Dialogue” taught by Linda Musita, author of the short stories collection Mtama Road. In this masterclass, Musita will teach you the various elements of dialogue writing, such as how to structure dialogue, how to use dialogue to push a story’s plot forward, and how to write effective and authentic dialogue. There are limited slots available, so go here to register.
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Study the South—the publication of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture—has announced its annual Call for Proposals. Scholars researching the South have an opportunity for funded research in the collections of the Department of Archives and Special Collections at the J. D. Williams Library at the University of Mississippi. The Study the South Research Fellowship, sponsored by the Center for the Study of Southern Culture and the Department of Archives and Special Collections, will provide funding of $1,500 to one qualified scholar, who will also have access to a carrel in the library and an opportunity to publish an essay in Study the South based on their research. Special Collections has particular strengths in areas that include political history, the blues, civil rights, and the antebellum and Civil War eras. Subject guides and finding aids at Archives and Special Collections can be found at www.libraries.olemiss.edu/specialcollectionspages. The funds will support travel and lodging expenses, and the remainder serves as a stipend. For more information, see the calendar of events below. Research should take place between January 2025 and December 2025. The deadline for application is December 1, 2024, and the selection committee will notify the awardee by January 15, 2025. Study the South is an online scholarly journal at the Center for the Study of Southern Culture. We will ask the successful fellow to either give a public presentation at the Center for the Study of Southern Culture or a short, recorded interview about her or his work, to be shared through Study the South, www.studythesouth.com. All scholars, including advanced graduate students, are eligible for the fellowship. Candidates should send a description of a research agenda (500 words max.), citing research questions and specific collections that seem most useful, to James G. Thomas, Jr., editor of Study the South, at jgthomas@olemiss.edu.
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The National Council for Black Studies (NCBS) is thrilled to announce the annual Dr. Terry Kershaw Student Essay Contest, inviting college professors across the nation to incorporate this enriching opportunity into their fall semester coursework. This contest not only allows students to delve deeper into Black Studies, but also offers a chance to win cash awards for their scholarly work. The Dr. Terry Kershaw Student Essay Contest aims to recognize and reward outstanding academic essays that contribute to the field of Black Studies. This year, as in previous years, we are offering 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place cash awards for both undergraduate and graduate submissions, highlighting the exceptional talent and scholarly efforts of students nationwide. To submit an essay, email studentessay@ncbsonline.org. The deadline to submit is December 20, 2024. For more information, go here.
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December 26 - 30, 2024, at Santee State Park, SC, The Watering Hole, which hosts the only Southern writing retreat for poets of color and draws 50 to 60 poets to the retreat each year, will curate its Fall Retreat that will include various craft talks, classes, and community gatherings. For more information, go here, and to learn more about TWH, visit their website here.
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December 28, 2024, starting at 5:00 p.m., at the Jackson Convention Complex, you are invited to a Musical Kwanzaa Celebration with opera phenome DeAnna Tisdale Johnson and Friends. For more information, contact Jackson Advocate Editor Emeritus Alice Tisdale at alicethomastisdale@gmail.com.
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Rosarium Publishing has a call for submissions for Planet Black Joy, which will be an anthology of speculative fiction by women and non-binary folk who identify as Black, African, or of Afro-descendent heritage, exploring and celebrating Black joy and pleasure. Planet Black Joy will showcase stories of Black joy in the fantastical and the mundane in the present, past, and the future. They desire a variety of Black joy from catharsis to irreverence to clawing resilience from darkness. From Black Twitter after the Alabama Brawl to the kind of joy that has been constructed in the face of white supremacy and patriarchy. They want to know what Black joy means to you. The deadline to submit is January 1, 2025. Please email submission as an attachment to planetblackjoy@rosariumpublishing.com. For additional information, go here.
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January 23, 2025, at the Mississippi State University Riley Center in Meridian, Mississippi, the Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience (The MAX) will induced its 2024 Hall of Fame Class, which will include Pulitzer Prize winner and U.S./MS Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey, folklorist and educator William “Bill” Ferris, historian and fiction writer Shelby Foote, Singer/songwriter Bobbie Gentry, and musician/singer/songwriter Mac MaAnally. For full bios and details of the induction ceremony, go here.
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