2024 Festival/Event grants announced by MS Delta NHA
Our Festival/Event grant program was recently featured on Delta Daily News. 5 festivals and events were awarded $3,000 grants through support from Mississippi Development Authority and Visit Mississippi.
Upcoming grantee events include Let Freedom Sing Festival (Quitman County Arts Council), The Tunica Rivergate Festival (Tunica Main Street Association), "Written in Their Soul: The Stax Songwriter Demos" (GRAMMY Museum Mississippi), "Crossroads: Change in Rural America" (Mississippi's Lower Delta Partnership), and the Vicksburg Arts and Music Festival (Vicksburg Convention Center).
Read more: https://www.msdeltaheritage.com/blog/2024/2/15/ms-delta-nha-awards-festival-event-grants
Most Southern Place on Earth 2023 Preface
This summer, The Robertson Scholars Leadership Program interns Emily Chen, Jothi Gupta, and Mercy Jones created 14 videos and a digital portfolio as they documented the Delta Center for Culture and Learning's 2023 NEH Most Southern Place on Earth workshop. Here they read from the preface to their portfolio. Watch all of their videos and see the completed project on Delta Center for Culture and Learning's website: http://deltacenterdsu.com/photos-portfolios-and-videos
Civil Rights Heritage Archive - Amanda Dear-Jones
"MY MOTHER RAN SO I COULD FLY”
Amanda Dear-Jones, granddaughter of Clarksdale, MS based civil rights icon Mary Parker-Dear, shared her story with the MS Delta NHA's Civil Rights Heritage Archive.
Ms. Dear-Jones remembers her grandmother's legacy and stresses the importance of family in making generational improvements.
Hear her story at msdeltacivilrights.org
The MS Delta NHA Civil Rights Archive Digital Storytelling Project is the work of Robertson Scholar summer 2022 interns Jenna Smith and Vishal Jammulapati.
#WomensHistoryMonth #nationalparkservice
Civil Rights Heritage Archive - Malika Polk-Lee
"TRY IT AND SEE. THAT'S WHY A PENCIL HAS AN ERASER."
Malika Polk-Lee, executive director of the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in Indianola, MS, shared her story with the MS Delta NHA's Civil Rights Heritage Archive.
She reflects on the importance of family in continuing the fight for civil rights from generation to generation.
Her ongoing projects center on uplifting the local Indianola community through educational programming.
Hear her story at msdeltacivilrights.org
The MS Delta NHA Civil Rights Archive Digital Storytelling Project is the work of Robertson Scholar summer 2022 interns Jenna Smith and Vishal Jammulapati.
#BlackHistoryMonth #nationalparkservice
Civil Rights Heritage Archive - Reena Evers-Everette
"NEVER LET THEM KNOW YOU'RE COMING."
Ms. Reena Evers-Everette, daughter of civil rights icons Medgar and Myrlie Evers, shared her story with the MS Delta NHA's Civil Rights Heritage Archive.
Ms. Evers-Everette celebrates her parents' legacies and reflects on what must still be fought for.
Hear her story at msdeltacivilrights.org
The MS Delta NHA Civil Rights Archive Digital Storytelling Project is the work of The Robertson Scholars Leadership Program summer 2022 interns Jenna Smith and Vishal Jammulapati.
#BlackHistoryMonth #nationalparkservice
"IT'S EMBEDDED IN ME. TO DO WHAT'S RIGHT"
Dr. Mary Frances Dear-Moton, daughter of Clarksdale, MS-based civil rights organizer Rachel Parker-Dear, shared her story with the MS Delta NHA's Civil Rights Heritage Archive.
Dr. Dear-Moton reflects on what it meant to grow up fighting for equality during the civil rights movement.
Hear her story at msdeltacivilrights.org
The MS Delta NHA Civil Rights Archive Digital Storytelling Project is the work of The Robertson Scholars Leadership Program summer 2022 interns Jenna Smith and Vishal Jammulapati.
#BlackHistoryMonth #nationalparkservice
Indianola Freedom House
“The Indianola Freedom House helps to hold the space to preserve the energy that was poured into helping oppressed people. The mid-1960’s was a dangerous and terrifying time for African Americans and for those who assisted them to simply obtain their right to vote. The Indianola Freedom House continues to stand as a testament to the sacrifices of those brave heroes and sheroes that were the engine of the Civil Rights Movement.”
Dr. Felicia King
Owner - Indianola Freedom House
The restoration of the Indianola Freedom House is part of a statewide initiative of Mississippi Heritage Trust with funding from Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area and National Parks Service to preserve the living heritage of the civil rights movement in Mississippi. Blue Magnolia Films is a production company dedicated to telling stories of creativity and resilience in the rural south.
Support the restoration of the Indianola Freedom House
Contact info:
Dr. Felicia King
(662)836-8893
[email protected]
www.Indianola.FreedomHouse.MS
Join our page - Indianola Freedom House
Like and Share this video to grow our community!
The Delta Center for Culture and Learning is very thankful for the courageous leaders, Civil Rights activists, participants, and figures who have helped pave the way for today's generation. May we all take the time to acknowledge and appreciate the efforts of previous ancestors who have helped create a new understanding of life for us all. Over the month, we will spotlight historical African Americans who have exhibited leadership in the Mississippi Delta.
Happy Black History Month!
Beautiful Agitators Community Discussion
This summer, the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area collaborated with regional partners to host two public staged readings of the civil rights play “Beautiful Agitators” at GRAMMY Museum Mississippi. The play tells the story of unsung civil rights activist Vera Mae Pigee of Clarksdale, who was an instrumental local figure in the fight for equality in Mississippi. The reading was followed by a community discussion about race relations and civic engagement in the Delta today.
This video shows a portion of the community discussion. Today, the MDNHA will host a follow up conversation with National Parks Magazine and the Beautiful Agitators team. We thank the playwrights, cast, and producers for making it possible to share this important civil rights heritage story with the National Park Service and with the broader Delta community.
Many thanks to these regional partners for their support: Coahoma Collective, Delta Center for Culture and Learning, Mississippi Humanities Council, Mississippi Today, and Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting.
Sharing "Heart & Soul" of the Mississippi Delta
Many thanks to Delta News for featuring the MDNHA and The Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University being honored in Washington DC for receiving National Park Service Centennial Awards! The recognition took place on Valentine's Day during the Alliance of National Heritage Areas' "Heart & Soul" Congressional Breakfast where Delta State student Keith "Prince of the Delta Blues" Johnson was invited to perform. Many thanks as well to Senator Thad Cochran, Congressman Bennie G. Thompson, and Senator Roger Wicker for their continued support!
International Conference on the Blues Radio Promo 2017
Join us for the 4th International Conference on the Blues starting this Sunday. Registration is still open!
MDNHA Promo
In honor of the National Park Service's Centennial birthday celebration today, we are launching our new website!
http://msdeltaheritage.com
Stop by and give it a look, then come back often as we'll be regularly updating it with new stories and videos.
We'd be grateful if you'd help us spread the word by sharing this video. We're just getting started, but we're excited about where we're going. Please let us know if you have any questions!
#FindYourPark #NPS100
