Culture Archives - Page 18 of 24 - Mississippi Free Press

Group of young women from the ESTEEM program

Culture

Unlikely Relationships: Wisconsin Sisters Helping Tackle Black Dehumanization in Mississippi

Karla McCullough is the executive director of the Juanita Sims Doty Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of Black residents in Jackson, with a focus on tackling the dehumanization of Mississippians of color. The Franciscan Sisters gave the foundation small grants between 2018 and 2019. But then in 2020, the religious group called her about their new grant project called “Seeding the Legacy.”

Aliyah Veal March 9, 2021

Girl in pink dress looking through pink curtains

Culture

Oxford’s Hybrid Film Fest Keeps Virtual, Edges Back into Real Spaces

A year later, the pandemic is still here, and the Oxford Film Festival is back stronger, this year rolling out as a hybrid affair that takes advantage of every screen opportunity available, physical and virtual. With the pre-warning and plenty of prep time, “we came into it with a game plan knowing all the areas we need,” Addington says. And they built a festival that kept every comfort level in mind.

Sherry Lucas March 5, 2021

Culture

Using the Good China: Silbrina Wright Leads Where Art and Social Justice Meet

Silbrina Wright, a native of Camden in Madison County, is the first Black executive director in the Greater Jackson Arts Council’s 40-year history. As such, she says it is essential to lead the organization in a closer examination of the intersection of the arts and social justice in Mississippi. First on her agenda: a listening tour.

Torsheta Jackson February 26, 2021

Gabby Graves-Wakes sitting in desk in a classroom with blackboard in background

Culture

‘It Starts With People Like Us’: Warrior-Scholar Project Hosts ‘Black Women in STEM’

When Gabby Graves-Wake, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, took her first programming class in the fall of 2019, she glanced around the room and made a quick count: There were 56 students, and six of them were women—and she was the only woman of color. Her story is not unusual, as women of color account for less than 3 percent of people employed in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math fields.

Taylor McKay Hathorn February 23, 2021

Culture

‘A Peek into the Psyche’: The Surprising Art of Tennessee Williams—on Canvas

If eyes offer a window to the soul, paintings may be a peek into the psyche. That’s the lasting impression from a collection of artworks by famed playwright and native Mississippian Tennessee Williams, now on display at The MAX, the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience.

“Tennessee Williams: The Painter and the Playwright,” on view through April 11 at the Meridian facility, shows a surprising side of the literary master known for “The Glass Menagerie,” “A Streetcar Named Desire,” “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and more—showcases of raw emotion and classics of American theater and often, American film, too.

Sherry Lucas February 17, 2021

Culture

‘We Are Not at the Mercy of Our Past’: Emmett Till Interpretive Center Tour Leads to Sustaining Funds

The Mellon Foundation just announced a $691,000 grant to enable the Emmett Till Interpretive Center to continue to share its narrative of racial reconciliation. It is in Tallahatchie County, Miss., where white men brutally murdered a 14-year-old boy and then walked free.

Taylor McKay Hathorn February 11, 2021

Culture

Celebrating Blackness: David Dennis Jr. Wins 2021 American Mosaic Journalism Prize

David Dennis Jr., who lives in Atlanta, Ga., is one of two recipients of the 2021 American Mosaic Journalism Prize, which honors a journalist’s ability to cultivate greater understanding and empathy. The prize also supports freelance journalists with a cash award of $100,000 per recipient, the largest dollar amount for a journalism award. The Jackson native’s reporting on Black American culture and the intersection of race with topics such as politics, sports and entertainment drew him the honor. The prize, in particular, awards his 2020 Atlanta Magazine cover story “Ahmaud Arbery Will Not Be Erased” and Gay Mag’s “An Ode To the Black Women At Dillard’s.”

Aliyah Veal February 10, 2021

Culture

‘Taller Mountains Still’: Cora Norman, 94, Leaves Legacy of Service, Dialogue, Inclusion

Diversity in the boardroom was not enough for Dr. Cora Norman, and she began convening statewide panels and forums to promote the humanities and what the study of the field could do for race relations in the state. This encouraged the state’s humanities scholars to give their academic work real-life application by connecting small-town Mississippians to professors and other civil-rights advocates.

Taylor McKay Hathorn February 1, 2021

Culture

During Black History Month, Singing for Those Who Paved the Way With Sweat and Blood

Flonzie Brown-Wright has been spearheading New Hope’s Black History program since 2010 after the church’s youth director Deacon Jim Adams approached her on behalf of Pastor Jerry Young. The church wanted to bring new energy to the program, she said, and it was her civil-rights background that drew them to her.

Aliyah Veal January 29, 2021

Category: Culture

Unlikely Relationships: Wisconsin Sisters Helping Tackle Black Dehumanization in Mississippi

Oxford’s Hybrid Film Fest Keeps Virtual, Edges Back into Real Spaces

‘It Starts With People Like Us’: Warrior-Scholar Project Hosts ‘Black Women in STEM’

‘A Peek into the Psyche’: The Surprising Art of Tennessee Williams—on Canvas

‘We Are Not at the Mercy of Our Past’: Emmett Till Interpretive Center Tour Leads to Sustaining Funds

Celebrating Blackness: David Dennis Jr. Wins 2021 American Mosaic Journalism Prize

‘Taller Mountains Still’: Cora Norman, 94, Leaves Legacy of Service, Dialogue, Inclusion

During Black History Month, Singing for Those Who Paved the Way With Sweat and Blood

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