History Is Lunch is a weekly lecture series that explores different aspects of the state's past. The hour-long programs are held in the Craig H. Neilsen Auditorium of the Museum of Mississippi History and Mississippi Civil Rights Museum building in Jackson.
MDAH livestreams the program at noon on Wednesdays on MDAH's Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/MDAHOfficial/. The videos are posted on the department’s YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/MDAHVideo.
History is Lunch: "A History of Policing American Slavery" - Gautham Rao
At noon on Wednesday, October 7, Gautham Rao, associate professor of history at American University in Washington, DC, discussed rebellions, fugitivity, activism, and the legal systems that challenged them as part of the History Is Lunch series. In Rao’s book, White Power: Policing American Slavery, he offers a new interpretation of the history of policing in the United States, centered on the institution and legacy of slavery. This free event took place in the Craig H. Neilsen Auditorium of the Two Mississippi Museums.
History is Lunch: “This Transformation of People: Notes on Bob Moses, Mississippi, and Organizing” - Charles Payne
At noon on Wednesday, September 30, historian Charles Payne explored how civil rights activist Ella Baker influenced Bob Moses’s approach to organizing, from his work with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) to the founding of the Algebra Project, as part of the History Is Lunch series. This free event took place in the Craig H. Neilsen Auditorium of the Two Mississippi Museums.
History Is Lunch: “Lawrence Guyot, the Mississippi Movement, and the Rise and Fall of the Freedom Democrats” - Chris Danielson
At noon on Wednesday, September 23, Chris Danielson, independent historian, offered a reassessment of the civil rights movement and the individuals who shaped it as part of the History Is Lunch series. Danielson’s book, "Brother Outsider, Brother Insider," examines the life and work of Lawrence Thomas Guyot Jr., a Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) field secretary in the 1960s who fought poverty and racism in the South and championed voting rights for Black Mississippians. This free event took place in the Craig H. Neilsen Auditorium of the Two Mississippi Museums.
History is Lunch: “Mississippi, USA: The Fisher People” - David Garraway, Emma To, and Deanne Stephens
At noon on Wednesday, September 16, the second episode in David Garraway’s documentary series, “Mississippi, USA: The Fisher People” was presented as part of the History Is Lunch series. The documentary explores the immigration experiences of Vietnamese refugees on the Mississippi Gulf Coast that have defined life along the shore for the past fifty years. A Q&A featuring David Garraway, associate director of the Office of Public Affairs for broadcast and digital media at Mississippi State University; Emma To, certified registered nurse anesthetist and assistant professor at the University of Southern Mississippi; and Deanne Stephens, co-director of the Center for the Study of the Gulf South and professor of history at the University of Southern Mississippi, will follow. This free event took place in the Craig H. Neilsen Auditorium of the Two Mississippi Museums.
History is Lunch: "When It’s Darkness on the Delta: How America’s Richest Soil Became Its Poorest Land" - Ralph Eubanks
At noon on Wednesday, September 9, Ralph Eubanks, author of "When It’s Darkness on the Delta: How America’s Richest Soil Became Its Poorest Land," examined the history and economy of the Mississippi Delta as part of the History Is Lunch series. Eubanks, faculty fellow and writer in residence at the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi, drew on his research and travels throughout the region to explore the forces that have shaped the Delta and highlight efforts to address economic inequality. This free event took place in the Craig H. Neilsen Auditorium of the Two Mississippi Museums.
History is Lunch: "Informed Imagination: Hard Research & Poetic Narratives" -Kelly Ellis
At noon on Wednesday, September 2, Kelly Ellis , visiting associate professor of English at Jackson State University, presented "Informed Imagination: Hard Research and Poetic Narratives" as part of the History Is Lunch series. This program took place in the Craig H. Neilsen Auditorium of the Two Mississippi Museums.
History Is Lunch: “Lessons from Reading Mississippi’s WPA Narratives” - Jasmine Holmes
At noon on Wednesday, August 26, Jasmine Holmes, director of museum education at the Two Mississippi Museums, presented her research on interviews conducted by employees of the Federal Writers’ Project of the Works Progress Administration as part of the History Is Lunch series. This program took place in the Craig H. Neilsen Auditorium of the Two Mississippi Museums.
History Is Lunch: "Holding Court with the Queen: Conversations with Ellen Gilchrist"
At noon Wednesday, August 19, panelists Scott Anderson, Tracy Carr, Lucious Lampton and Holly Lange presented "Holding Court with the Queen: Conversations with Ellen Gilchrist" as part of the History Is Lunch series. This program took place in the Craig H. Neilsen Auditorium of the Two Mississippi Museums.
History is Lunch: "Art Crime: The FBI and the Return of a Mississippi Rifle" - Randy Deaton
At noon Wednesday, August 12, Randy Deaton presented "Art Crime: The FBI and the Return of a Mississippi Rifle" as part of the History Is Lunch series. This program took place in the Craig H. Neilsen Auditorium of the Two Mississippi Museums.