Events

At noon Wednesday, April 23, Marrion Garrard Barnwell, professor emerita of English at Delta State University, editor, and reporter, in conversation with Libby Hartfield will explore Barnwell's life growing up in the Mississippi Delta as part of the History Is Lunch series. Barnwell’s book All the Things We Didn’t Say: Two Memoirs explores Mississippi Delta life, addressing themes of alcoholism, racism, and shared family history. This program will take place in the Craig H.

Interested in furthering your genealogical research? Join us Saturday, April 19, at 10 a.m. for the Tracing Your African American Ancestors Genealogy Workshop in the orientation room of the William F. Winter Archives and History Building. Joyce Dixon-Lawson will explain how to conduct genealogical research by using the resources provided in the William Winter Archives and History Building with a focus on federal, state, county, and personal records (e.g., family letters and financial records).

Acclaimed novelist Kiese Laymon will read and sign copies of his new book, City Summer, Country Summer, on the lawn of the Eudora Welty House & Garden at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 3. Lemuria Books will sell copies of Laymon's book onsite. This event is co-sponsored by the Eudora Welty Foundation and Lemuria Books. For more information, call 601-353-7762 or email info@eudoraweltyhouse.com.

Join us for the annual Bettye Jolly Lecture series featuring Jesmyn Ward at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 10, on the lawn of the Eudora Welty House & Garden. Acclaimed memoirist and novelist Jesmyn Ward will deliver the eighth annual Bettye Jolly Lecture and discuss her experiences growing up in DeLisle, the Gulf Coast Mississippi town that continues to influence her writing as shown in her latest novel, Let Us Descend. A book signing and reception will follow the lecture.

Enjoy our History Happy Hour at 5 p.m. Thursday, April 24, at the Two Mississippi Museums! The event will feature free admission, live music from Twurt Chamberlain, local food trucks, and a cash bar. Guests can also join interactive flash tours through the museums to learn about the role the blues played during the Civil Rights Movement as well as how this beloved genre still shapes modern music today. Two Mississippi Museum and Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi members receive a complimentary drink. For more information, call 601-576-6850 or email info@mdah.ms.gov.

At noon Wednesday, April 30, Jeffrey Boutwell, writer, historian, and public policy specialist, will examine George Sewall Boutwell’s political career that included the establishment of the Republican Party, his abolitionist initiatives, and his impact on the modern economy. This program will take place in the Craig H.

Learn about the impact of The Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927 during a fifteen-minute flash tour at the Two Mississippi Museums at 2 p.m. Tuesday, April 22. Led by education staff at the Two Mississippi Museums, this tour will commemorate the ninety-eighth anniversary of the flood’s devastating impact. This natural disaster had a particularly devastating effect on Black Mississippians, many of whom lived as impoverished cotton tenants, sharecroppers, and plantation wage hands in the Mississippi Delta lowlands.

Learn about the impact of The Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927 during a fifteen-minute flash tour at the Two Mississippi Museums at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 22. Led by education staff at the Two Mississippi Museums, this tour will commemorate the ninety-eighth anniversary of the flood’s devastating impact. This natural disaster had a particularly devastating effect on Black Mississippians, many of whom lived as impoverished cotton tenants, sharecroppers, and plantation wage hands in the Mississippi Delta lowlands.

At noon, Wednesday, May 28, Ivory Phillips, contributing editor at The Jackson Advocate, will examine the Ayers vs. Waller case that centered on the disparities in funding and resources between historically White and historically Black public colleges and universities. This program will take place in the Craig H.