Reflecting Mississippi

Reflecting Mississippi

By Mississippi Humanities CouncilSociety & CultureDocumentaryHistory
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Reflecting Mississippi episodes

  • Reflecting Mississippi - The Mississippi Book Festival
    In this episode, we examine the creation and growth of the Mississippi Book Festival, the state’s literary lawn party. Holly Lange and Jere Nash discuss what inspired them to launch the festival in 2015 and share some of their favorite memories from its early years. Then, current festival executive director Ellen Daniels talks about the 2026 event, which will take place September 26th in downtown Jackson.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1 hr 7 min
  • Reflecting Mississippi - Mississippi Innovation: Sparking Lasting Change
    Today on Reflecting Mississippi, we’re joined by Chance McDavid, Brandi Turner, and Carlton Turner to talk about rural innovation happening across our state. Inspired by the Mississippi tour of "Spark!: Places of Innovation," a traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian’s Museum on Main Street program, this conversation covers how we define innovation, the role that community plays in creating lasting change, and the value of investing in rural spaces.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1 hr 28 min
  • Reflecting Mississippi - Black Elected Officials and the Legacy of Reconstruction

    More than 160 Black men served in public office during Reconstruction, helping shape Mississippi's future in the years following the Civil War—yet many of their stories remain overlooked. In this episode of Reflecting Mississippi, we are joined by DeeDee Baldwin, Engagement Librarian at Mississippi State University, author Jere Nash, and Michael Morris, Director of the Two

    Mississippi Museums, to explore the lives of these pioneering leaders and the ongoing efforts to preserve their legacy. Together, they discuss scholarship, archives, public memory, and why understanding Reconstruction is essential to telling a more complete and honest story of Mississippi's history.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1 hr 30 min
  • Reflecting Mississippi - L.V. Hull: Legacy, Memory, and Making Space for Art
    Annalise Flynn, Yaphet Smith, and Allen Massey reflect on the life and legacy of artist L.V. Hull and the efforts to preserve her work through the L.V. Hull Legacy Center. They also discuss the importance of archives, community memory, and how exhibitions and film, including Love Is a Sensation, help bring Hull’s story to new audiences while honoring her place in Mississippi’s cultural history.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1 hr
  • Reflecting Mississippi - Growing History: Southern Garden Clubs and Historic Places
    Dr. Elise Smith, Sarah Meeks, and Olivia Spann reflect on the history of Southern garden clubs and what they can teach us about people, communities, and the past. They also discuss how historic house museums like the Eudora Welty House & Garden and the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home help preserve this history while bringing people together through gardening.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    59 min
  • Reflecting Mississippi - Uncovering the Stories of Asylum Hill
    Dr. Ralph Didlake, Lida Key, and Dr. Jennifer Mack discuss the Asylum Hill Project and their efforts to uncover the stories of the Mississippi State Lunatic Asylum. We also explore the connections between science, archaeology, and the humanities.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1 hr
  • Reflecting Mississippi - From Trauma to Memory: Interpreting Places of Pain with Dignity

    How do places marked by violence, oppression, and injustice become spaces for remembrance, learning, and healing? In this episode of Reflecting Mississippi, we explore the powerful role historic sites play in shaping public memory with two National Park Service leaders on the front lines of this work: Keena Graham, Superintendent of the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument, and Kathleen Bond, Superintendent of Natchez National Historical Park, who is leading the interpretation of the historic Forks of the Road slave market.


    Together, they discuss the challenges and responsibilities of preserving difficult histories, centering the humanity of those who experienced them, and engaging communities in telling these stories with honesty and dignity. Whether you're passionate about history, museums, preservation, or the ongoing work of confronting America's past, this conversation offers thoughtful insight into why these places matter—not only for understanding where we've been, but for shaping where we're going.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1 hr 9 min
  • Reflecting Mississippi - Making History through Mississippi History Day
    In this episode, Shaniece Mabry, Dr. Christina Thomas, and Bently Cochran discuss the groundbreaking History Day program at the Youthful Offenders Unit (YOU) in Pearl, Mississippi. They’ll share about the program’s beginning, how it has evolved and expanded in the past three years, and the ways that the YOU students are studying and making history in our state.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1 hr 20 min
  • Reflecting Mississippi - The Whiskey Speech: Politics, Persuasion, and Public Life in Mississippi
    We speak with filmmaker David Crews and Senator Hob Bryan about The Whiskey Speech, a documentary exploring one of Mississippi’s most memorable political moments. Together, they examine the historical context of the speech, its reflection of Mississippi’s political culture, and what it reveals about public debate, persuasion, and leadership in the state. The conversation also considers how stories like this endure in public memory and what they teach us about Mississippi’s social character, contradictions, and civic life.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1 hr 10 min
  • Reflecting Mississippi - Building Hope: The Legacy of Utica Normal School and William Henry Holtzclaw
    What kind of vision does it take to build a school when the world is determined to see you fail? In this episode of Reflecting Mississippi, we uncover the remarkable story of William Henry Holtzclaw, an educator whose courage and determination transformed Black education in Mississippi. Joined by Dan Fuller, former Humanities Chair at the Hinds Community College Utica Campus, and Jeanne Green, curator of the Utica Institute Museum, the conversation explores how Holtzclaw's mentorship under Booker T. Washington inspired him to found Utica Normal School in the face of Jim Crow, racial violence, and relentless opposition. Discover how one man's belief in the power of education created a lasting institution that continues to serve students today, and why Holtzclaw's story remains one of Mississippi's most inspiring.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1 hr 2 min

About Reflecting Mississippi

From the publisher's feed

Reflecting Mississippi is a podcast from Mississippi Public Broadcasting and the Mississippi Humanities Council exploring the people, stories, and ideas that shape life in the…