Delta Center hosts Hillel Jewish group

Lee Aylward (second from right) of the Delta Center for Culture and Learning recently hosted a tour for the Hillel Jewish student group from the University of Virginia. They visited various Delta sites, including the "Cast of Blues," a collection of 54 blues masks found in the lobby of Ewing Hall at Delta State.

The Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University recently hosted members of the Hillel Jewish student group at the University of Virginia.

Hillel is the largest Jewish student organization in the world. By participating in life-changing trips and campus initiatives, students learn to make a meaningful impact on the future of people and the world while they grow intellectually, socially, and spiritually.

The Delta Center’s Lee Aylward provided a Delta tour to significant sites in the Delta, and director Dr. Rolando Herts gave them an overview of the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area.

The group will spend time throughout the Delta for a week conducting service projects and learning about the different communities. 

The mission of The Delta Center is to promote greater understanding of Mississippi Delta culture and history and its significance to the world through education, partnerships and community engagement. The Delta Center serves as the management entity of the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area and is the home of the International Delta Blues Project. For more information, visit http://www.deltastate.edu/academics/delta-center-for-culture-and-learning/.

Delta Center tours with Mississippi State students

The Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University recently provided an experiential learning tour to Mississippi State University's Alternative Spring Break group.

The Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University recently provided an experiential learning tour of the Mississippi Delta region to Mississippi State University’s Alternative Spring Break group, which is sponsored by the Office of Student Leadership and Community Engagement at MSU.

The group was led by student volunteers and were housed for the week at the North Greenwood Baptist Church. They were treated to an introduction to Delta history by the Delta Center’s Lee Aylward.

Delta Center director Dr. Rolando Herts provided an overview of the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area. The group travelled throughout the week around the Delta experiencing cultural heritage sites, agricultural sites and educational groups.

The group spent their evenings watching movies about the Delta and reflecting on lessons learned throughout the day.

The mission of The Delta Center is to promote greater understanding of Mississippi Delta culture and history and its significance to the world through education, partnerships and community engagement. The Delta Center serves as the management entity of the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area and is the home of the International Delta Blues Project. For more information, visit http://www.deltastate.edu/academics/delta-center-for-culture-and-learning.

MDNHA updates provided in Greenwood

Dr. Rolando Herts (left to right), director of the Delta Center for Culture and Learning and the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area, recently met with Cheryl Taylor, executive director, Museum of the Mississippi Delta; Tonja Ray Smith, executive director, Greenwood Convention & Visitors Bureau; and Luther Wade, president, Greenwood Rotary Club.

Dr. Rolando Herts, director of the Delta Center for Culture and Learning and the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area (MDNHA), visited Greenwood recently to share updates on the implementation of the MDNHA Management Plan. The visit included a tour of the Museum of the Mississippi Delta to discuss their renovation plans and a presentation to the Greenwood Rotary Club.

Cheryl Taylor, executive director of the Museum of the Mississippi Delta, gave Herts a tour of the museum, which is scheduled to reopen in May. Taylor will use the MDNHA Management Plan to help guide the creation of new exhibits that will interpret the history of the Mississippi Delta. 

“We are excited to learn about the museum’s plans to incorporate our five cultural heritage themes,” said Herts. “The Management Plan was written as a resource for the people of the Mississippi Delta, particularly for cultural programming that stimulates tourism in the region and promotes local education and pride of place. By doing this, the Museum of the Mississippi Delta not only will be fulfilling its mission, but it also will be demonstrating how our institutions and citizens can actively engage with the Heritage Area.”

The MDNHA’s five cultural heritage themes are: (1) The Mississippi Delta and the Land It Embraces; (2) The Culture of the Blues and the Birth of an American Sound; (3) Moving Toward Freedom: Changing America’s Character in the Struggle for Rights; (4) Growing More than Cotton: The Delta as a Wellspring of Creativity; and (5) The Delta Divide: Creating the Delta’s Diverse Communities. 

“The Museum of the Mississippi Delta sees the importance of telling the Delta’s story comprehensively and inclusively,” said Taylor, “We can achieve this by interpreting Heritage Area themes in our new exhibits. The Museum is well known for its extensive Native American collection, as well as military and agricultural artifacts and Mississippi artwork. We look forward to using our collections to create innovative exhibits centered on the MDNHA themes.” 

After touring the museum, Herts spoke at the Greenwood Rotary Club. The presentation included an overview of the Delta Center’s role as MDNHA’s management entity, as well as the MDNHA’s goals and themes. Herts also discussed recent expansion of the MDNHA Passport Program throughout the 18-county region. The Greenwood Convention and Visitors Bureau serves as the passport stamp location for Leflore County. 

“The Greenwood CVB is pleased to collaborate with the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area Passport Program,” said Tonja Ray Smith, CVB executive director, “By hosting the passport for Leflore County, we will welcome travelers to our community, direct them to area attractions like the Museum of the Mississippi Delta, and encourage them to visit other destinations throughout the Mississippi Delta that will educate tourists about the national significance of the Delta’s culture.” 

Herts also highlighted upcoming partnership events that promote MDNHA cultural heritage themes. These events include the opening reception of the Winning the Race diversity conference at Delta State University scheduled for March 30, which will provide Delta residents and visitors an opportunity to meet Robert Stanton, the first African American director of the National Park Service. The MDNHA will also be hosting Delta Jewels Community Gatherings featuring journalism professor, Alysia Burton Steele, and her new book of photography and oral histories on African American church mothers from the Delta. The gatherings will take place in municipalities across the region, including Clarksdale, Charleston, Ruleville, Indianola and Yazoo City.

The MDNHA is a partnership between the people of the Mississippi Delta and the National Park Service. The MDNHA was designated by U.S. Congress in 2009 and is governed by a board of directors representing agencies and organizations defined in the Congressional legislation. More information about the MDNHA, including the complete approved management plan, is available at www.msdeltaheritage.com.

The mission of the Delta Center is to promote greater understanding of Mississippi Delta culture and history and its significance to the world through education, partnerships and community engagement. The Delta Center serves as the management entity of the MDNHA and is the home of the International Delta Blues Project. For more information, visit http://www.deltastate.edu/academics/delta-center-for-culture-and-learning/.

Dr. Herts meets with Roger Wicker

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Dr. Rolando Herts was honored to meet Senator Roger Wicker this week during the Alliance of National Heritage Areas meeting in Washington, D.C. Senator Wicker, Senator Thad Cochran, and Congressman Bennie Thompson all are strong supporters of the National Heritage Areas movement, particularly the Mississippi Delta and Mississippi Hills National Heritage Areas since their designation in 2009. The Delta Center at Delta State University is the management entity for the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area.

To learn more, visithttp://www.wicker.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=dbb24d59-b5b8-ece9-74ba-0440b90dd769 andhttp://www.cochran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/in-the-news?ID=7353331e-7eae-4bd1-b03f-8c5c3fe2088e.

Dr. Herts visits Washington

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Dr. Herts was honored to meet Congressman Bennie Thompson. Congressman Thompson has served the Second Congressional District of Mississippi since 1993. The Second Congressional District is one of the largest in the U.S. and covers the vast majority of the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area, of which Congressman Thompson is a strong supporter. He is the longest-serving African-American elected official in the state of Mississippi.

To learn more about Congressman Thompson, visit http://benniethompson.house.gov/index.php.

Dr. Herts goes to Washington

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Dr. Rolando Herts met Mr. Robert Stanton during his visit to Washington, DC, for the Alliance of National Heritage Areas meeting.  Mr. Stanton is the first African American to be appointed Director of the National Park Service, serving 1997-2001 under the Clinton Administration. He is a friend of the MS Delta National Heritage Area and The Delta Center.

To learn more about his career and achievements, visit http://www.nationalparks.org/connect/blog/former-national-park-service-director-robert-g-stanton.

Tallahatchie County Courthouse

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Yesterday, we took a field trip to the newly renovated Tallahatchie County Courthouse in Sumner.  The renovations have taken the courthouse design back as it was during the trial of Emmett Till.  They have done a beautiful job in the restoration and are providing ongoing dialogue for the community and visitors about the tragedy that happened here in 1955.

Visit our Flickr page to see more images.

Passport Stamps . . .

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Letty and Bruce Johnson from Michigan stopped by today to get their passports stamped. They have travelled to all of the National Parks and are making all of the heritage areas. They said to "watch out" as the heritage area is really going to be getting the visitors!

Afternoon in Charleston, MS

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We had a great visit Friday with Banu Valladares of SonEdna in Charleston about an upcoming project. SonEdna believes that people empowered through the literary arts discern, decide, and design with greater authority, clarity, understanding, and compassion. SonEdna celebrates established and emerging artists with programs including salon presentations, fellowships, writing workshops for young people, school presentations, writer round table discussions, peer critical review for emerging writers, residencies and retreats for established writers, literary showcases and dramatic staged readings of literary works. We also got a tour of CARE (Charleston Arts and Revitalization Effort,) which is where this picture was taken. Great things are happening in Charleston, and we look forward to partnering with them.

DCCL observes cultural celebration

L-R: Rabbi Harry Danzinger, Lee Aylward, Nate, Emily, and Zoe Rubenstein, children of Tammy and David Rubenstein of Oxford, and Dr. Rolando Herts.

Dr. Rolando Herts and Lee Aylward of the Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University recently participated in the Chanukah (or Hanukkah) observance at Temple Adath Israel in Cleveland. They attended the service to celebrate the holiday with community members, as well as to represent the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area.

“The National Heritage Area promotes and celebrates various aspects of the Delta’s living culture, including religious, racial, national, and ethnic diversity,” said Herts, director of The Delta Center. “Jewish people came to the Delta in the late 19th and 20th centuries seeking economic opportunity. They developed businesses here and brought their rich culture with them, which includes expressions of faith. While Jewish congregations are not as large today as they once were, one can still find temples operating in Cleveland, Greenville, Vicksburg, and Clarksdale.”

Temple Adath Israel is a Reform Jewish synagogue in Cleveland, Miss. The Congregation was organized in 1923; a Hebrew school had been started the previous year. The congregation’s Byzantine Revival synagogue was built in 1927. An annex, designed by architect Harold Kaplan of Greenville, Miss., was completed in 1949-1950. The Temple was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

Chanukah is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the re-dedication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire of the 2nd century B.C. Chanukah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar. This is Jewish Year 5775, and Chanukah is observed from sunset on Dec. 16 until nightfall on Dec. 24, 2014.

The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a unique candelabrum, the nine-branched menorah or hanukiah, one additional light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night. The typical menorah consists of eight branches with an additional visually-distinct branch. The extra light is called a shamash and is given a distinct location, usually above or below the rest. The purpose of the shamash is to have a light available for practical use, as using the lights themselves for purposes other than publicizing and meditating upon Chanukah is forbidden.

The Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area is a partnership between the people of the Mississippi Delta and the National Park Service. The MDNHA was designated by U.S. Congress in 2009, and its management plan was approved in August 2014. More information about the MDNHA, including the complete approved management plan, is available at www.msdeltaheritage.com.

The mission of the DCCL is to promote greater understanding of Mississippi Delta culture and history and its significance to the world through education, partnerships and community engagement. The Delta Center serves as the management entity of the MDNHA and is the home of the International Delta Blues Project. For more information, visit http://www.deltastate.edu/academics/delta-center-for-culture-and-learning/.