NEH funds Delta Center’s “Most Southern” workshops for ninth year

June 2017 NEH “Most Southern Place on Earth” scholars and Delta Center staff members Lee Aylward and Dr. Rolando Herts visit the 1927 Flood Mississippi Blues Trail marker in Scott, Mississippi.

The National Endowment for the Humanities recently announced $39.3 million in grants for 245 humanities projects across the country. Among the projects funded is The Delta Center for Culture and Learning’s “Most Southern Place on Earth: Music, Culture, and History of the Mississippi Delta.” These week-long professional development workshops attract K-12 educators from across the U.S. to Delta State University and the broader region.

NEH will award nearly $190,000 to Delta State to support the summer 2018 “Most Southern Place on Earth” workshops. Since 2009, NEH has awarded approximately $1.5 million to Delta State to fund the workshops.

“NEH grants ensure that Americans around the country have the opportunity to engage with our shared cultural heritage,” said Jon Parrish Peede, NEH acting chairman. “From traveling exhibitions and teacher workshops to efforts to preserve local history, these projects demonstrate the power of the humanities to build connections, stimulate discovery and contribute to vibrant communities.”

Dr. Rolando Herts, director of The Delta Center, said he was thrilled to receive additional NEH support.

“We are honored and grateful to receive funding from NEH for our ‘Most Southern’ workshops,” said Herts. “The workshops have developed national ambassadors for the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area, which The Delta Center manages. Our workshop participants take what they learn about the Delta’s culture and history back to their school communities. Many of them return to the Delta as educational and cultural heritage tourists, bringing family members, friends, students and colleagues with them.”

The summer of 2018 will be the ninth year that the workshops have been offered to K-12 educators, and Herts said they are in high demand among K-12 educators nationally. The workshops have produced an active alumni network boasting over 500 members.

“Our workshops yield hundreds of applications annually for just 72 slots,” said Lee Aylward, workshop co-director. “We are so very pleased that NEH continues to support these workshops. Once again, we can provide a unique professional development opportunity for master teachers who will educate students all over the country using Mississippi Delta music, culture and history. Through these workshops, we all are making a difference in the lives of these teachers and their students.”

Herts said this was an especially competitive funding year for the workshops. The NEH suspended the Landmarks of American History funding category for the summer of 2018, and all existing Landmarks workshops, if they chose to do so, had to apply under NEH’s Summer Seminars and Institutes for College and University Teachers funding category. This meant more programs across the country were competing for the same grant funds.

This round of funding, NEH’s third and last for fiscal year 2017, will support vital research, education and public programs in the humanities. These peer-reviewed grants were awarded in addition to $46.1 million in annual operating support provided to the national network of state and local humanities councils during fiscal year 2017, including the Mississippi Humanities Council.

“The Mississippi Humanities Council congratulates The Delta Center and Delta State University on this achievement,” said executive director Stuart Rockoff. “The ‘Most Southern Place on Earth’ workshops help to raise the national profile not only of the Delta region but of the entire state of Mississippi.”

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 and the National Endowment for the Humanities “Most Southern Place on Earth” workshops. For more information, visit http://deltacenterdsu.com/.

Mississippi Delta National Heritage area grants announced

For the second year, the MDNHA has awarded over $155,000 in grants to regional organizations. Projects range from arts and culture education to information signage and historic preservation.

The Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area is pleased to announce over $155,000 in grants for nine projects focused on cultural and heritage development in the Mississippi Delta.

The funded work celebrates the diversity of the Delta’s rich cultural heritage including restoration of historical sites such as the Dockery Farms cotton gin, the establishment of a museum featuring the legacy of Dr. L.C. Dorsey at the Delta Health Center, and the influence of the Delta’s Chinese culture in Delta cuisine.

“We are pleased to support a broad range of work from communities and organizations dedicated to preserving the cultural heritage of the Delta,” said Dr. Myrtis Tabb, chair of the MDNHA board of directors. “We are encouraged by the number and scope of applicants in our second year of the Small Grants Program, and hope others will be motivated to participate in future rounds of funding.”

“We do our best to fund work in all parts of the Delta, and in a variety of areas of interest that complement MDNHA’s mission,” said Meg Cooper, chair of the MDNHA grants committee. “We have now approved a total of over $300,000 in projects in our two years of grant making.”

“The MDNHA is designed to engage and empower organizations and individuals to promote the cultural heritage of the Mississippi Delta,” said Dr. Rolando Herts, director of The Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University, which serves as the management entity for the MDNHA. “This partnership between the people of the Mississippi Delta and the National Park Service is crucial to the preservation, perpetuation and celebration of the Delta’s heritage that is at the core of our mission.”

Grant recipients and their funded projects include:

-Delta Health Center, Inc. – establish the Dr. L. C. Dorsey Community Health Center Museum in Mound Bayou
-Dockery Farms Foundation – restore and preserve the historic Dockery Farms cotton gin, and develop historical exhibits within the gin building
-Bologna Performing Arts Center at Delta State University – development of a new track of classes for its CORE Arts Camp that showcases tales of origination in song and story
-Mississippi Valley State University – design and present symposium lectures, panel discussions, musical performances and other work in support of the B.B. King Day symposium
-Mississippi State University – generate knowledge about and provide estimates of the economic value of preserving sites of cultural significance in the Delta
-Greenville Arts Council – provide artist residencies to teachers and students that preserve the rich artistic traditions of the Mississippi Delta
-Mississippi Heritage Trust – conduct four Historic Preservation Toolkit workshops that teach local towns and organizations how to leverage funding to preserve historic places
-Delta State University, Department of Archives and History – preserving the historic Mississippi Delta Chinese foodways culture through stories of family, place and cuisine
-Cleveland/Bolivar County Chamber of Commerce – restoration of the façade and interior of the Cleveland Depot building

The MDNHA includes 18 counties that contain land located in the alluvial floodplain of the Mississippi Delta: Bolivar, Carroll, Coahoma, DeSoto, Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, Leflore, Panola, Quitman, Sharkey, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Tate, Tunica, Warren, Washington and Yazoo. 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 and the National Endowment for the Humanities “Most Southern Place on Earth” workshops. For more information, visit http://deltacenterdsu.com/.

Delta State and MDNHA receive National Park Service Centennial Awards

The Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University and the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area recently received 2016 National Park Service Centennial Awards for creating the Delta Jewels Oral History Partnership. This cultural heritage interpretation project has honored the lives of unsung Mississippi Delta church mothers featured in Alysia Burton Steele’s book, Delta Jewels: In Search of My Grandmother’s Wisdom.

"The Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area and The Delta Center demonstrated exceptional leadership and creativity in organizing fifteen community gatherings with Alysia Burton Steele and several of the Delta Jewels featured in the book," said Chris Abbett, Associate Regional Director of Partnerships, Interpretation, and Education at the National Park Service (NPS) Southeast Regional Office. "The programs throughout Mississippi as well as the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum in Washington, DC, connected with and helped to create the next generation of visitors, supporters and advocates for the National Park Service."

"We are honored to receive this esteemed recognition from the National Park Service for this important cultural heritage development project," said Dr. Rolando Herts, director of The Delta Center and executive director of the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area. "The fact that Delta State and the Heritage Area are acknowledged together truly demonstrates the power of partnerships and collaboration when telling the Delta's story."

For 18 months in 2015 and 2016, the Delta Jewels Oral History Partnership's community gatherings engaged over 1,000 Mississippi Delta residents, visitors, and supporters. The gatherings took place in diverse, welcoming venues throughout the state including universities, churches, and tourism and cultural centers.

[President LaForge/Dr. McAdams quote]

[Myrtis Tabb quote]

The Delta Center has continued to give presentations with Alysia Burton Steele in 2017. These presentations have focused on community impacts documented in the Delta Jewels Oral History Partnership 2015-2016 Report.   

Recent presentations include the National Heritage Areas Southeast Region workshop in Atlanta, GA; the Smithsonian African American Interpretation Workshop in Charleston, SC; the NPS Collaboration Clinic in Biloxi, MS; and the Association for African American Museums conference in Washington, DC. In addition, Herts and Steele have been invited to present at the upcoming Oral History Association conference in Minneapolis, MN. 

"We have used the report as an interpretive and educational resource, which enhances the storytelling experience," said Steele, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalism professor at the University of Mississippi. "In addition to photos from the community events, the report includes survey results from participants. An overall program rating of 4.9 out of 5 clearly indicates that sharing the Delta Jewels' oral histories have had positive impacts in the communities we engaged."

The MDNHA and The Delta Center commemorated the 2016 NPS Centennial through other projects and events. Together, they organized an opening reception with Delta State University's 2015 Winning the Race conference featuring former NPS director Bob Stanton.

In addition, the MDNHA Passport to Your National Parks program attracted NPS Centennial travelers and a MDNHA promotional video was screened at a NPS Centennial film festival in Atlanta. Since its release, the video has been viewed over 20,000 times on social media.

To download the Delta Jewel Oral History Partnership 2015-2016 report, visit The Delta Center's publications webpage at http://deltacenterdsu.com/publications/. To view the MDNHA promo video, visit the MDNHA website at http://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 and the National Endowment for the Humanities “Most Southern Place on Earth” workshops.

Copy of NEH "Most Southern Place" July Workshop: Day 6

The July session of the Delta Center’s “Most Southern Place on Earth” workshop concluded this Saturday. Dr. John Strait, a professor of geography at Sam Houston State University, delivered the final lecture. He discussed the diffusion of Delta culture throughout America, focusing on how Southern events, ideas, and people shaped national music, religion, and politics. The group then reflected on their experience by creating their own mojo, an activity that originated in the folk magic of the Hoodoo spiritual tradition. Participants chose symbolic ingredients, such as flowers from the Chinese Cemetery and water from the Mississippi River, and wrapped their selections in black cloth. The mojo acts as both a personal souvenir and an educational tool. Finally, the group presented the Delta Center staff with cards, relived the week through photos and videos, and prepared to say goodbye to “the most Southern place on earth.”

Copy of NEH "Most Southern Place" July Workshop: Day 6

The July session of the Delta Center’s “Most Southern Place on Earth” workshop concluded this Saturday. Dr. John Strait, a professor of geography at Sam Houston State University, delivered the final lecture. He discussed the diffusion of Delta culture throughout America, focusing on how Southern events, ideas, and people shaped national music, religion, and politics. The group then reflected on their experience by creating their own mojo, an activity that originated in the folk magic of the Hoodoo spiritual tradition. Participants chose symbolic ingredients, such as flowers from the Chinese Cemetery and water from the Mississippi River, and wrapped their selections in black cloth. The mojo acts as both a personal souvenir and an educational tool. Finally, the group presented the Delta Center staff with cards, relived the week through photos and videos, and prepared to say goodbye to “the most Southern place on earth.”

Copy of NEH "Most Southern Place" July Workshop: Day 6

The July session of the Delta Center’s “Most Southern Place on Earth” workshop concluded this Saturday. Dr. John Strait, a professor of geography at Sam Houston State University, delivered the final lecture. He discussed the diffusion of Delta culture throughout America, focusing on how Southern events, ideas, and people shaped national music, religion, and politics. The group then reflected on their experience by creating their own mojo, an activity that originated in the folk magic of the Hoodoo spiritual tradition. Participants chose symbolic ingredients, such as flowers from the Chinese Cemetery and water from the Mississippi River, and wrapped their selections in black cloth. The mojo acts as both a personal souvenir and an educational tool. Finally, the group presented the Delta Center staff with cards, relived the week through photos and videos, and prepared to say goodbye to “the most Southern place on earth.”

Delta Center begins eighth year of “Most Southern Place on Earth” workshops

The Delta Center’s “Most Southern Place on Earth” workshop began its eighth year this week with an opening reception at the Martin and Sue King Railroad Museum in downtown Cleveland on Sunday evening.

The workshop, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, attracts 36 K-12 educators from across the country. Participants will spend a week in the Delta immersed in the history and culture of the region, interacting directly with its people and places.

Brooke Willis, a high school teacher from Greensboro, North Carolina, said she looks forward to combining her interest in the blues with her passion for history and civil rights.

“I’m excited about looking at history and being in it versus the idea of learning about it through books and movies,” she said. “Actually being in the space, I’m really about getting in touch with the energy.”

Katherine Hackney of Marietta, Georgia said she is excited for the hands-on learning.

“I’ve been teaching a civil rights unit for 12 years, and I’m finally visiting the places I’ve been teaching about,” said Hackney. “I felt like [the Delta] is a place where I could grow.”

This workshop has created a national network of over 500 educational and cultural ambassadors for the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area. Participants take what they have learned from the workshop back to their schools and communities, sharing stories and lessons from the Delta with students, colleagues, family and friends, both nationally and globally.

Learn more about the Delta Center at http://deltacenterdsu.com/.

NEH "Most Southern Place" July Workshop: Day 6

The July session of the Delta Center’s “Most Southern Place on Earth” workshop concluded this Saturday. Dr. John Strait, a professor of geography at Sam Houston State University, delivered the final lecture. He discussed the diffusion of Delta culture throughout America, focusing on how Southern events, ideas, and people shaped national music, religion, and politics. The group then reflected on their experience by creating their own mojo, an activity that originated in the folk magic of the Hoodoo spiritual tradition. Participants chose symbolic ingredients, such as flowers from the Chinese Cemetery and water from the Mississippi River, and wrapped their selections in black cloth. The mojo acts as both a personal souvenir and an educational tool. Finally, the group presented the Delta Center staff with cards, relived the week through photos and videos, and prepared to say goodbye to “the most Southern place on earth.”

NEH "Most Southern Place" July Workshop: Day 5

On Friday, the Most Southern Place on Earth workshop headed to Memphis, Tennessee. Along the way, the group stopped in Clarksdale to visit the Greyhound Bus Station and witness the physical remainders of Jim Crow: separate waiting rooms that once divided black and white passengers. After arriving in Memphis, participants went first to the Cotton Museum, then to the Stax Museum, dedicated to Stax Records and the soul music it cultivated. The group split in two for lunch at Central BBQ and Lyfe Kitchen before reuniting at the National Museum of Civil Rights at the Lorraine Motel. The evening concluded with the traditional march of the ducks at the Peabody Hotel.

Click "Read more" above to see photos and explore a more detailed account of the day.

NEH "Most Southern Place" July Workshop: Day 4

The Most Southern Place workshop continued this Thursday. The day began with a driving tour of Mound Bayou, including stops at the Taborian Hospital and T.R.M. Howard's Freedom Trail marker. Next came a stop at Po' Monkey's, where participants learned about the central role juke joints played in Delta culture. After a brief break, civil rights leader Charles McLaurin shared his experiences with the group. The afternoon focused on the story of Emmett Till through several sessions: a panel featuring Emmett's cousin, a trip to the Emmett Till Historic Intrepid Center, and a stop at Bryant's Grocery. Finally, the group paid their respects at one of three graves attributed to blues legend Robert Johnson.

Click "Read more" above to see photos and explore a more detailed account of the day.