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2012 Fall Newsletter
Citation preview
2013 HAMER HUMANITARIAN AWARDS LUNCHEON
JACKSON STATE
UNIVERSITY
FALL 2012
CORE FACULTY Dr. Leslie Burl McLemore,
Director, Political Scientist (Emeritus) at Jackson State
University and Veteran of the
Civil Rights Movement
Dr. Michelle D. Deardorff,
Political Scientist at
Jackson State University
Dr. Jeff Kolnick, Historian,
Southwest Minnesota State
University
Dr. Daphne Chamberlain,
Research Fellow
STAFF Latosha A. Garrett,
Administrative Assistant/
Program Coordinator
Keith Lamont Mcmillian, M.A.
Project Coordinator
Inside this issue:
Director’s Note 2
History of the
Institute
3
Medgar Evers/ Ella 4
The Outcomes of
Black Males in Urban
Institutions
6
The 2012 Hamer
Humanitarian
Awards Luncheon
8
28th Annual Hamer
Memorial
Symposium
10
2012 Summer
Youth Workshop
12
2012 Teach American
History
14
The Hamer
Experience with
HECUA
15
The COFO Civil
Rights Education
Center
16
The Fannie Lou Hamer National Institute on Citizenship and
Democracy at Jackson State University extends an invitation
for you to become a participant in the Fannie Lou Hamer
Humanitarian Awards Luncheon, to be held on Friday, April
19, 2013, 11:30 A.M. – 1:30 P.M. in the New Student Center,
Ballrooms A & B located on the campus of Jackson State
University. The purpose of this awards luncheon is to honor
individuals and organizations that have made major
contributions to the areas of service and leadership in the
pursuit of social, economic, political, and environmental
justice and equality within the state of Mississippi and abroad.
2013 H2013 HAMERAMER HHUMANITARIANUMANITARIAN
AAWARDWARD RRECIPIENTSECIPIENTS Rev. John Earl Cameron
Senior Pastor, Greater Mt. Calvary Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi
Attorney Alvin O. Chambliss Lead Counsel, Ayers v. Barbour
Jackson, Mississippi
Ms. Nsombi Lambright Director, Resource Development and Communications
One Voice
Jackson, Mississippi
Attorney Rob McDuff Civil Rights and Criminal Defense Attorney
Jackson, Mississippi
Mrs. Euvester Simpson Civil Rights Veteran, former SNCC Field Secretary,
Jackson, Mississippi
$35 PER PERSON
$250 PER
TABLE OF 8
Save The Date
LOCATION:
Jackson State
University
New Student
Center
Ballrooms A&B
WHEN:
APRIL 19, 2013
TIME:
11:30 A.M.-1:30 P.M.
For More Information
please contact the
Hamer Institute at
601-979-1563 or email us at
You may also visit our
website at www.jsums.edu/
hamer.institute
HAMER
HAPPENINGS
Page 2 Hamer Happenings
We have had a phenomenal year at
the Hamer Institute. We have been
involved in a variety of academic
activities on the campus, as well as a
number of community based projects.
We have worked closely with faculty
to implement curriculum development
and public programming. The Hamer
Institute collaborated with the
Departments of History and Political
Science to develop a new course on
the Modern Civil Rights Movement.
The course will be jointly offered by
the departments and the Hamer
Institute. It will be open to all
undergraduates at Jackson State
University. We are excited about this
new course because we are looking
forward to adding new partners from
the Department of Sociology,
Psychology and Criminal Justice.
We are especially proud of our public
programming during this past academic
y e a r . W e s p o n s o r e d a n d
co-sponsored public programs on the
campus and in the community. The
public programs were implemented as
a part of the Medgar Evers/Ella Baker
Civil Rights Lecture Series, the Fannie
Lou Hamer Memorial Symposium
Lecture Series and the Jackson State
University Reading Community Series.
Our robust public programming has
afforded us the opportunity to work
with Tougaloo College, Smith
Robertson Museum and Cultural
Center, the Veterans of the Mississippi
Civil Rights Movement, the COFO
Education Center, the Margaret
Walker Center and Jackson Public
Schools. The reader will get a more
detailed picture of the different Hamer
activities in this edition of Hamer
Happenings. I am appreciative of the
stellar work performed by the Hamer
staff, affiliated faculty members,
graduate students and volunteers. We
have assembled a world class staff and
faculty that have served the Institute
and Jackson State University very well.
The Moton Institute in Farmville,
Virginia invited Dr. Michelle D.
Deardorff and I to their winter board
meeting and staff retreat. They asked
us to talk about our nationally
recognized workshop series for K-12
and Community College teachers. We
agreed to help them develop a series
of teacher workshops in 2013. They
wish to use our workshops as a model
for the activities they plan to develop
over time. We are looking forward to
developing a long term collaboration
with the Moton Institute.
The Hamer Institute’s staff will
continue to work with the COFO
Education Center and the Margaret
Walker Center as we develop new
funding opportunities and public
programs. We are excited about
further development of the Historic
Lynch Street Civil Rights Corridor.
The Corridor is increasingly becoming
a point of destination for visitors
around the world.
Please continue to follow us on our
website and attend our many
programs on campus and in the
community.
Leslie Burl McLemore, Ph.D.
Director
The Hamer Institute
DIRECTOR’S NOTE
Dr. Leslie Burl McLemore,
Director, The Hamer
Institute
FOUNDED IN 1997, the mission of the
Fannie Lou Hamer National Institute on Citizenship and Democracy is to promote
positive social change by examining and teaching the tools and experiences of those
who struggle to create, expand, and sustain civil rights, social justice, and citizenship. A
coalition of academics who partner with social institutions in the local community, the Hamer Institute advocates civic
engagement and popular sovereignty through the study of the struggle for civil
rights in the United States. As a part of Jackson State University, we work with local
school boards and colleges, national funding organizations, state agencies, and local civil
rights organizations to encourage local communities to embrace political
engagement and agency.
The Hamer Institute has annually offered a summer workshop for area students on local
civil rights history, while simultaneously exposing them not only to community lead-
ers, but a university campus. We have partnered with Jackson Public Schools—not
only offering regular development opportunities for teachers, classroom visits,
and summer workshops on civil rights, but through the five-year U.S. Department of
Education’s Teaching American History grant regular professional development
programming and a two-week summer workshop providing both cutting-edge
content and pedagogy for teachers of Ameri-can History. Via the Medgar Evers/ Ella
Baker lecture series, co-sponsored with the Veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights
Movement and the Margaret Walker Alexander Research Center, monthly panels on topics of interest to the
community are offered in locations throughout the metropolitan area and into
the Delta.
Under the auspices of the National
Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and through a partnership with Rhodes College
(Memphis) and the National Civil Rights
Museum, a workshop for community
college faculty on landmarks of the civil rights movement exposes faculty from
Mississippi and the nation to the benefits of engaging students using such
resources as local landmarks, oral history panels, music, and primary
documents.
Our attempts to improve economic development in the Delta and central
Jackson has led to collaborations with and grants from the Mississippi
Development Authority and the NEH to work on recording and preserving
local civil rights sites and developing driving trails for such Mississippi
communities as Greenwood, Indianola, and Ruleville and the development of a
Civil Rights Corridor adjacent to Jackson State’s campus on Lynch
Street.
Other partnerships have led to: a year-long celebration of the Jackson
Civil Rights Movement (Tougaloo College and the Mississippi Department
of Archives and History); a yearly symposia for college faculty, students,
community activists, and teachers on the impact of recent civil rights and
education scholarship (Mississippi Humanities Council); the training of
teachers state-wide in the content of the new civil rights curriculum (William W in te r I n s t i t u t e f o r Ra c i a l
Reconciliation at the University of Mississippi, Mississippi Department of
Education, and Teaching for Change);
and many other programs.
Here at the Hamer Institute, we are generous in our willingness to share
our expertise with the community, constant in our commitment to local
public education, and increasingly prominent in the national debate on
civic engagement and citizenship
education.
THE HAMER INSTITUTE
… this workshop was
one of the best
learning experiences
that I have ever had.
The entire experience
was both uplifting
and humbling! - Dr.
Derrick R. Brooms,
Assistant Professor,
Sociology, Prairie State
College—2011
Landmarks of
Democracy Participant
Page 3 FALL 2012
Hamer Faculty & Staff: Left to
Right: Leslie Burl McLemore,
Latosha Garrett, Mary D. Coleman, Michelle D.
Deardorff,
Keith L. McMillian
Page 4 Hamer Happenings
The Fannie Lou Hamer National Institute on Citizenship and Democracy at Jackson State University, the Veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement, and the Margaret Walker Center present the establishment of the Medgar Evers/Ella Baker Lecture Series. The Lecture Series is one of many cooperative projects sponsored by the Hamer Institute. The series honors two icons of the Civil Rights Movement, Medgar Evers and Ella Baker who were pioneers in effectuating social change. They were pioneers
in effectuating change not only in Mississippi, but across
the nation. Dr. Leslie Burl McLemore, Director of the Hamer Institute at Jackson State has indicated, “The Evers/Baker Lecture Series will serve as a community forum for the city of Jackson and the entire state of Mississippi.” He further stated, “The lecture series will present some of the leading figures who helped to change the American
political and social landscape.”
The panel members included the moderator, Byron D’Andra Orey, Ph.D., Chair, Political Science, Jackson State University; Emily Wagster Pettus, The Associated Press; Jere Nash, Co-Author, Mississippi Politics: The Struggle for Power 1976-2006; and Leniece Davis, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science, Jackson
State University.
The Robert C l a r k Symposium is a n a n n u a l event that hon-ors the legacy
of Speaker Robert Clark, the first African-American elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives since Reconstruction and long-time Speaker Pro-Tempore of the House. This year’s symposium took place on November 9, 2011, the evening after the 2011 statewide general elections in Mississippi. A discussion regarding the implications of those elections
provided a needed assessment of our current political offices.
Robert Clark Symposium: Election Day
Implication and Analysis
Child Poverty in Mississippi and Its Implications
Mississippi’s children are being affected,” stated Oleta Fitzgerald, Children’s Defense Fund Southern Regional Office, who also moderated this event. Other members of the panel included: Jed Oppenheim, Senior Advocate, Mississippi Initiatives with the Southern Poverty Law Center; Mary Ann Hill, Policy Research and Planning, Mississippi Institute of Higher Learning; Sarah Welker, Policy Analyst, MS Economic Policy Center; and
Rhea Williams-Bishop, Director of the Mississippi Center for Education Innovation.
The Children’s Defense Fund reports that a level playing field is needed to prevent the national dilemma from becoming a national tragedy. Mississippi being the poorest state in the United States needs immediate help for the largest number (proportionately) of children of poverty and how Mississippi’s children are being affected. On Thursday, October 20, 2011, community leaders gave
dialogue to address this concern. “We need immediate help for the largest number, proportionately, of children of poverty and how
THE MEDGAR EVERS/ ELLA BAKER
CIVIL RIGHTS LECTURE SERIES
Page 5 FALL 2012
In 1962, both Rev. Robert L. T. Smith and Rev. Merrill W. Lindsey made a significant mark on the history of Mississippi politics when they became the first blacks to run for a Congressional seat since Reconstruction. Smith became a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People during its first meeting in Hinds County in 1925. Rev. Merrill W. Lindsey was a native of Holly Springs, Mississippi and pastor of Ausbury Methodist Church. Although their bids for the House of Representatives were unsuccessful, their campaigns helped to pave the way for Black Mississippians’ involvement in the political process. On Thursday, February 23, 2012 at the Masonic Temple in Jackson
Mississippi, scholars, political figures and family mem-bers of Robert L.T. Smith and Merril Winston Lindsey joined to discuss the impact these two legendary leaders
had on black politics today. Moderated by DR. RICO CHAPMAN, Assistant Professor of Department of History and Philosophy, Jackson State University, other panel members included: DR. LENIECE DAVIS, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Jackson State University, ATTORNEY DAVE DENNIS, President and CEO of Positive Innovations, Inc., and, DR. K.C. MORRISON, Professor and Head of Political Science &
Public Policy Administration, Mississippi State University.
Robert L.T. Smith/ Merril Winston Lindsey Campaign of 1962:
The Impact of Blacks in Politics—Then and Now
The Continuation of Black Women’s
Activism: Sharing the Torch With a New
Generation of Women
On Wednesday, March 21, 2012, the Evers/Baker Lecture Series joined The Veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement for a pre-conference event. The discussion for this day was “The Continuation of Black Women’s Activism: Passing the Torch to a New Generation of Women.” This event took place on the historic campus of Tougaloo College. During this intergenerational dialogue, panel members explored formal and informal educational experiences in an effort to explore Black Women's Activism in the year 2011. They addressed the question of how their past and present experiences influenced their navigating successfully and unsuccessfully across institutional, political, historical, economic and social arenas in an effort to "pass the torch”. Members of the panel included: Moderator: Frankye Adams Johnson, Former Chair, Veterans of the Mis-sissippi Civil Rights Movement; Karen Kirksey Zander, Civil Rights Investigator; Monette Devine Watts, daughter of the late Annie Devine; Cynthia Dorsey Smith, daughter of Dr. L.C. Dorsey; Dr. Daphne R. Chamberlain, Program Director, COFO Civil Rights Education Center, and Angela Stewart, Archivist, Mar-garet Walker Alexander Center. These extraordinary women discussed the impact of women before them had on their own lives and how that translated into success.
Page 6 Hamer Happenings
Photo courtesy:
“The Outcomes of Black Males in
Urban Institutions:
A National Catastrophe or Local Concern?” Keith Lamont McMillian
Black males continue to perform lower than their peers throughout the country on almost every
indicator,” says the groundbreaking report titled A Call for Change: The Social and Educational
Factors Contributing to the Outcomes of Black Males in Urban Schools. This report focused on
areas of readiness to learn, black male achievement at the national level, college and career
preparedness, post secondary experience and more.
It's not that young black men don't have role models in
their communities; they often do. The problem is that
many times the people mentoring young people aren't
always positive role models, Dr. Rodney Washington,
chairman of the Department of Elementary and Early
Childhood Education at Jackson State University,
explained..
On Thursday, September 13, 2012, scholars and
community leaders had an intergenerational dialogue
regarding young black males and the factors affecting
their status on college campuses, including their disproportionate underrepresentation and
corresponding ‘invisibility’ in the campus community. This discussion kicked-off the first lecture
of the Medgar Evers/ Ella Baker Civil Rights Series for the 2012-2013 academic year.
The panel members included: Moderator: Dr. Leslie Burl McLemore, Director of the Hamer
Institute; Mr. Cassio Batteast, Founder/Executive Director/CEO, Fathers Active In Their Hoods,
Inc. ( FAITH); Ms. Shawna Davie, Director of Education Initiatives, United Way of the Capital
Area; Dr. Johnnie Griffin, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Jackson State University; and Dr.
Rodney Washington, Chair and Associate Professor, Elementary & Early Childhood, Jackson
State University. Also attending was Dr. Cedrick Gray, Superintendent, Jackson Public Schools.
Participants attended this series for many reasons. Addie Stover,
Director, Grant Development, Jackson Public Schools said she
wanted to “gain new insight into the solutions for African American
males in urban schools.” "Keith Smith, a current Jackson State
University student said, “I am an African American male myself with
two sons, (I am) very concerned with the plight of these young men.
I'm constantly looking for ways to better serve & reach these young
men who rarely see positive black role models in their
communities.” “Reading and basic math skills are vital aspects of
being an independent, productive citizen. I would like to learn how
to better prepare my students for success, learn their
Page 7 FALL 2012
expected outcomes, and do what I can to better them as individuals”, said Jessica Brown, a special
education teacher.
This community forum attracted more than 300
students, administrators, faculty, staff and
community leaders from across the state. Students
and administrators from Piney Woods School, Jim
Hill High School, and Blackburn Middle School
were in attendance. Other guests included the
Minority Male Leadership Institute from Jackson-
Hinds Community College along with their director,
Mr. Steven Harper.
Page 8 Hamer Happenings
The Fannie Lou Hamer National Institute on Citizenship and Democracy
H U M A N I T A R I A N A W A R D SA W A R D S L U N C H E O N
RECOGNIZING VV ISIONSISIONS OFOF THETHE PPASTAST, TODAY
J. Garner
Class of
1970
H. Johnson
F. Brown-
Wright
I. Madison
(Posthumously)
S. Glisson
On Friday, April 20, 2012, The Fannie Lou
Hamer National Institute on Citizenship
and Democracy will recognized
exceptional agents of change at the 2012
Fannie Lou Hamer Humanitarian Awards
Luncheon. The honorees will receive the
Fannie Lou Hamer Humanitarian Award in an 11:30 a.m. ceremony held in
Ballrooms A &B of the New Student
Union on the campus of Jackson State
University. The Honorees included:
Mr. John Garner of Jackson Mississippi.
A Civil Rights veteran and retired physics
professor, Garner helped to establish the
physics department at Tougaloo College.
His commitment to providing an
opportunity for African American
students to get training in the sciences speaks to a long history of activism for
children and students.
The Hamer Institute also honored
Dr. Susan Glisson, Executive Director
of the William Winter Institute for Racial
Reconciliation in Oxford, Mississippi.
After coordinating the only Deep-South
public forum from President Clinton’s
One American: An Initiative on Race, Glisson
continues to lead community projects, specializing in the history of race, religion
and the black struggle for freedom.
Along with more than one hundred
supporters, Senior Pastor of Farish Street
Baptist Church, Reverend, Dr.
Hickman Johnson, honoree during
this celebration. As an advocate for
community activism and leadership,
Johnson has served the historic Farish
Street Church and the state of
Mississippi for more than forty years.
The Hamer Institute recognized
posthumously, Rev. Professor, Isaiah
Madison. Known as the “architect” of
the historic Ayers Case, Madison wrote
the 37 page legal document that
resulted in a $503 million dollar
settlement for the underfunding of
HBCU’s by the state of Mississippi.
The Hamer Institute honored a “…
country girl from Mississippi who loves
the Lord and All People”, Mrs. Flonzie
Brown-Wright. As an author and Civil
Rights Trailblazer from Canton,
Mississippi Brown-Wright was elected
as the first African American Female to
public office in Mississippi since
reconstruction. This position of
Election Commissioner allowed her to
correct many voting rights injustices
that the state of Mississippi was still
fighting to resolve.
Page 9 FALL 2012
Hamer Institute paid homage to the Jackson State College Class of 1970 as a tribute to
students, Phillip Lafayette Gibbs and James Earl Green who lost their lives during a campus
shooting by police on May 14, 1970. This tribute extends to the additional twelve JSU Students
who were struck by gunfire and treated for shock and injuries sustained by shattered glass during
this history making tragedy.
MADDRAMA (Making A Difference Doing Respectable and Meaningful Art), the official drama
club within the Department of Speech and Communication and Theater at Jackson State
University, provided an entertaining, yet informative production. Sharing the stories of the
honorees for the past three years during this annual event, MADDRAMA presented a theatrical
journey of the accomplishments and highlights in the lives of each honoree.
This year’s event captured the attention of more than 380 attendees including, Dr. Carolyn
Myers, President, Jackson State University, Dr. Beverly Hogan, President, Tougaloo College and
Mr. William Winter, Former Governor of Mississippi.
RECOGNIZING VV ISIONSISIONS OFOF THETHE PPASTAST , TODAY
Page 10 Hamer Happenings
A great American poet once wrote: “Do
not go where the path may lead, go
instead where there is no path and leave
a trail.” The Hamer Institute was
indeed fortunate to have trailblazers be
part of its 28th Annual Fannie Lou
Hamer Memorial Symposium on
October 5-6, 2011. The event included
a roster of speakers who inspired change
and continue to seek truth and justice.
These were individuals, who in 1961,
helped to galvanize the Mississippi
freedom struggle and were at the center
of the movement – leading and
organizing. Frankye Adams-Johnson,
Roscoe Jones, William Scott, and Hollis
Watkins, to name a few, paved the way
for contemporary youth activists like
Nick Allen with the Sunflower County Freedom Project,
Shawna Davie with the United Way, Albert Sykes with the
Young People’s Project, and Jason Thompson (PyInfamous).
The 2011 symposium was an opportunity for young
academics to share their scholarship on youth activism in
Mississippi, civil rights pioneers to reflect on their past
experiences but also inspire future generations, and today’s
youth leaders to charge others to be active and take a stand.
The symposium opened with a keynote address by civil
rights veteran, scholar, and educator Joyce Ladner and
concluded as the Hamer Institute and Tougaloo College
joined to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the
“Tougaloo Nine” read-in.
On March 27, 1961, nine students from Tougaloo College
changed the course of history when they entered the Jackson
Municipal Library and staged the first sit-in in the city and in
the state. Subsequently, Meredith Anding, James “Sammy”
Bradford, Alfred Cook, Geraldine Edwards, Joseph Jackson,
Jr., Janice Jackson, Albert Lassiter, Evelyn Pierce, and Ethel
Sawyer were arrested. To celebrate the bravery of these
young people, the “Evening with the Tougaloo Nine”
entailed a lively discussion moderated by John Dittmer,
author of Local People: The Struggle for Civil Rights in
Mississippi. Special presentations were made to each of the
eight who were represented, and a very special presentation
was made by members of the undergraduate and graduate
chapters of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., to the family
of Ameenah Omar (Evelyn Pierce) in
her memory. Looking back at October
2011, Ethel Sawyer Adolphe expressed
that “it was a joy and a privilege to
spend time with my fellow Tougaloo
Nine classmates, commemorating the
50th anniversary of the library sit-in, and
participating in the Hamer Institute-
Jackson State-Tougaloo College 2011
Symposium. These were very
worrisome and challenging times in the
U.S., especially for African Americans
and others of color. It was, therefore,
good to understand that these important
institutions continue to teach the
ongoing struggle.”
In a continued effort to challenge young
people to be engaged and empowered,
the 30th Annual Fannie Lou Hamer
M e m o r i a l S y m p o s i u m w i l l
commemorate the 50th anniversary of
the “Children’s Crusade.” Please join
the Fannie Lou Hamer National Institute
on Citizenship & Democracy on
October 2-3, 2013, as it examines the
children’s crusade, from youth activism
to youth advocacy.
By Daphne R. Chamberlain
Page 11 FALL 2012
Page 12 Hamer Happenings
Summer: A time for freedom,
family, and fun! An 18-year old’s
time to enjoy the dog days of
summer from vacations to
purchasing cool, colorful items
for college.
MY summer before college truly
had a major impact on my life. In June of 2011, I walked into a
cold room at Jackson State
University, was handed a 1 inch
binder, and instructed to take a
seat in the U shaped seating
arrangement. I knew that I had
been accepted into the Fannie
Lou Hamer Institute Youth
Summer Workshop, but I did not
kno w w hat w as ah ead .
Throughout the week, I learned
a b o u t m a n y p e o p l e ,
organizations, and places and
how each had a pivotal in the
Civil Rights Movement. From
discussing Ida B. Wells and her
campaign against lynching to
learning about Bayard Rustin, an
accomplice of Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr., I soaked up all of the
information and shared it with
many family members. At the
conclusion of the program, Dr.
Leslie B. McLemore invited me
to help next year with the
Summer Youth Workshop.
I did. And I have NO regrets.
I volunteered June 11-16, 2012
with the Institute’s 2012 Youth
Workshop. Although some of the
material I had heard from the previous year, it still affected
the way I view and appreciate my heritage. It was a joy to
be “on the other side” and to be in a leadership position with
the students. When helping with small groups, I got a
chance to listen to their ideas on problems in their
communities, such as the numerous amounts of unfixed pot
holes and high rates of crime. They expressed their gratitude
for the struggles of their predecessors and discussed how
they can apply the dedication and hard work to their lives
today. I even learned how to operate a video camera and
how to step up to the plate when needed.
I really enjoyed volunteering with the Hamer Institute this
summer. The warm, welcoming spirits of the faculty
members was greatly appreciated. I hope to continue my
involvement with the Fannie Lou Hamer Institute’s ongoing
efforts to educate society of the many individuals that made
it possible for the advancements of African Americans
today. As SNCC (Student Non-Violent Coordinating
Committee) Founder Ella Baker stated, “We who believe in
freedom cannot rest.”
Candace Chambers, 2012 Volunteer
2011 Youth Workshop Participant
THE 2012 SUMMER YOUTH WORKSHOP
“NOBODY’S FREE ’TIL EVERYBODY’S FREE”
Page 13 FALL 2012
Page 14 Hamer Happenings
The Hamer Institute is proud of our continuing
relationship with the Jackson Public School System.
We have just completed the forth of a five year project
funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s
Teaching American History program and we
welcomed some new members and gratefully renewed
our relationships with veterans of the program. This
year we examined the years from 1910 to 1960. As
always, we maintain a sharp focus on the African
American experience as central to the American ex-
perience. Once again Leslie, Michelle, and Jeff were
joined by Hamer Institute stalwart and Core faculty
member Dr. David Dennard.
As usual we all presented professional development
workshops throughout the school year. Dr. McLemore
presented on Emmett Tilt and black elected officials,
Dr. Deardorff presented on the Road to Brown v.
Board of Education, Dr. Dennard made the first of two
presentations on the Great Migration, and Dr. Kolnick
held forth on The Great Depression and the New Deal.
The professional development workshops inspired us
and created anticipation for our summer workshop. In the summer, we dove into the history with gusto.
Dr. Deardorff presented on First Wave Feminism,
Civil Rights and the Law: Brown to Little Rock, and
on the incredible and far too obscure life of Pauli
Murray. Dr McLemore enlightened everyone on the
Black Church, Black Nationalism and on the
remarkable journey of Civil Rights icon A. Philip
Randolph. Dr. Dennard continued his discourse on the
Great Migration, informed us about the Harlem
Renaissance, and provided a framework for
understanding the remarkable life of WEB DuBois.
Dr. Kolnick presented on World Wars One and Two
and framed the lives of activist heroines Septima Clark
and Ella Baker. The work on the substance of history
was supplemented by workshops on pedagogy. As
always, the sterling leadership of Quita Moorehead
created a community as filled with respect and
inquisitiveness as joyful friendship.
Our fieldtrip this year took us to Little
Rock, Arkansas where we toured Central
High School and the William Jefferson
Clinton Presidential Library. We had an
interesting stop in the Delta town of
Mound Bayou, Mississippi which is one
of the last surviving Black-created
communities. As always, walking in the
historical past energized us all for a new
academic year.
TEACHING AMERICAN HISTORY: SUMMER 2012
Jeff Kolnick, Ph.D. - Historian, Southwest Minnesota State University
Michelle D. Deardorff, Professor and Interim Chair, Political Science,
Jackson State University
Page 15 FALL 2012
O ver the course of the summer, Michael
Morris had the opportunity to assist in a
summer course designed to enhance
student's knowledge of the modern Civil Rights
struggle in the American South utilizing an
experiential learning teaching model. Working
alongside Lena Jones, a Political Science
instructor at Minnesota Technical College and
Program Director of the course, Michael
worked as an HECUA (Higher Education
Consortium on Urban Affairs) instructor,
assisting in co-
o r d i n a t i n g
Civil Rights
tours wi th
students mostly
f r o m
M i n n e s o t a ,
b r o a d l y
discussing top-
ics on race,
religion, and
politics. The
course, entitled
R a c e I n
A m e r i c a n :
Then and Now
- “Post-Racial” Perspectives on the Civil Rights
Movement, allowed Michael to travel with
students to significant Civil Rights sites across
the south including Jackson, New Orleans,
Birmingham, Montgomery, Lowndes County,
Memphis, Nashville, and throughout the
Mississippi Delta. As a valuable asset to the
HECUA student’s experience in Jackson,
Michael attributes
his contribution to
the course’s success
to his experience
working with the
Hamer Institute for
the past year.
M i c h a e l a l s o
continued his work
with the Hamer
Institute during the
J P S W o r k s h o p
week. Michael is
now working as a
Mass Tort Case
Manager with Richard Schwartz and Associates as
he finishes up his last year as a graduate student at
JSU and begins applying for law schools. He
hopes to continue advocating the Hamer Institute
values of civic engagement and social justice
through the practice of law.
THE HAMER INSTITUTE’S
EXPERIENCE WITH
HIGHER EDUCATION
CONSORTIUM ON URBAN
AFFAIRS (HECUA)
—Michael Morris—2012 Hamer Institute
Graduate Assistant
Page 16 Hamer Happenings
“…know that you are
sitting on hallowed
ground” is what
Dave Dennis, Sr., the
Assistant Project Director for the Council of
Federated Organizations (COFO) during the 1960s,
spoke to an audience of more than 200 people as they
gathered to celebrate the official grand opening of the
COFO Civil Rights Education Center on March 23,
2012. The day opened with a prayer breakfast and
ribbon cutting ceremony. Students from Jim Hill
High School, New Hope Christian School, and
Vicksburg High School visited for a tour and to listen
to civil rights veterans Wendell Paris, Hezekiah
Watkins, Dolores Lynch Williams, and Flonzie
Brown Wright share their experiences as freedom
fighters. With a greater understanding that it is on
others whose shoulders they stand, the students wrote
expressions of thanks to all civil rights veterans for
their commitment to social justice and equality. One
6th grader wrote:
Thank you for standing up for our
freedom that we now have today. You
have been an inspiration to us to
stand up for what we believe in and
stand against what we know is wrong.
Student visits culminated with an intergenerational
freedom march led by students from Blackburn
Middle School, the McComb Young People’s
Project, and civil rights veterans, Brenda Travis and
James Kates.
Since the grand opening, the COFO Center has been
joined by the Hamer Institute and the Veterans of the
Mississippi Civil Rights Movement to host and
provide guided tours for groups from Marquette
University, Baylor University, and Yale University,
to name a few. Additionally, the COFO Center,
along with Tougaloo College and the Hamer Institute,
had the opportunity to coordinate the return of
“Tougaloo Nine” member, Geraldine Edwards Hollis
to Jackson. Hollis reunited with fellow
“Tougaloo Nine” member James “Sammy”
Bradford as an audience gathered at the
Bennie G. Thompson building to listen to her
read excerpts from her book Back to Missis-
sippi, which was followed by a book signing
and reception.
Over the course of one year, the COFO
Center has had more than 1,000 visitors from
across the nation and from around the globe
(e.g., Tokyo, Cambodia, Egypt, and Ontario)
and proud to announce its 1st Annual “Black
History Makers” Forum on February 20,
2013. This gathering of scholars, special
guests, students, and the general public will
come together to remember the life and
legacy of Medgar Wiley Evers and other
black history makers – past and present –
who have been drum majors for justice by
playing an instrumental role in the social,
political, and economic advancement of
marginalized groups in American society.
As a buzz continues to build around Jackson
State University’s COFO Civil Rights
Education Center as a “must see” tourist
attraction, we look forward to continued
collaborations with the Hamer Institute and
building partnerships with the community
and local and national organizations.
Through these partnerships, the COFO
Center will continue to diligently work to
educate, engage, and empower the masses
while sharing and preserving Mississippi’s
rich civil rights history in the 21st century.
COFO Civil Rights Education Center “A Testament to Mississippi's Civil Rights Past, Present, and Future"
Page 17 FALL 2012
Page 18 Hamer Happenings
Page 19 FALL 2012
1400 John Roy Lynch Street P.O. Box 17081
Jackson, Mississippi 39212
Phone: 601-979-1562 Fax: 601-979-5926
E-mail: [email protected]
www.JSUMS.EDU/
Hamer.Institute
2012 CALENDAR OF EVENTS THE HAMER
INSTITUTE
JACKSON STATE
UNIVERSITY
Join Our
Fan Page: The Fannie Lou
Hamer
National
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Contact Us
“Righteousness exalts a nation; hate just makes people miserable.” ~ Fannie Lou Hamer
HAMER
HAPPENINGS
November 8, 2012
Medgar Evers/Ella Baker Civil Rights
Lecture Series
Robert Clark Symposium
“Post-election Analysis: Roadmap to the
Future For African Americans”
Jackson State University
College of Science, Engineering and
Technology—Auditorium
6:30 p.m.
Jackson, Mississippi
601-979-1563
November 13, 2012
The JSU Reading Community
Not What We Were: The Changed and
Changing South by James E. Bell
Java Cafe
H.T. Sampson Library
6:00 p.m.
Reception to follow
www.jsums.edu/Hamer.Institute
601-979-1563
October 3-4, 2012
29th Annual Fannie Lou Hamer
Memorial Symposium Lecture Series
“Looking Back to Move Forward: Fannie
Lou Hamer’s Mississippi 50 Years Later
Jackson State University
Dollye M.E. Robinson Liberal Arts
Building Room 166/266
Jackson, Mississippi
601-979-1562
October 5, 2012
Fannie Lou Hamer Memorial Statue
Unveiling
The Fannie Lou Hamer Memorial Garden
Ruleville, Mississippi
10:00a.m.
www.jsums.edu/Hamer.Institute
601-979-1563
October 25, 2012
The JSU Reading Community
Black Greek 101: The Culture, Customs,
and Challenges of Black Fraternities and
Sororities by Dr. Walter M. Kimbrough
College of Engineering and Technology—
Auditorium
Jackson State University
Jackson, Mississippi
6:00p.m.
www.jsums.edu/Hamer.Institute
If you have any questions,
comments or desire further information on any of our past,
present or future events/
workshops,
Please feel free to contact
The Hamer Institute
601-979-1562 (office)
601-979-5926 (fax)
or
Visit our Website at:
www.jsums.edu/
hamer.institute
Ms. Latosha A. Garrett
Editor in Chief
Mr. Keith Lamont McMillian, M.A.
Co-Editor in Chief