Hey Y’all,
This is a late tribute to one of the most important warriors of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement—Dorie Ladner. Along with being a brilliant and courageous leader and foot soldier, Ladner spent her entire life teaching and mentoring many of us to “take up the bloodstained banner” and continue the fight. One of her primary students is my wife, Monica McInnis, who fights with the same intellectual tenacity as Ladner. (See the attached pic of them together.) For this tribute, I’ve decided to allow the words of MS CRM icon Hollis Watkins to explain why Ladner is someone who should never be forgotten, who should be taught often and widely, and who should be modeled by as many people as possible. The following is from Watkins’ book, Brother Hollis: The Sankofa of a Movement Man, which can be purchased here.
DorieLadneris that rare person who has the ability to be both a valiant foot solider and a five-star field general. I met Doriein 1962 when I was working in Hattiesburg and had taken a brief trip to Jackson. I learned that she was from Hattiesburg, and we discussed her relationships with veteran civil rights workers Vernon Dahmerand Victoria Grayas well as how happy she was having transferred from Jackson State Collegeto Tougaloo Collegeso she could have the freedom to continue doing Movement work without being expelled from school. While we never worked directly together on a project, whenever our paths would cross, we would update each other, share information with each other, and generally inspire each other. I liked most that she was a straight-shooter, and when one received information from her it was always correct and without any improvising on the truth. Her high intelligence is equaled and supplemented by her courage and tenacity. There is literally nothing in Movement work that she hasn’t done because she is capable of doing it all. My most vivid memory of Dorieis her standing shoulder to shoulder with the men, tough as nails. Some people considered her a bully or a bit too rough around the edges, but that’s because she was a woman who never flinched and who could give as good as she could take. Often, being the only women working with a room full of men, she had to make it known that she could do any job that we could. In fact, she was very involved, like most of us, in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)decision to join a reestablished the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO). Prior to my coming to Jackson during a break from Hattiesburg, noted civil rights organizer BobMoseshad presented the idea about SNCCjoining COFO, and it was during this break that we voted to join. COFOwas originally organized in 1961 for the Freedom Rides. It would now become the umbrella for NAACP, SNCC, Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)to better organize our efforts and to maximize our ability to obtain funding for our current work. At that time, there was not a lot of money for Civil Rights work, especially with three or four major organizations fighting to raise money for the same areas and issues. So, we agreed that it would be easier and more effective for one organization to apply for and raise money in the name of The Movement. After a couple of meetings, we were asked to vote if we wanted to join COFOor remain independent.
We had to go to Clarksdale to finalize the reestablishment of COFObecause that’s where Dr. AaronHenry, President of MS NAACP, was based. He was, of course, a major force in The Movement, and we were aware that there was some resistance by the NAACPto join COFObecause they felt that they would be alright in terms of raising money on their own name. We went to Clarksdale often to talk to Dr. Henry about COFOas a way of taking the mountain to Muhammad. Doriewas more than willing to take the mountain to Muhammad. We just wanted to make sure that she wouldn’t push Muhammad off the mountain to make her point. At this meeting, it was a who’s who of SNCCfolks, with everyone from Bob, Dorie, me, Dave Dennis, Les McKinnie, Colia Liddell, Charlie Cobb, Lawrence Guyot, SamBlock, Charles McLaurin, and others. This particular night, we were in Clarksdale past midnight, and Clarksdale had a curfew that allowed blacks to be arrested if they were found outside after midnight. To avoid this harassment, we all decided to return to Jackson as we caravanned in various cars. The car that included Dave Denniswas stopped by the Clarksdale Police just outside Mound Bayou, Mississippi, and Dave was taken to the Clarksdale jail. Doriewas in the car following the car in which Dave was riding, so her car followed them to the jail. When they arrived at the jail, the officers began to yell and threaten them, causing them to flee to Ruleville. With Les driving and Doriemaking sure that he never drove over twenty miles per hour, they finally arrived at civil rights veteran AmzieMoore’s house. After making sure that Dave was fine, Dorieremained in Ruleville and served on a group that went undercover onto plantations to recruit sharecroppers to register to vote. In fact, Doriewas part of the group that met Fannie LouHamerjust after she had been expelled from the B. D. Marlowe Plantation for attempting to register to vote. They accompanied Ms. Hamerto a local church in Ruleville where she gave her testimony and continued to work with Ms. Hamerfor the next few months, organizing in and around Ruleville. This was Dorie. She was tough when she needed to be and comforting when she needed to be, but it was all for The Movement.
From an early age Doriewas involved with the NAACPYouth Chapter under noted Civil Rights worker Clyde Kennard. After graduating as salutatorian from high school, she enrolled at Jackson StateCollege and attended NAACPmeetings with MedgarEvers. Unfortunately, she was expelled from JSCas a freshman for organizing and participating in a protest against the jailing of nine students from TougalooCollege. The protest drew over six hundred people in front of the campus library. In 1961, she enrolled in Tougalooand became involved with the Freedom Riders. But, her commitment to The Movement caused her to leave college three times to work with SNCCin various capacities. In 1962, she was arrested with Tougaloostudent Charles Braceyfor attempting to integrate a Woolworth lunch counter. Along with being a primary organizer and worker, she participated in every Civil Rights march from 1963 to 1968, including the 1963 March on Washington, the 1965 Selma to Montgomery March, and the 1968 Poor People’s March. And, from 1964 to 1966, she served as the SNCCProject Director in Natchez, Mississippi. Into the 70s, Dorienever stopped working, returning to Tougalooto earn her BA and earning her MSW in 1975 from Howard University, serving as a clinical social worker in the Washington, D.C., General Emergency Room and Psychiatry Department for thirty years. Whether as a woman of the people or as a distinguished professional, DorieLadnerhas dedicated every moment of her life to improving the plight of humanity (132 – 134).
…from Brother Hollis: The Sankofa of a Movement Man by Hollis Watkins with C Liegh McInnis.
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Hey Y’all Again,
There is Willie Mays, and, then, there is everyone else. Professional baseball has been played in America since 1865. Even during breaks in the Civil War, soldiers played baseball to “pass the time.” Slavery ended, and professional baseball began. Since that time, only three other playersare even allowed to be in the conversation with The “Say Hey” Kid. Willie Mays’ legacy to Major League Baseball is the same if not more looming or casts a larger shadow over the current game as Michael Jordan’s NBA legacy. Let me be clear. In this conversation, anyone else can keep their bullsh*t opinions to themselves. This is not a dumbass G.O.A.T. conversation. This is an empirical affirmation that Mays’numbers make it clear that no other baseball player was the best player of his era for longer than Mays. As MLB Hall of Famer Ted Williams said, “They invented the all-star game for Willie Mays”because he played in more of them than anyone else other than The Hammer aka Hank Aaron. Oh, by the way, Mays lost two seasons because he was drafted into the US Military for the Korean War in 1952, and, then, won the National League MVP the first year he returned from active duty in 1954 also leading his team to a World Series Championship.
At the age of seventeen, Mayswas so good that a professional Negro League team signed him to a contract, knowing that he could only play on the weekends until school ended for the summer. (In high school, he was hitting home runs off grown-ass men. Let that marinate.) From the age of seventeen tothirty-nine, just three seasons before the retired, there was never another player on the field who was considered better than Mays. Heis the only person in the Willie Mays Club of 3,000 hits, 600 home runs, and 300 stolen bases. He was the original 5-tool player: hit for average, hit for power, great fielder, great arm, and faster than almost anyone else.With that, you can keep your dumbass G.O.A.T conversations to yourself, and I will keep the memory of a man who was as proud to have played in the Negro League as he was to play in MLB and even prouder to represent the black community in the best way possible. RIP Say Hey Kid who is the primary reason why baseball is still considered a kid’s game played by adults because very few others have been more beautiful, exciting, and joyous than Willie Mays. He is the epitome of athletics as artistry. For more insightful conversation about the legacy of Mays, here is the link to Bomani Jones and Roy Wood, Jr., discussing his greatness.
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The Mississippi Book Festival has tapped C Liegh McInnis as the moderator for the poetry panel, which will include another stellar group of poets: Leona Sevick (The Bamboo Wife), Hannah V. Warren (Slaughterhouse for Old Wives' Tales), A.H. Jerriod Avant (Muscadine), and Adam Clay: (Circle Back). For the first time in its ten-year history, the MBF will move from August to September 14, 2024. Earlier, we informed y’all that Diane Williams—co-author with Richelle Putnam of A Guide to Mississippi Museums and best-selling and award-winning novelist Angie Thomas have been announced as panelists for this year’s Mississippi Book Festival. As more writers and panels are announced, we’ll continue to provide that information as we get ready for the best literary lawn party on the planet.
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We’d like to re-introduce to y’all poet, filmmaker, and art journalist Sherae Rimpsey who also serves as the arts writer and editor for the Tulane University Newcomb Art Museum. Y’all can learn more about her poetry collection, neon neon (here), watch some of her short films (here), and read her essay on Jordan Peele’s Nope (here) in which she makes a connection to Prince’s Under the Cherry Moon.
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Poet, playwright, music journalist, and cultural critic Charlie Braxton has an insightful article, “Tyla, Race, and The Breakfast Club,” that y’all can read here. After reading this, y’all can read Braxton’s brief overview of the history of African-America music here. And, finally, Braxton appears on the Ugandan YouTube show, Kenganda, to discuss “Why African Americans Are Pissed about the Migrant Crisis,” which y’all can watch here.
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Mississippi native, fiction writer, playwright, and health activist Katrina Byrd invites you to Flouncing in Basel: A Virtual Literary Salon, where she will read from her collection of essays about her experience in Basel Switzerland as a 2023 ALS/MND Patient Fellow. Additionally, Byrd’s paper, “The Authentic Life Drives Change,” is a part of the 2024 Annual Gathering of the Henry David Thoreau Society. For more information on both events, see the calendar of events below.
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The Getting Word Collective, which is comprised of the most important organizations in the development, nurturing, and promotion of black creative writers—Cave Canem, Furious Flower Poetry Center, Hurston/Wright Foundation, Obsidian, and The Watering Hole, has announced a new research project, “Magnitude and Bond: A Field Study on Black Literary Arts Service Organizations,” which will explore the organizational needs, strategies, and models that enable Black literary arts organizations in the United States to thrive despite adverse socioeconomic conditions. In advance of releasing the full report in spring of 2025, over the next few weeks they will begin to share the story of how Cave Canem and its sister organizations in the collective, Getting Word: Black Literature for Black Liberation, also advisors to the Magnitude and Bond, have been instrumental in shifting the American literary and cultural landscapes and amplifying voices of the African Diaspora. For more information or to join their mailing list to continue to receive this information, email Lisa Willis at info@gettingword.org. Finally, Getting Word Collective has partnered with Bookshop.org to support the work of Black literary beacons, centering Black literature as a tool for liberation, which y’all can view here.
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Noted and award-winning poet, children’s books author, professor, and activist Tony Medina has a new collection of poetry, Because the Sky, an homage to those suffering in Palestine, published in collaboration with Sable Books and Jacar Press. To purchase a copy of Because the Sky, go here. And, in light of the constantly changing situation on the ground with non-profits and aid groups, Medina, Sable, and Jacar have chosen to donate proceeds from book sales toMédecins Sans Frontières, which can be located
https://www.msf.org/
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Noted poet, haiku master, literary scholar, and Chair of the Mississippi Valley State University English Department Dr. John Zheng has a poem published in Jerry Jazz Musician as part of “23 Poets Remember Their Father,” which can be read here. Additionally, Zheng’s one-line poem, “Failed Haiku #99,” was chosen by re:Virals, the literary journal of The Haiku Foundation, to receive a dozen comments on it. Y’all can read those comments here.
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This month’s Torch Literary Arts feature is Linda Susan Jackson—the acclaimed author of Truth Be Told and What Yellow Sounds Like and a finalist for the National Poetry Series and the Paterson Prize. To read more about Jackson and her work, go here. And, this week’s Torch Literary Arts feature is Pushcart Prize-nominated poet Shams Alkamil. To read more about Alkamil and her work, go here.
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Award-winning poet Cynthia Manick has released her biannual newsletter filled with all of the great writing and work she’s doing that can be read here.
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Here is the link to the latest newsletter of Rosarium Publishing, which is a black-owned publishing company managed by poet, fiction writer, editor, and scholar Bill Campbell. Rosarium Publishing specializes in speculative fiction, comics, and a touch of crime fiction—all with a multicultural flair. To learn more about them, here is a link to their website.
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Tomorrow, poet, filmmaker, editor, educator, and activist Kevin Powell will host a Juneteenth Celebration, “Juneteenth, America, and All of Us.” For more information, see the calendar of events below.
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Just about everyone knows about the Jackson State University Marching Band—Thee Sonic Boom of the South!!! However, most don’t know or realize that Thee Boom’s impressive sound is the result of sixteen performance ensembles and 7 JSU Bands ensembles within the JSU Department of Music.With that quality of a program, we are proud to tell y’all that last December Thee JSU Bands program accepted the invitation of the Mississippi Bandmasters Association to present the JSUWind Ensemble as the featured university band at the 2023 State Clinic, becoming the first HBCU to do so. The Wind Ensemble is under the leadership of Assistant Professor of Music and Associate Director of Bands Mr. Lowell Hollinger. Here is a pic Thee JSU Wind Ensemble performing at the 2023 State Clinic, and here is a link to the 2023 State Clinic Program Booklet where on page ten y’all can find the listing for JSU’s Director of Bands Dr. Roderick Little’s title of his presentation, “Teaching in Underserved Populations with Adequate Potential: How to Reach Them Where They Are and Take Them Further,” which was presented at 1:30 p.m., and the listing for the JSU Wind Ensemble’s performance, which was at 7:30 p.m. Finally, here is a link to an interview with JSU Wind Ensemble Director Mr. Hollinger on Tiger Talk with the 1400 Klub presents Band Sessions with Da Boom. Mr. Hollinger appears at the 10:50 mark.
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Third World Press, one of the largest black-owned publishers on the planet, has wonderful collections of poetry, fiction, and prose by award-winning and historic writers. To browse their catalog, go here.
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The Jackson Advocate, one of the oldest African-American newspapers, has more insightful articles that y’all can read here. Also, JA has a weekly podcast that y’all can access here and here, and to receive notifications of future episodes contact janews@thejacksonadvocate.com.
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On their weekly radio program, Women for Progress of Mississippi, Inc., interviewed Jackson City Councilwoman Virgi Lindsey about the issues and challenges facing the city to which y’all can watch here.
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The Mississippi Coalition against Domestic Violence will host Midnight Blues Gala: A Purple-Tie Event, to honor domestic violence survivors, advocates, and allies. Enjoy great food, drinks, and a silent auction while experiencing a live blues performance. Let’s unite and show our solidarity in the fight against domestic violence. Together, we have strength! For more information about the event, see the calendar of events below. And, for more information about the MCADV, go here.
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The Jackson Advocate, one of the oldest African-American newspapers, has more insightful articles that y’all can read here. Also, JA has a weekly podcast that y’all can access here and here, and to receive notifications of future episodes contact janews@thejacksonadvocate.com.
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If anyone is interested in participating in a panel discussion, “If California Owes Black Folks for Enslavement, Imagine Mississippi’s Debt for Our Enslavement and the Vestiges that Followed,” contact Asinia Lukata Chikuyu at afrikan_tbt@yahoo.com.
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Sunny Hostin—legal journalist, author, and co-host of ABC’s The View—has been announced to deliver the keynote for the Jackson State University Mary E. Peoples Scholarship Luncheon. For more information, see the calendar of events below.
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The Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC) is now accepting nominations for the next Mississippi Poet Laureate! Mississippi’s Poet Laureate serves as the official state poet, creating and reading appropriate poetry at state occasions and state agency activities and represents the rich cultural heritage of Mississippi. Nominations are reviewed by the Mississippi Poet Laureate Selection Panel, an advisory council consisting of representatives from the state’s cultural agencies and professionals in the literary community. The Selection Panel convenes to interview the finalists and submit a list of persons qualified and eligible for the position to the Governor’s office. The Governor makes his final selection from these recommendations. Once selected, the Poet Laureate serves for a term of 4 years! For more information, visit here and then see the calendar of events below.
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The Jackson Advocate, one of the oldest African-American newspapers, presents A Midsummer Night Concert with DeAnna Tisdale Johnson and Friends. For more information, see the calendar of events below.
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November 1 – 4, 2023, the Jackson State University Margaret Walker Alexander Center curated the Phillis Wheatley Poetry Festival to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the original 1973 festival, which hosted most of the major black women writers of the day. In the same vein, last year’s festival hosted many of the major black women writers of today. As part of the 2023 festival, JSU’s The Researcher: An Interdisciplinary Journal published a special issue (In Our Own Words: The Phillis Wheatley Poetry Festival 50th Anniversary Commemorative Issue) that y’all can read here. Y’all can also purchase a print copy of the issue here. C Liegh McInnis has a poem, “For Sappho, Margaret, Marie, and Iley (After Catherine Pierce’s Message to POL),” and an essay, “The Phillis Wheatley Poetry Festival as Performative Manifestation of Margaret Walker Alexander’s Literary Manifesto and Genius,” included in the issue, along with great works by scholars and poets, such as Dr. Tiffany Caesar, Alissa Rae Funderburk, Angela Stewart, Dr. Craig Meyer, Dr. Shanna Smith, Patricia Jones, Ming Joi, Barbara Brewster Lewis, and Dr. RaShell Smith-Spears. Special thanks to Dr. Candis Pizzetta, editor of The Researcher, for compiling this wonderful special issue. This commemorative issue was crafted before the actual festival as a way to promote and highlight the festival as it was occurring.
Additionally, Callaloo, one of the three major African-American literary journals on the planet, will be publishing a special proceedings issue of the 2023 Phillis Wheatley Poetry Festival that will include scholarly essays, poetry, fiction, and artwork presented during the festival along with interviews, reflections, and photography from the festival. Combined, The Researcher Commemorative Issue and the forthcoming Callaloo Proceedings Issue will make a great collection to document this historic gathering of scholars and artists. The Callaloo Proceedings Issue will be published in November as a one-year celebration of the festival, and we’ll include info for preorders as soon as they are posted. For more about Callaloo, go here.
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Prince scholar and NYU Professor De Angela Duff has started posting all of the panels, roundtables, and special presentations from last month’s #EroticCity40 Prince Symposium, which y’all can find here. As I stated before, each presentation is excellent as Prof Duff continues to curate some of the most knowledgeable Prince scholars on the planet with the goal of covering the full range of Prince’s genius, which is critically important since his death with so many folks trying to whitewash his history or cherry-pick what benefits their slanted narrative. Of course, the keynote, given by Mr. Vaughn Terry, remains the highlight for many, as he detailed, in a tremendously engaging manner, how he and his partner, Louis Wells, helped Prince redefine his on-stage persona and bring new creative ideas to life. Y’all can watch Mr. Terry’s keynote here. As a reminder, Terry and his partner, Louis Wells, helped Prince redefine his on-stage persona and bring new creative ideas to life, designing and sewing Prince’s clothes from 1999 (1982) to Parade (1986). Mr. Terry was an effin’ blast being an ole school player who still has the style, flare, intellect, and gift of gab that made Louis and Vaughn fashion forerunners in the 70s and 80s, working with the likes of Earth, Wind, and Fire. He walks it, talks it, and styles it. This means that three black men—Louis and Vaughn and Earl Jones who did Prince’s hair—were responsible for Prince’s style at the height of his popularity. When I realized that Louis and Vaughn were black (I knew that Jones was black), I can’t tell y’all the excitement and pride that came over me. And, then, for him to be an ole school, sh*t talkin’ black mane like my pops and uncles, well, just know that Prince Podcast Juice host Michael Dean, Jazz Funk Café host and filmmaker Jason Orr, and I acted like we were at a family reunion and had found our long lost uncle. Moreover, the three of us spent the majority of Mr. Terry’s presentation acting like we were the deacons on the front pews amen-ing and àṣẹ-ing Mr. Terry’s sermon on the style of Prince and how he used Detroit fashion sense “to help Prince redefine his on-stage persona and bring new creative ideas to life.” Even after an hour and a half, Mr. Terry could have stayed on the stage for two more hours, and I’d have loved every minute of it. Please enjoy this very essential discussion of the development of Prince’s fashion sense.
Additionally, I had the honor of moderating the Q&A of the Ice Cream Castle panel, which featured musician/scholar Chris Rob and musician/professor Robert Loss here, and being on the Purple Rain Film panel with Zaheer Ali (professor, African-American historian, Malcolm X scholar, and creator of the Prince Syllabus Project), Dan Charnas (professor, award-winning journalist, music and television producer, and author of Dilla Time), Carol Cooper (legendary cultural critic and journalist whose works have appeared in every major periodical and anthology helping to define the canon of music criticism), and Mark Anthony Neal (Duke Professor whose articles and books, such as What the Music Said and Soul Babies, are essential resources for understanding the socio-political matrix that produced black music), which y’all can watch here. Yet, I can’t stress enough how engaging, informative, and inspiring each presentation is. #EroticCity40 Prince Symposium was a three-day event so take y’all time and enjoy these presentations as we discussed everything from the definition and redefining of blackness, family trauma as an inherited trait, how to heal/end toxicity and dysfunction, what defines a black nationalist work, Prince as a geographic place-maker, Prince as a master storyteller, fashion as a sociopolitical statement, Prince’s metatextual phonetic genius, girl power and various roles of women within Prince’s artistry, and so much more.
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Off the critical success of Black Fire This Time, edited by Dr. Kim McMillon, Black Fire This Time, Volume Two, edited by Dr. Derrick Harriell and Professor Kofi Antwi is available for preorder here and here. We are proud to inform y’all that C Liegh McInnis will have a poem, “Mississippi Like…” and a short story, “Kroger Cart,” included in this new volume. Like Volume One, Volume Two will have some of the most noted black poets, fiction writers, and essayists in the tradition of the Black Arts Movement.
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As most of y’all know, the Jackson State University Sonic Boom of the South has been selected to march in the 2025 Rose Bowl Parade, and there is a fundraiser to cover some of the costs. Although entities are selected for the Rose Bowl Parade, they must finance their way there. Here is the link to the fundraiser.
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Tougaloo College grad Dr. Howard Rambsy II aka Doc HR is the author of two excellent books, Bad Men: Creative Touchstones of Black Writers and The Black Arts Enterprise and the Production of African American Poetry. He has dedicated time over the years to chronicling the work of C Liegh McInnis at his wonderful website Cultural Front, which can be read here. His latest commentary on McInnis’ work, “A Local Conscious Poet Who Knows a Lot about Prince,” can be read here.
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I am both honored and excited to have been interviewed by the brilliant Scott Woods, editor of Rock Critics.com, which features interviews with some of the most noted music journalists of the past sixty years. (This Scott Woods is not to be confused with the other brilliant Scott Woods who is a noted Prince scholar.) The title of the interview is “The Aesthetics of Prince: An Interview with C Liegh McInnis” and can be read here. It’s a very lengthy interview of my work as a Prince scholar and engages a few things that I haven’t discussed regarding my work on Prince. One of the coolest parts of the interview, for me, is that I got to shout out Prince scholar Harold Pride about midway through the interview and that I got to shout out the Polished Solid Prince Symposium and What Did Prince Do This Week? at the end of the interview. RockCritics.com is also on Twitter, which y’all know that I’m not. So, if y’all feel so inclined, locate and checkout his tweet about the interview as well. I hope y’all enjoy the interview and, as always, feel free to hit me back with your thoughts or feedback.
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The Jackson State University Creative Writing website is live and can be accessed here. Also, to give to this new program, go here. Once you are at the page, complete the amount and contact information, type “Department of English, Creative Writing,” in the “or other” box at the bottom of the form, and submit payment. And, here is a link to poet, short story writer, and Prince scholar C Liegh McInnis discussing the newly established JSU Creative Writing Concertation and Minor.
The JSU creative writing offers a concentration and minor for its Bachelor of Arts program. Unlike many creative writing programs across the country, JSU’s creative writing concentration and minor will allow students to specialize in multiple genres if they desire. Additionally, unlike most creative writing programs across the country, JSU’s creative writing concentration and minor will encourage and prepare students to use their writing to engage social justice and socio-political issues by offering a capstone class that will match a student with an organization or institution that is doing the type of social justice work that the young writer desires to engage with one’s writing. This new concentration and minor were developed as a collaborative effort between Dr. Ebony Lumumba—Chair, Dr. RaShell Smith-Spears—Graduate Coordinator, and C Liegh McInnis. For more information, contact Dr. Lumumba at ebony.o.lumumba@jsums.edu or Dr. Smith-Spears at rashell.smith-spears@jsums.edu.
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Thanks to everyone who sent kind and encouraging feedback regarding my interview with 1$t Letter—an emcee, educator, and entrepreneur who is doing a lot with his talents to improve our community. Since the interview is so long, here are links to a few clips:
First, for my Prince folks, I discuss Prince mostly from the midway point of part two and all of part three: here
and here.
Here is a clip where I discuss how Charlie Braxton, Jimmy Kimbrell, and Jeff Gibson all impacted me early as a writer. I’ve discussed Charlie and Jimmy at length before so I’m glad that I got to discuss how Jeff impacted me as a JSU classmate, watching him be a serious writer while we were in college. At the end, I briefly discuss how my embracing the myth of American Individualism kept me from being tutored by Margaret Walker Alexander when I was in college. The entire segment is about five minutes and thirty seconds long. Y’all can stop watching when I begin discussing how James F. Cooper almost caused me to fail eleventh grade English.
Here is a clip where I discuss how my wife and stepchildren taught me the real definition of manhood.
Here is a clip where I discuss having multiple part-time jobs in college and learning how not to be a toxic male.
Here is a clip where I discuss my respect for local poet, emcee, and activist Skipp Coon and people not supporting conscious artists yet being disappointed when the artists they do support don’t meet a major moment with impactful art.
And, y’all can watch the entire interview here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Again, thanks to all of y’all who emailed your feedback and especially to y’all who watched all six parts. That is, indeed, some true love and support. In the words of the great poet Smokey Robinson as vocalized by David Ruffin of The Temptations, “I don’t need no money, fortune, or fame. I’ve got all of the riches one man can claim. What makes me feel this way? My folks, my folks, my folks, talkin’ ‘bout my folks!”
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Props to the Jackson State University Faculty Senate, under the leadership of Dr. Dawn Bishop, for passing the “Resolution of the Jackson State University Faculty Senate Defending Academic Freedom to Teach about Race, Gender Justice and Critical Race Theory Adopted by the Faculty Senate January 27, 2022,” which reads, in part, “THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Jackson State University Faculty Senate resolutely rejects any attempts by bodies external to the faculty to restrict or dictate university curriculum on any matter, including matters related to racial and social justice, and will stand firm against encroachment on faculty authority by the legislature or the Boards of Trustees… BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Faculty Senate affirms the Joint Statement on Efforts to Restrict Education about Racism, authored by the AAUP, PEN America, the American Historical Association, and the Association of American Colleges & Universities, endorsed by over seventy organizations, and issued on June 16, 2021.”
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Every Monday at 6:30 p.m., Afrikan Art Gallery & Bookstore (800 North Farish Street) will hold weekly meetings every to discuss and organize around the newly published Long Term Strategic Plan for Black America. For more information contact Asinia Lukata Chikuyu at afrikan_tbt@yahoo.com.
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Every Tuesday, at Coffee Prose from 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m., Neighbors Writing Group will facilitate weekly creative writing workshop with a different lead writer. For more information, contact Dr. Alison Turner at aturner@operationshoestring.org.
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The first Tuesday of each month, from 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., at the Capital Club, Women for Progress of Mississippi, Inc., will host its monthly Lunch and Learn, featuring various women in impactful leadership in the city and around the country. For more information, contact mail@womenforprogress.net.
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Every Wednesday from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m., Dependable Source Corp. Center for Community & Workforce Development, which is a black woman-owned business, hosts The Working Woman Report, which is a live podcast that curates conversations on a variety of topics with professional women. Y’all can join the conversation here, and for more information contact Willie Jones, owner and CEO of Dependable Source Corp at williejones@drivingyourfuturems.com.
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Every Friday from 10:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m., Refill Jackson—a nonprofit designed to equip young adults ages 18 – 24 with the skills needed to enter the workforce and be self-sufficient—holds its Friday Forums, which are at 136 S. Adams Street Jackson, MS 39203. For more information, contact Nicole McNamee at nmcnamee72@gmail.com or visit their website here.
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The first Friday of each month, at 8:00 p.m. at The Event Center (716 S Gallatin Street), Spoken Soul Open Mic holds its monthly open mic readings and performances. Hosted by Queen Speaks, the cost is $10. All poets and performers welcomed. For more information, contact Erica Garrett at ericamvsu03@gmail.com or (601) 500-3502.
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The first Saturday of each month, the Mississippi Museum of Art will begin its Access for All: Free First Saturdays. For more information, go here.
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The second and fourth Saturday of each month, Dr. RaShell Smith-Spears (rashell.spears@jsums.edu) and Dr. Shanna Smith (shanna.l.smith@jsums.edu) coordinate a creative writing workshop that meets via Zoom. That group has been meeting for almost ten years now, and many of the works developed in that workshop have been published. In fact, I’ve had at least four works that I had workshopped by the group to be published later.
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Two Saturdays a month, Afrikan Art Gallery will host program, Freedom School Saturdays, for middle and high school students that is modeled after the 1964 Freedom Summer/School Project. The mission is to will help with theintellectual empowerment of our children with course in Civics 101, A Meeting with the Elders: What to Expect in Life, Spiritual Pilgrimage to the Mississippi Delta, Spiritual Pilgrimage to Africatown, AL, photo-journalism exercises, cultural expressions and performances for Black-centered events through their Speech - Choir and Afrikan Cultural Pride Dance Troupe, financial literacy workshops, and so much more. For more information, contact Asinia Lukata Chikuyu at afrikan_tbt@yahoo.com.
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Every Saturday, noted Prince scholar and NYU Professor De Angela Duff is beginning another Prince project, What Did Prince Do ThisWeek?, a very, very, very slow read of Duane Tudahl’s entire Prince Studio Sessions book series through an interactive, online, weekly book club web series. Professor Duff will be live via Streamyard video every Saturday at noon ET onYouTubeandFacebookto discuss the parallel week, beginning in 1983.The weekly discussion will be recorded if y’all cannot attend the livestream. The first Saturday of the series, Duff was joined by Tudahl, and y’all can watch the recording of the first session here. To get notifications or to join Duff’s listserv, go to
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Each Sunday at 5:00 p.m. CST, award-winning novelist Ellen Morris Prewitt, author of In the Name of Mississippi, and Alisha Johnson Perry, children’s book author, social justice advocate, and certified fundraising executive, have joined forces to establish Contemplative Writing Group. Each week is led by a member of the group. They catch up on their writing week, then the leader offers a contemplative writing prompt. They write for 30 - 40 minutes and share if anyone want. It’s come-and-go/participate when you can and of indefinite duration—as long as folks are getting something from it, the workshop will be offered. To join the group, folks can email the School of Contemplative Living at livingschool12@gmail.com or go here.
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Mississippi-based funnymen Merc B. Williams and co*cky McFly...real-life brothers…have joined forces to create The Vibe Controllers, which is a podcast that shows the two of them in their natural element discussing various topics, with a little humor and lots of sibling banter! Y’all can checkout the podcast via Soundcloud or YouTube at soundcloud.com/thevibecontrollers and The Vibe Controllers Podcast - YouTube.
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The Center for the Study of Southern Culture has posted its May events in its latest newsletter, which can be read here.
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Mississippi Humanities Council (MHC)—a private nonprofit corporation funded by Congress through the National Endowment for the Humanities to provide public programs in traditional liberal arts disciplines to serve nonprofit groups in Mississippi—has posted its upcoming events that y’all can read here.
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Contributors are being solicited for the newly commissionedCambridge History of Black Women in the United States.The Cambridge History of Black Women in the United States(CHBW) is a five-volume history that will appeal to students, lay readers, and specialists. These volumes will be a landmark opportunity to reflect seriously on the state of scholarship on Black women in the United States, as well as reshape our thinking about their impact on American society. The editors want to showcase the best work of recent years, as well as point the way forward for a new generation of scholars and readers. They see this as a scholarly project that aims to lead the field and to educate and engage a broad audience of non-professionals. For more information of how to submit, go here.
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Mississippi Museum of Art (MMA) has posted its exhibits and events through June. To see all exhibits go here and to see all events go here.
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June 21, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. at Jersey City Theater Center, poet, filmmaker, editor, educator, and activist Kevin Powell will host a Juneteenth Celebration, “Juneteenth, America, and All of Us.” For more information, go here.
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June 22, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. GMT, Lolwe is offering a masterclass on “Nuances in POF” taught by T.L. Huchu, author of the novels The Hairdresser of Harare and The Maestro, The Magistrate, and The Mathematician. Point of view (POV) shows who is telling a story and the perspective through which the story is narrated. This element is integral to the way a reader interacts with any story. First-person POV, for instance, keeps the narration limited to a single character’s perspective, while third-person omniscient POV allows for a broader view that includes the perspectives of multiple characters. Many writers have started stories afresh after realizing the initial POV used does not work, and this is where understanding the nuances in POV are most effective. Huchu will show you the advantages, limitations, reliability, and unreliability of the different points of view used in storytelling. This masterclass is open to both emerging and established writers. There are limited seats available, so go here to register.
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June 24, 2024, at 7:00 p.m., at the Jackson Convention Complex, The Jackson Advocate, one of the oldest African-American newspapers, presents A Midsummer Night Concert with DeAnna Tisdale Johnson and Friends. For more information, text (601) 608-8930 or email alicethomastisdale@gmail.com.
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June 24 – 29, 2024, the Millsaps McMullan Creative Writing Summer Workshop will be held. Poet, short story writer, and Prince scholar C Liegh McInnis will be one of the featured teachers. Tenth grade – college freshman application is here, and eighth – ninth grade application is here.
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Beginning June 24, 2024, Granta, a literary journal, is offering a nine-week short fiction writing class. For more information, go here.
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June 25, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. CDT, Mississippi native, fiction writer, playwright, and health activist Katrina Byrd invites you to Flouncing in Basel: A Virtual Literary Salon, where she will read from her collection of essays about her experience in Basel Switzerland as a 2023 ALS/MND Patient Fellow. To register, go here or email The Boa Flouncer mhservices@bellsouth.net.
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June 27, 2024, at 7:00 p.m. CST, at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora will be celebrating its upcoming issue, “Outta Sight: Sonic Bodies in the Galaxy of Black Listening,” edited by Duriel E. Harris and Tracie Morris, with an evening of poetry, performance, music, and book signings, featuring Sylvia Ewing, Me'Chelle, Sterling D. Plumpp, and avery r. young with Justin Dillard and will be emceed by Harris and Morris with special guest DJ Shawn Buddha Ryder. For more information and to reserve a seat, go here.
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The Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC) is now accepting nominations for the next Mississippi Poet Laureate! Mississippi’s Poet Laureate serves as the official state poet, creating and reading appropriate poetry at state occasions and state agency activities and represents the rich cultural heritage of Mississippi. Nominations are reviewed by the Mississippi Poet Laureate Selection Panel, an advisory council consisting of representatives from the state’s cultural agencies and professionals in the literary community. The Selection Panel convenes to interview the finalists and submit a list of persons qualified and eligible for the position to the Governor’s office. The Governor makes his final selection from these recommendations. Once selected, the Poet Laureate serves for a term of 4 years! The deadline to nominate someone is June 30, 2024. For more information about criteria or to submit a nomination, please visit here,
https://arts.ms.gov/, and contact Kristen Brandt, chair of the Poet Laureate Selection Panel at kbrandt@arts.ms.gov or (601) 359-6075.
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From now through June 30, 2024, in celebration of the 99th birthday of Malcolm X, the International Museum of Muslim Cultures (IMMC) is commemorating this milestone with a special exhibit, XRoads: Intersecting the Golden Age of Jazz and the Influence of Black Muslims, which explores the intersection of jazz music and the influence of Black Muslims entitled. This exhibit, curated by Detroit-based artist and music historian Luf*cki, delves into the rich cultural contributions of Black Muslims to the jazz genre, highlighting how their spiritual and cultural perspectives shaped this quintessentially American art form. It features a compelling collection of records, historical photographs, prose and poetry that capture the vibrant interplay between jazz and the Black Muslim experience. For more information, go here.
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July 6, 13, 20, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. GMT, Lolwe is offering a masterclass on “Worldbuilding in Fantasy and Science Fiction,” taught by award-winning writer Suyi Davies Okungbowa, author of the critically-acclaimed fantasy novels David Mogo, Godhunter, winner of the 2020 Nommo Ilube Award for Best Novel, and Son of the Storm, first in his epic fantasy trilogy. Worldbuilding is a foundational element in writing fantasy and science fiction. These genres allow for new worlds to be created, worlds where the geography, history, physics, politics and religion differ greatly from that of the real world, and worldbuilding sets the background against which these otherworldly stories happen. Over the years, many writers have drawn influence from Western mythologies, and they tend to create worlds that lack elements in their own culture. One can come across stories set in Africa featuring European attributes such as dragons. This class aims to teach you how to create worlds and characters grounded in your culture and history, which readers will find novel and original. In this class, you will learn how to build imaginary worlds set with rules and boundaries that make them seem real. Also, there will be recommended readings and writing exercises. The class is open to writers at all stages. To register, go here.
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July 10 – 14, 2024, Mississippi native, fiction writer, playwright, and health activist Katrina Byrd will present her paper, “The Authentic Life Drives Change,” as a part of the 2024 Annual Gathering of the Henry David Thoreau Society. For more information, go here.
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ITVS is seeking to fund short and feature documentaries of exceptional storytelling that reflects its mission: stories that take risks, tackle important issues, address the needs of underserved audiences, and are seldom seen in public media. They know how diligently you’ve worked on your project, and they’ll partner with you to help you finish and distribute it across public media platforms. Open Call provides up to $400,000 of co-production funding to independent producers of nonfiction documentaries, ranging from short films to feature length. The documentary can be on any subject, or any viewpoint or style as long as it is in active production already, as evidenced via a work-in-progress sample. The deadline to apply is July 12, 2024. For more information, go here.
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July 20, 2024, 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m., at St. Martin Public Library, the Louisiana/Mississippi Branch of the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators will host the Roadtrip to Biloxi, MS. Come join our kidlit community for Shop Talk and Critiques with our Gulf Coast members. We'll also plan a lunch for 11:00 am somewhere in Biloxi close by. Stay tuned! For additional information, email Monique Stevenson at mstevenson1118@icloud.com
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July 20, 2024, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. EST at AV Gallery, African Voices will host a Print N Sip workshop led by Khuumba Ama. For more information, go here.
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The Symposium on the Literary Voices of the Mississippi Delta, co-sponsored by the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area and Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU), will be held Fall 2024, at MVSU in Itta Bena. The symposium welcomes presentation proposals on literature, music, history, folklore, and any aspects of cultural heritages of the Mississippi Delta. Both scholarly proposals and creative work about the Delta are welcome. Abstracts (100-150 words) for scholarly proposals and creative work (poetry, fiction, nonfiction) with your name, affiliation, email address should be sent as an e-mail attachment to Dr. John Zheng (english_mvsu@yahoo.com) by July 30, 2024. Presentations should run for 20 minutes. No registration fee for this symposium. Use Symposium Proposal for the subject when submitting by email. All presentations will be considered for publication in the spring 2025 issue of Valley Voicesand/or the Journal of Ethnic American Literature.They also hope to edit a collection of critical essays about the contemporary literary voices of the Mississippi Delta.
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August 3, 10, 17, 24, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. GMT, Lolwe is offering a masterclass on “Plot, Subplot, and Characterization” taught by Zukiswa Wanner. This class is designed to elevate your storytelling by guiding you through plot, subplot, and characterization, the most important elements integral to any good story. For the duration of the course, you will learn how to create both an interesting plot and memorable, three-dimensional characters. Each writer will get a chance to receive feedback from other participants within the workshop and to have one-to-one consultation sessions with the tutor. The feedback will help shape the stories with the goal of giving the writer a better understanding of these basic elements of storytelling. Wanner is a South African journalist, novelist, and editor born in Zambia and now based in Kenya. Since 2006, when she published her first book, her novels have been shortlisted for awards including the South African Literary Awards (SALA) and the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize. In 2015, she won the K Sello Duiker Memorial Literary Award for London Cape Town Joburg (2014). In 2014 Wanner was named on the Africa3 9 list of 39 Sub-Saharan African writers aged under 40 with potential and talent to define trends in African literature. She curated the Pan-African virtual literary festival Afrolit Sans Frontières which had over 60 writers. In 2020, she was awarded the Goethe Medal, making Wanner the first African woman to win the award. She has facilitated various workshops including Caine Prize, Afro Young Adult, Writivism Workshop, among others. Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced writer, this three-week class is your chance to learn from the award-winning author of the novels The Madams, Behind Every Successful Man, and Men of the South and London Cape Town Joburg. The class will be held online via Zoom. To register for the class, go here.
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August 3, 10, 17, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. GMT, Lolwe is offering a masterclass on “Magic Realism and Surrealism,” taught by writer T. J. Benson, author of the collection of short stories, We Won’t Fade into Darkness and the novels, The Madhouse and People Live Here. Magical realism as a genre has been heavily debated especially when it comes to the classification of work from former colonies. The class will discuss it in the context of the work from the African continent and the genres it often obscures like Animism Realism, African Traditional Realism. They will also explore surrealism with contemporary examples. The aim of the class is to remove the western gaze/framing of these genres from literature emerging from the continent and see how we can play them into our own writing. We will also use contemporary visual art and music from Africa. Inclusion of indigenous story telling styles, transliteration from African languages, spiritualities and traditions and a keen interest in the genres and familiarity with stories within the genres is encouraged. The class is open to writers at all stages. To register, go here.
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August 8 – 11, 2024, at BRIC Arts (Brooklyn, NY), African Voices, REEL Sisters, BRIC will offer Reel Sisters + BRIC Screenwriting Lab—a four session course that includes a weekend intensive designed to give independent screenwriters the opportunity to create scripts for television, film, and streaming platforms like OWN, Netflix, and Amazon. Join a writers’ boot camp devoted to developing risk-taking narratives and creating scripts with richly layered female characters. The Lab will accept in-person and online applicants. Writers will work in small groups and one-on-one with veteran writer/producer Lorisa Bates, the CEO of Batesville Media, LLC and former VP of Content Strategy at BET Networks where she was responsible for greenlighting 70+ movies. To register, go here.
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The Canadian Journal of Disability Studies (CJDS) has a new Call for Papers: Disability and Star Trek, Special Issue of CJDS. Throughout its evolution, the Star Trek franchise has worked to tell stories about diversity on several levels, and a key element of several episodes has been disability. For example, from Captain Pike to Lieutenant Detmer, Star Trek offers many opportunities that provide for deeper discussions of disability. At the same time as Star Trek’s legacy has expanded, definitions and models of disability representation have continued to shift in new ways. Additionally, as disability theorist Dan Goodley (2017) suggests, theories have become multi-dimensional, and disabilities are now better understood to coexist alongside other markers of diversity (p. 44). Because both Star Trek and disability studies continue to shape how we think about the present as well as what we can imagine about the future, the Special Issue editors are seeking submissions for the Canadian Journal of Disability Studies (CJDS) that highlights the ways that disability influences, impacts, and operates within the Star Trek universe/franchise. They are seeking submissions of previously unpublished articles on disabilities, with a focus on disability theory within the world(s) and storylines of the Star Trek franchise. The deadline to submit is September 1, 2024. The encourage articles from minoritized populations, including disabled authors. Please submit your abstracts of no more than 300 words to Special Issue Editors Daniel Preston (daniel.preston@gmail.com) and Craig A. Meyer (craigAmeyer@gmail.com) with the subject line, “CJDS Star Trek Special Issue.” In the abstract, please include name, affiliation (if applicable), and contact information.
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September 12, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. at the Jackson Convention Complex, Sunny Hostin—legal journalist, author, and co-host of ABC’s The View—will deliver the keynote for the Jackson State University Mary E. Peoples Scholarship Luncheon. For more information, go here.
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Diane Williams—co-author with Richelle Putnam of A Guide to Mississippi Museums and best-selling and award-winning novelist Angie Thomas have been announced as panelists for this year’s Mississippi Book Festival, which will be September 14, 2024. For more information, go here.
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September 18 – 24, 2024, Furious Flower, one of the most important organizations for archiving, nurturing, and promoting black poetry, will hold its annual conference. For more information, go here and here.
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September 27 – 28, 2024, the Symposium on the Literary Voices of the Mississippi Delta, co-sponsored by the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area and Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU), will be held at MVSU in Itta Bena. The symposium will include presentations on literature, music, history, folklore, and any aspects of cultural heritages of the Mississippi Delta. For more information, contact Dr. John Zheng at english_mvsu@yahoo.com. All presentations will be considered for publication in the spring 2025 issue of Valley Voicesand/or the Journal of Ethnic American Literature.They also hope to edit a collection of critical essays about the contemporary literary voices of the Mississippi Delta.
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September 28, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. at Ice House, in Jackson, MS, the Mississippi Coalition against Domestic Violence will host Midnight Blues Gala: A Purple-Tie Event, to honor domestic violence survivors, advocates, and allies. Enjoy great food, drinks, and a silent auction while experiencing a live blues performance. Let’s unite and show our solidarity in the fight against domestic violence. Together, we have strength! For more information about the event, contact support@mcadv.org and go here. And, for more information about the MCADV, go here.
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October 17, 2024, at 7:00 p.m., Millsaps College and Lemuria Books will host an evening with New York Times bestselling author and humorist David Sedaris. For more information and to purchase tickets, go here.
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October 17 – 19, 2024, Cushcity.com will host the annual National Black Book Festival (NBBF). As one of the largest online sources for African-American authors and literature, NBBF attracts a wide array of authors, publishers, book clubs, libraries and individual readers from the Southwest U.S. and nationwide. For more information, including a detailed list of authors and events, go here.
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October 19 – 20, 2024, Reel Sisters, the first Oscar Qualifying Film Festival for narrative shorts devoted to women filmmakers, will premiere the original works of women filmmakers at the 27th Annual Reel Sisters Film Festival. For more information, go here.
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International Journal of Africana Studies (IJAS) has a Call for Papers on the theme of “The Transatlantic Slave Trade and National Reckonings: Remembering, Repressing, Repairing.” With 2025 representing the 160th anniversary of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, abolishing legalized slavery throughout the country, theIJAS invites article manuscripts for a special themed issue to capture this commemorative moment. Focusing on multiple Black Atlantic contexts, theIJASissue will examine governmental and civil society responsiveness or resistance to efforts to reckon with various legacies of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Guest editors R. Drew Smith and Bertis D. English encourage contributors to explore local, state, national, or international debates; institutional or policy directives; and related topics regarding the public importance of such legacies, especially in the Americas, Africa, and Europe, though contributors may explore other geographical areas. The deadline to submit is November 1, 2024. For more information, go here.
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