Upcoming & Current Programs

The Medgar Evers/Ella Baker Civil Rights Lecture Series

September 2009 - April 2010

This lecture series is jointly sponsored by The Hamer Institute and Veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement. Each month's program will focus on a different aspect of the Civil Rights Movement. Past lecture series have included speakers and veterans such as Bob Moses, L.C. Dorsey, Charles McLaurin, Hollis Watkins, Unita Blackwell, Rev. Ed King, Julian Bond, Marian Wright Edelman, and John Dittmer among many others.

Please download the attached schedule for your information:

Medger Evers/Ella Baker Civil Rights Lecture Series Schedule

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The Annual Fannie Lou Hamer Humanitarian Awards Luncheon

April 16, 2010
Jackson State University
Jacob L. Reddix Campus Union
General Purpose Room

The 3rd Annual Fannie Lou Hamer Humanitarian Awards Luncheon is sponsored by the Hamer Institute. The luncheon is to honor individuals and organizations that have made major contribution to the areas of service and leadership in the pursuit of social, economic, political, and environmental justice and equality. Consideration is given to the Mississippians whose community involvement has benefited the public, as well s to recognize those individuals and/or organizations that have not received appropriate recognition for their many contributions. The Fannie Lou Hamer Humanitarian Awards is also designed to honor individuals from various age groups as to acknowledge the accomplishments of young people, as well as seasoned leaders.
Please see flyer: Humanitarian Awards Luncheon Flyer

Invited Guest Speaker:
Congressman Bennie G. Thompson

Humanitarian Award Honorees:
TBA

Please click the following link below for more information regarding eligibility requirements, nominations, selection criteria, deadlines, nomination form and form to purchase tickets, ads and/or sponsorships.

Humanitarian Awards Nomination and Ad purchasing forms
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“The Southern Civil Rights Movement:
The Pivotal Role of Young People”

June 7-12, 2010

The Fannie Lou Hamer National Institute on Citizenship and Democracy is celebrating its 13th Anniversary.  Founded in 1997, the Hamer Institute is hosting a week-long workshop on the Civil Rights Movement for twenty middle and high school students on the main campus of Jackson State University.  The dates for 2010 will announced at a later time, as well as the application materials and curriculum. The workshop’s theme – “The Southern Civil Rights Movement: The Pivotal Role of Young People” --  will explore the history of the Southern Civil Rights Movement, focusing on the contributions and sacrifices made by young people during the 1950’s and 1960’s.  The sessions will examine how American Democracy is an evolving concept, changing throughout its history in response to the demands of engaged citizens of all ages.  The students will learn about the achievements of ordinary people who stood against oppression and struggled to bring full civil rights to all Americans.  Dr. Leslie Burl McLemore, the director of the Hamer Institute, has noted that “the young people of the 50’s and 60’s can service as role models for today’s youth”.  He went on to say that “today’s young people can see that violence is not the answer by examining the remarkable achievements of the young people from another era”. 

The Hamer Institute is located in historic Ayer Hall on the Jackson State University campus.  For more information, please contact the Hamer Institute at 601-979-1562 or email hamer.institute@jsums.edu. You may also download more information and the application form below:

COMING SOON!

1. Student Workshop application and information
2. Student Workshop Curriculum

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Landmarks of American Democracy: From Freedom Summer to the Memphis Sanitation Workers' Strike

July 11-17, 2010 (Group 1); July 18-24, 2010 (Group 2)

This one-week workshop, sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Hamer Institute, will be offered for community college faculty on the dates noted above. The workshop features extensive readings on the southern civil rights movement in the 1960s. Guest speakers, Hamer Institute faculty, and oral history panelists will guide participants in exploring the people, places, and events that helped bring about civil rights reform. The workshop also includes field trips to landmarks in Jackson, Mississippi; the Mississippi Delta communities of Greenwood, Ruleville, and Clarksdale; and historical sites and the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee.

The National Endowment for the Humanities is an independent grant-making agency of the federal government. As part of the NEH’s We the People program, we offer the following Landmarks of American History and Culture Workshops for Community College Faculty. NEH Landmarks Workshops provide the opportunity for community college educators to engage in intensive study and discussion of important topics in American history and culture. These one-week programs will give participants direct experiences in the interpretation of significant historical and cultural sites and the use of archival and other primary evidence. Landmarks Workshops present the best scholarship on a specific landmark or related cluster of landmarks, enabling participants to gain a sense of the importance of historical places, to make connections between what they learn in the Workshop and what they teach, to advance their own scholarship, and to develop enhanced teaching materials.

Amount of Award
Faculty selected to participate will receive a stipend of $1,200. Stipends help cover living expenses, books, and travel expenses to and from the Workshop location.

Eligibility
These projects are designed for faculty members at American community colleges. Adjunct and part-time lecturers as well as full-time faculty are eligible to apply. Other community college staff, including, librarians and administrators, are eligible to compete, provided they can advance the teaching and/or research goals of the workshop. An applicant need not have an advanced degree in order to qualify. Applicants must be United States citizens, residents of U.S. jurisdictions, or foreign nationals who have been residing in the United States or its territories for at least the three years immediately preceding the application deadline. Foreign nationals teaching abroad at non-U.S. chartered institutions are not eligible to apply. Applicants must complete the NEH application and provide all of the information requested to be considered eligible.

New this year: An individual may apply to up to three NEH summer projects in any one year (Landmarks Workshops, Seminars, or Institutes), but may participate in only one. Please note that eligibility criteria differ significantly between the Landmarks Workshops and the Seminars and Institutes Programs. 

How to Apply
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS
This application packet should contain a letter from the project director describing in detail the content of the Workshop, the institutional setting, what is expected of participants, and specific provisions for lodging and subsistence. In some cases, directors have websites for their projects and the information letter may be downloaded from their website. All application materials must be sent to the project director at the address listed on the program poster. Application materials and reference letters sent to the Endowment will not be processed. Please indicate on the application cover sheet your first and second choices of Workshop dates.

CHECKLIST OF APPLICATION MATERIALS
A completed application consists of three copies of the following collated items:
- the completed application cover sheet,
- a résumé,
- an application essay (one to two double-spaced pages) as outlined below.
In addition, it must include one letter of recommendation as described below.

The Application Cover Sheet
The application cover sheet must be filled out on line at the below address:

http://www.neh.gov/online/education/participants/

Please fill it out on line as directed by the prompts. When you are finished, be sure to click on the “submit” button. Print out the cover sheet and add it to your application package. At that point you will be asked if you want to apply to another workshop. If you do, follow the prompts and select another workshop and then print out the cover sheet for that workshop.

Résumé
Please include a résumé or C.V. detailing your educational qualifications and professional experience.

The Application Essay
The application essay should be one to two double-spaced pages. The essay should address your professional background; your interest in the subject of the Workshop; your special perspectives, skills, or experiences that would contribute to the Workshop; and how the experience would enhance your teaching and/or research.

Reference Letter
Applicants should provide a letter of recommendation from their department chair/division head or another professional reference. It is helpful for referees to read a copy of the description of the project sent by the director and the application essay. Please ask your referee to sign his/her name across the seal on the back of the envelope containing the letter, and enclose the letter with your application.

SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS AND NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE
Completed applications should be submitted to the project director and should be postmarked no later than March 2, 2010.

Successful applicants will be notified of their selection by April 2, 2010, and they will have until April 9, 2010 to accept or decline the offer. Applicants who will not be home during the notification period should provide an address and phone number where they can be reached. No information concerning the status of an application will be available prior to the official notification period.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT
Endowment programs do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age. For further information, write to NEH Equal Opportunity Officer, 1100 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20506. TDD: 202/606-8282 (this is a special telephone device for the Deaf).

Information
Please direct all questions concerning individual Landmarks Workshops as well as all requests for application materials to the appropriate director(s). General questions concerning NEH Landmarks of American History and Culture programs may be directed to the NEH Division of Education Programs (202/606-8463 or landmarks@neh.gov).

Landmarks of American Democracy:
From Freedom Summer to the Memphis Sanitation Workers' Strike

Jackson, Miss., and Memphis, Tenn.
July 11–17 or July 18–24, 2010
Locations: Jackson, Miss.; Memphis, Tenn.; the Delta
Michelle D. Deardorff, Director
The Fannie Lou Hamer National Institute on Citizenship & Democracy

Information:
Michelle D. Deardorff, Professor and Director
The Hamer Institute
Jackson State University
1400 John R. Lynch Street
P.O. Box 17081
Jackson, MS 39217
601-979-1562 or 601-979-1563
hamer.institute@jsums.edu
www.jsums.edu/hamer.institute

The following documents are available for download:

1. 2010 Dear Colleague Letter (Coming Soon)
2. 2010 Syllabus (Available for Download)
3. Week 1 Planning Guide (Coming Soon)
4. Week 2 Planning Guide (Coming Soon)

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PLEASE SEND DONATIONS FOR THE MEDGAR EVERS HOME AND MUSEUM TO THE BELOW LISTED ADDRESS:

Attention: Minnie Watson
P.O. Box 578
Tougaloo, MS  39174

 
The house that Medgar Evers and his wife owned is not grand. It is evidence of little wealth but a great deal of power. The humble house of this leader, as an object, does not inspire awe. The small house and site of his assassination, and the neighborhood of similar houses that surround, it make palpable the very simple longings for freedom and opportunity that drove the Civil Rights Movement. As a museum and a house in a historic district, the renovated structure informs those who visit of the many sacrifices that took place in Jackson and in Mississippi and presents a more modern link in the succession of Mississippi landmarks that communicate the history of the state.

Medgar Evers Home Museum  
2332 Margaret Walker Alexander Drive 
Jackson, MS 39213 
601-977-7710 

The Hamer Institute presents

TRACY SUGARMAN

Author and nationally recognized illustrator and journalist whose art has appeared in magazines and books, and has been featured on PBS, ABC TV, NBC TV, and CBS TV. He is the author of Stranger at the Gates: A Summer in Mississippi, My War: A Love Story in Letters and Drawings, and Drawing Conclusions: An Artist Discovers His America, the latter published by Syracuse University Press.

Landmarks of American Democracy Workshop
Documentary Information

Never Turn Back: The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer

We witness the moving story of a valiant heroine of the Civil Rights struggle in Mississippi.

Her courage inspired the poor and voiceless to demand the vote and to finally achieve political power. Her triumph is measured by the Black men and women who now take their rightful seats in City Halls, State Legislatures, and the U.S. Congress. 
 
60 minutes VHS $100 

30 minutes VHS $60 
(Abbreviated version) 

B & B Productions, Inc.

Contact Details Address:  
2325 Meadow Ridge
Redding, Connecticut 06896

To order Rediscovery films, please call 1-800-242-2946 or|
Telephone:   203-544-8018

About Rediscovery Productions 

Producer/Director Bill Buckley and Writer/Artist Tracy Sugarman joined their talents to create Rediscovery Productions. 

Bill Buckley, a charter member of the Director's Guild of America, has created film documentaries that have won many awards in the U.S. and abroad. In television, he directed a long list of Public Affairs network shows and worked on the critically acclaimed President Truman series, "Decision." His production credits also include work for two other Presidents. He created a campaign film for John F. Kennedy and produced "The People Speak" for Lyndon Johnson. Mr. Buckley directed six half-hour TV specials for Standard Oil of Ohio on projections in the fields of education, transportation, medicine, agriculture, communications, and urban systems, and produced over one hundred commercials for leading advertising agencies. He is president of B&B Productions (www.lawfilm.com), a company that creates legal documentaries for personal injury attorneys. 

Tracy Sugarman brought to Rediscovery Productions his long experience as a reportorial artist and writer. His work has been seen in periodicals such as Holiday, Saturday Evening Post, Fortune, The New York Times and Esquire. In 1964, he accompanied the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) to work with the black community in the Mississippi Delta, recording the nonviolent civil rights struggle in drawings and photographs. Stranger at the Gates: A Summer in Mississippi (Hill and Wang) includes diaries and drawings from that summer. His recently published book My War: A Love Story in Letters and Drawings (Random House) chronicles his WWII experiences. On television, Mr. Sugarman's work has been featured in six documentaries for CBS, among them, How Beautiful on the Mountains, the story of the civil rights struggle in the 1960s.