An overview of our major annual programs, conferences, outreach events, and more.
2026 Programming and Events
58th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Birthday Convocation
Rose E. McCoy Auditorium
Jackson State University
10:00 a.m., Friday, January 16, 2026
For My People Awards
Student Center Ballroom A
Jackson State University
11:30 a.m., Friday, January 16, 2026
Lecture for the Global Teaching Project
Dr. Robert Luckett
CSET Auditorium, Jackson State University
12:30 p.m., Sunday, January 18, 2026
Lecture for Santa Fe High School National History Day
Dr. Robert Luckett
12:30 p.m., Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Poetry Out Loud
Student Center Theater
Jackson State University
12:00 p.m., Wednesday, February 4, 2026
Black History with the Du Bois-Harvey Honors College
Anastasia Taylor
Jackson State University Library
3:00 p.m., Monday, February 9, 2026
Margaret Walker and Jubilee
Dr. Robert Luckett
Lifelong Learning Institute, University of Southern Mississippi
12:00 p.m., Thursday, February 12, 2026
CASE Fest Q&A
Patricia Syner
Zoom Presentation
4:00 p.m., Tuesday, February 17, 2026
HCAC Panel at the Black Information Futures Symposium
Garrad Lee
University of Washington, Seattle, WA
February 20-24, 2026
Lecture for the Raymond Culture Club
Garrad Lee
Raymond, MS
2:30 p.m., Thursday, February 26, 2026
Lecture for the Graduate Association of African American History
Dr. Robert Luckett
University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
3:00 p.m., Thursday, February 26, 2026
MS Community Cultural Conservation Workshop
Alissa Rae Funderburk, Garrad Lee, Dr. Robert Luckett
Delta State University, Cleveland, MS
9:00 a.m., Friday, February 27, 2026
Lecture for the Smith Center for the Digitization and Curation of African American History
Dr. Robert Luckett
6:00 p.m., Friday, February 27, 2026
In Search of Phillis Wheatley Peters Documentary Screening and Panel
Dr. Robert Luckett
Two Mississippi Museums
2:00 p.m., Sunday, March 1, 2026
Voting Rights History Presentation for CSE Inspire
Karanja Matory and Anastasia Taylor
Center for Social Entrepreneurship, Jackson, MS
4:00 p.m., Wednesday, March 4, 2026
Mississippi Historical Society Annual Meeting
MSU Riley Center
Meridian, MS
Thursday-Friday, March 5-6, 2026
Lecture at the Two Mississippi Museums Spring Break Camp
Anastasia Taylor
Two Mississippi Museums
8:30 a.m., Tuesday, March 10, 2026
Workshops for Operation Shoestring’s Spring Break Camp
Patricia Syner and Anastasia Taylor
Operation Shoestring
1:40 p.m., Wednesday, March 11, 2026
2025
Reflections on the Mississippi Movement
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
3:30 p.m., Thursday, January 16, 2025
57th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Birthday Convocation
Rose E. McCoy Auditorium
Jackson State University
10:00 a.m., Friday, January 17, 2025
For My People Awards
Student Center Ballroom A
Jackson State University
11:30 a.m., Friday, January 17, 2025
Omo Moses Book Signing
The White Peril
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
6:00 p.m., Saturday, January 25, 2025
Poetry Out Loud
Student Center Ballroom B
Jackson State University
12:00 p.m., January 29, 2025
Perspectives on Black Power: SNCC and the Black Power Movement
Panel discussion featuring Dr. Robert Luckett
Tougaloo College
10:00 a.m., Monday, February 3, 2025
“Putting in the Work: African Americans and Labor”
Presentation by Anastasia Taylor and Patricia Syner
Academic Complex, Millsaps College
6:00 p.m., Tuesday, February 11, 2025
Service Week: Tie Knot Blanket Project
JSU Community Service Program
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
10:00 a.m., February 12, 2025
“Voices of Legacy: Myrlie Evers-Williams”
Presentation by Anastasia Taylor and Patricia Syner
Sister Thea Bowman Catholic School
10:00 a.m., February 12, 2025
Service Week: Duffle Bag Project
JSU Community Service Program
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
10:00 a.m., February 13, 2025
“Mississippi Sugar: Black Queer Pasts, Presents, & Futures in the Deep South”
Presentation by Anastasia Taylor in collaboration with Invisible Histories
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
2:00 p.m., February 19, 2025
Gibbs-Green Traveling Exhibit Lecture
Dr. Robert Luckett
Hinds Community College
2:00 p.m., Thursday, February 20, 2025
SPLC “Get in the Room” Bootcamp
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
Friday-Saturday, February 21-22, 2025
Margaret Walker Lecture
Dr. Robert Luckett
Margaret Walker Alexander Library
5:00 p.m., Tuesday, February 25, 2025
Youth Leadership Jackson Workshop: Cultural Diversity in America
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
8:00 a.m., Friday, February 28, 2025
Mississippi Historical Society Annual Meeting
Two Mississippi Museums
Thursday-Friday, March 6-7, 2025
My Mind to Me a Kingdom Is
Dr. Jane Ellen McAllister documentary screening
Discussion moderated by Dr. Robert Luckett
2:00 p.m., Sunday, March 9, 2025
Kent State Alternate Spring Break
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
Sunday-Wednesday, March 9-12, 2025
Margaret Walker Lecture
Part of the “She Inspires: Celebrating Women’s Impact” program
Sister Thea Bowman Catholic School
10:00 a.m., Wednesday, March 19, 2025
Public Humanities Awards Ceremony
Mississippi Humanities Council
Dr. Christina Thomas awarded with Humanities Scholar Award
5:30 p.m., Friday, March 28, 2025
Tiger Transfers and Commuters: Headshots Session
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
5:30 p.m., Monday, March 31, 2025
Organization of American Historians Conference on American History
Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk
Thursday-Sunday, April 3-6, 2025
19th Annual CASE Festival
Keynote Speaker: Natasha Trethewey
Jackson State University
Opening Plenary
“Remembering Emmett Till 70 Years Later”
Panel with the Emmett Till Interpretive Center
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
3:00 p.m., Friday, April 4, 2025
Concurrent Sessions, Lunch, and Keynote
Keynote speaker: Natasha Trethewey
Jackson State University Student Center
8:00 a.m., Saturday, April 5, 2025
“Sisterhood in Action”
Delta Sigma Theta panel discussion
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
6:00 p.m., Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Africana Digital Humanities @ HBCUs Convening
Garrad Lee and Anastasia Taylor presenting
Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, GA
Tuesday-Thursday, April 15-17, 2025
Poetry Slam
Du Bois Harvey Honors College
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
5:00 p.m., Tuesday, April 22, 2025
Poetry Workshop for Elder Community Members
Bolden/Moore Library
12:00 p.m., Wednesday, April 23, 2025
COFO & Margaret Walker Talk
Dr. Robert Luckett
JPS-Tougaloo Early College High School
10:30 a.m., Tuesday, May 13, 2025
55th Annual Gibbs-Green Commemoration
Gibbs-Green Memorial Plaza, Jackson State University
4:00 p.m., Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Poetry Workshop with Nadia Wright
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
5:00 p.m., Thursday, May 22, 2025
Mississippi Association of Educational Office Professionals Annual Conference
Pearl, Mississippi
Thursday-Friday, May 29-30, 2025
SPLC Advocacy Institute Orientation
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
6:00 a.m., Saturday, May 31, 2025
Groundwork/NAACP Organizing Accelerator
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
9:30 a.m., Saturday, June 7, 2025
OPERA/SOUTH Workshop
Dr. Robert Luckett with Joan Ross Sorkin and Randy Klein
Virtual via Zoom
3:30 p.m., Thursday, June 12, 2025
Catherine Coleman Initiative Summer Program
Catherine Coleman Literary Arts, Food, and Justice Initiative
Jackson State University
June 22-28, 2025
Jubilee Picnic
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
11:00 a.m., Thursday, July 3, 2025
Association of African American Museums Annual Meeting
Charleston, South Carolina
July 23-25, 2023
“Nexus of Past and Present”
Dr. Robert Luckett with Pam Shaw, Sen. Hillman Frazier, and Albert Dorsey
Virtual outreach event
5:30 p.m., Thursday, July 31, 2025
“Fresh Cuts & Cool Vibes”
JSU Student Community Service Event
You Look Like Me, Inc. and JSU NAACP
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
3:00 p.m., Sunday, August 17, 2025
Mt. Olive Cemetery Dedication Reception
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
10:30 a.m., Friday, August 22, 2025
Jackson State University Class Lecture
Dr. Robert Luckett
Virtual outreach event via Zoom
9:00 a.m., Thursday, August 28, 2025
Mississippi Book Festival
State Capitol Building
Jackson, Mississippi
Saturday, September 13, 2025
“Neglected Stories Exchange”
Southern Institute for Peace
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
8:30 a.m., Monday, September 15, 2025
Millsaps College Writing Class Lecture
Dr. Robert Luckett and Patricia Syner
Millsaps College
2:30 p.m., Wednesday, September 17, 2025
“Margaret Walker & the Power of Words” Exhibit Soft Opening
Gallery 1, Jackson State University
4:00 p.m., Thursday, September 18, 2025
Community in Action Fair
Gibbs-Green Plaza, Jackson State University
11:00 a.m., Friday, September 19, 2025
MDAH Fall Teacher Workshop
Dr. Robert Luckett, keynote speaker
Two Mississippi Museums
8:00 a.m., Friday, September 26, 2025
“Truth Talks”
Advocate Her, JSU student group
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
3:00 p.m., Friday, September 26, 2025
“Margaret Walker & the Power of Words” Exhibit Grand Opening
Dr. Maryemma Graham, keynote speaker
Student Center Theater and Gallery 1, Jackson State University
5:00 p.m., Thursday, October 2, 2025
Mississippi Studies Teachers’ Workshop
Presentation by Patricia Syner
Brandon Middle School
2:00 p.m., Monday, October 13, 2025
Mt. Olive Cemetery Reenactment Reception
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
12:30 p.m., Tuesday, October 14, 2025
Mississippi Arts Commission State Arts Conference
Jackson, Mississippi
October 15-16, 2025
Oral History Association Annual Meeting
Atlanta, Georgia
October 15-18, 2025
Mississippi Association of Educational Office Professionals Seminar
University of Southern Mississippi
8:30 a.m., Friday, October 17, 2025
Alliance of HBCU Museums and Galleries Internship Info Session
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
10:00 a.m., Thursday, October 23, 2025
“Rhythm & Roots”
Advocate Her, JSU student group
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
4:00 p.m., Monday, October 27, 2025
Deep South Planning Conference
Presentation by Dr. Robert Luckett
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
9:30 a.m., Wednesday, October 29, 2025
“Closely Examined Exchange”
Southern Institute for Peace
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
8:30 a.m., Monday, November 10, 2025
Veterans Day Reading of the Names
Organized by the African American Civil War Memorial Museum
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
View the livestream
10:00 a.m., Tuesday, November 11, 2025
Hinds Hospitality Expo
Hinds Community College
10:00 a.m., Wednesday, November 12, 2025
Literary Salon with Jerriod Avant
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
2:00 p.m., Sunday, November 16, 2025
Lamar Middle School Class Lectures
Patricia Syner
Lamar School, Meridian, Mississippi
November 20-21, 2025
Book Panel & Signing
With authors Jere Nash, D’Andra Orey, and Justin Randolph
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
5:00 p.m., Tuesday, December 9, 2025
2024
56th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Birthday Convocation
Rose E. McCoy Auditorium
Jackson State University
10 a.m., Friday, January 19, 2024
29th Annual For My People Awards
Jackson State University Student Center Ballroom A
11:30 a.m., Friday, January 19, 2024
Poetry Out Loud
Central Region of Mississippi Contest
JSU Student Center Theater
Noon, Wednesday, January 31, 2024
A Decade of Action: Jackson State, Lynch Street, and the Civil Rights Movement
An Exhibition: Center for the Study of Southern Culture
Barnard Observatory, University of Mississippi
January 30-March 1, 2024
18th Annual Creative Arts and Scholarly Engagement (CASE) Festival
Jackson State University Student Center
Featuring Sonia Sanchez
Friday and Saturday, April 5 and 6, 2024
54th Annual Commemoration of the Gibbs-Green Tragedy
Jackson State University Gibbs-Green Memorial Plaza
4 p.m., Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Jubilee Picnic
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
Jackson State University
Noon, Thursday, July 11, 2024
60th Anniversary of Freedom Summer
A Scholarly Analysis of Voting Rights Activism in Mississippi
Voices of Civil Rights Activists in Mississippi
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
Jackson State University
11:00 a.m., Thursday, October 3, 2024
2023
55th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr., Birthday Convocation
Jackson State University
9:00 a.m., Friday, January 13, 2023
28th Annual For My People Awards
Jackson State University
11:30 a.m., Friday, January 13, 2023
Housing Insecurity in Mississippi
An Exhibition
Johnson Hall Art Gallery, Jackson State University
November 1, 2022 – January 31, 2023
Poetry Out Loud
Statewide Preliminary Contest of Mississippi
Student Center Theater
Jackson State University
12 p.m., Wednesday, February 1, 2023
This Freedom Rider Invites You into My Prison Cell
Documentary Screening with Freedom Riders
Hezekiah Watkins and Rabbi Phil Posner
Margaret Walker Center Facebook and YouTube
6:00 p.m., Thursday, February 23, 2023
17th Annual Creative Arts & Scholarly Engagement (CASE) Festival
Margaret Walker, the Phillis Wheatley Poetry Festival,
and the Legacy of Black Women Writers
Dr. Maryemma Graham, Keynote
Jackson State University
Friday and Saturday, April 14 and 15, 2023
Catherine Coleman Initiative
Literary Arts, Food, and Justice
Jackson State University
June 4-9, 2023
53rd Annual Gibbs-Green Commemoration
Virtual Reality Unveiling, Wreath Laying, & Reception
Ayer Hall, Jackson State University
4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Wednesday, June 7, 2023
Jubilee Picnic
Student Center Ballroom A
Jackson State University
11:30 a.m., July 7, 2023
Association of African American Museums
Annual Meeting
Nashville, Tennessee
July 26-29, 2023
Mississippi Book Festival
State Capitol Building
Jackson, Mississippi
Saturday, August 19, 2023
Phillis Wheatley Poetry Festival
50th Anniversary Reconvening
Jackson State University
November 1-4, 2023
2022
54th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr., Birthday Convocation
Dr. Diedre L. Wheaton
Margaret Walker Center Facebook and YouTube
10:00 a.m., Friday, January 14, 2022
27th Annual For My People Awards
Dr. Aisha Nyandoro, Mr. Dennis Dahmer, Prof. Natasha Trethewey
Margaret Walker Center Facebook and YouTube
6:00 p.m., Thursday, January 13, 2022
Imani Perry: South to America
Rose E. McCoy Auditorium
Sponsored by the Mississippi Book Festival and Lemuria Books
6:00 p.m., Wednesday, February 16, 2022
The Legacy of Phillis Wheatley in Africa and the African Diaspora
Margaret Walker Center Facebook and YouTube
2:00 p.m., Thursday, February 24, 2022
Margaret Walker: Food, Fellowship, & Forms of Activism
Catfish Row Museum
Dr. Robert Luckett
2:00 p.m., Saturday, February 26, 2022
Mississippi Symphony Orchestra
Bravo IV: Truth and Flame
Pre-concert Discussion
Dr. Maryemma Graham and Dr. Ebony Lumumba
Mississippi Museum of Art
5:45 p.m., Saturday, March 5, 2022
Concert: “Three Songs on Poems by Margaret Walker”
Southern Song
Ex-Slave
My Truth and My Flame (I am a Black Woman)
Aundi Marie Moore, soprano
Crafton Beck, composer and director
Thalia Mara Hall
7:30 p.m., Saturday, March 5, 2022
49th annual Phillis Wheatley Poetry Festival Commemoration
Tuesday to Saturday, March 22-26, 2022
Evicted Roundtable
MSU School of Architecture
4:00 p.m., Tuesday, March 29, 2022
16th Annual CASE Festival
Past, Present, & Future: A Legacy in Music
Featuring Nellie Mack, Rhonda Richmond, Cassandra Wilson
MWC Facebook, YouTube, and JSU Student Center
Friday and Saturday, April 8 and 9, 2022
Folklife and the Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi
Roundtable Discussion
COFO Civil Rights Education Center
6:00 p.m., Tuesday, April 12, 2022
52nd annual Gibbs-Green Commemoration
Exhibit Unveiling, Wreath Laying, & Reception
Ayer Hall, Jackson State University
11:00 a.m., Saturday, May 14, 2022
Dorothy Moore Blues Trail Marker
In conjunction with Visit Jackson
FD Hall Music Center, Jackson State University
11:00 a.m., Wednesday, May 25, 2022
Thee Black Pride in Jackson
Exhibition Opening and Reception
Ayer Hall, Jackson State University
4:00 p.m., June 1, 2022
Liberty House and Craft Cooperatives
A Virtual Exhibition
Opening Conversation with Dr. Thomas Kersen
Margaret Walker Center Facebook and YouTube
4:00 p.m., Thursday, June 23, 2022
Jubilee Picnic
JSU Student Center Ballroom
11:30 a.m., Thursday, July 7, 2022
Queen Mother Moore
Legacy Symposium and Celebration
New Iberia, Louisiana
Wednesday, July 27, 2022
AIDS Memorial Quilt
Panel-Making Workshop
Art Gallery F.D. Hall Music Center
Jackson State University
10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Friday, August 5
11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Saturday, August 6
Association of African American Museums
Annual Meeting
Miami, Florida
August 10-13, 2022
Mississippi Book Festival
State Capitol Building
Jackson
Saturday, August 20, 2022
Change the Pattern
AIDS Memorial Quilt Exhibition
JSU Student Center
Wednesday, September 28, to Tuesday, October 4
The Lantern Project: An Introduction
Digital Slave Records of Mississippi
Margaret Walker Center Facebook and YouTube
6 p.m., Monday, October 10, 2022
Housing Insecurity in Mississippi
Starkville Strong
Opening Roundtable Discussion
Ayer Hall, Jackson State University
6 p.m., Thursday, November 10, 2022
Coffee, Chat, and Crafts: Jackson Bicentennial
Jayne Avenue Neighborhood Association
Margaret Walker Alexander Public Library
9:30 to 11:30 a.m., Saturday, November 19
2021
26th Annual AARP Mississippi For My People Awards
Virtual program honoring Doris Derby, Dave Dennis, and David Dennis, Jr.
MWC Facebook Page
6:00 p.m., Thursday, January 14, 2021
53rd annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Birthday Convocation
Virtual program featuring keynote Dave Dennis
Jackson State University Facebook Page
10:00 a.m., Friday, January 15, 2021
“May 1970: The Gibbs-Green Tragedy at Jackson State College”
Documentary Photography Exhibit by Doris Derby
Virtual Gallery Talk
6:00 p.m., Thursday, February 4, 2021
Columbia University Career Conversations Series
Virtual Panel on the Job Title “Oral Historian”
Featuring Liza Zapol (Smithsonian), Ellen Brooks (Wisconsin Library System), Shanna Farrell (UC Berkley) and Alissa Rae Funderburk (JSU)
5:00 p.m., Tuesday, February 8, 2021
Connecting Lived Experience to Action
West Virginia University Social Justice Summit #2
Virtual Summit for WVU Faculty, Staff, Students, and Community
Featured Speaker and facilitator Alissa Rae Funderburk, Oral Historian (MWC)
12:00-3:00 p.m., Thursday, February 11, 2021
A Conversation with Kiese Laymon and Jesmyn Ward
New Mississippis Project and the
African American Read-in at Augusta University
3:00 p.m., Thursday, February 17, 2021
Tomorrow’s Tomorrow at 50
Reflections with Joyce Ladner
Featuring Dr. Joyce Lander, Dr. Thornton Dill, & Shelia Bonner, moderator
MWC Facebook Page
6:00 p.m., Thursday, March 25, 2021
CASE Festival
Kiese Laymon keynote
Panel Discussion: Richard Wright’s The Man Who Lived Underground
April 9 and 10, 2021
Tracing Your Family Tree: An Introduction to Genealogy Research
Robert F. Smith Explore Your Family History Center of NMAAHC
With the Margaret Walker Center
Hannah Scruggs, Lisa Crawley, Angela Stewart, and Alissa Rae Funderburk
12:00 p.m., Thursday, April 22, 2021
51st Gibbs-Green Commemoration
Class of 1970 Commencement Ceremony
Honorary Doctorates: Phillip Gibbs and James Green
Doris Derby exhibit and gallery talk: “May 1970”
May 14 and 15, 2021
Evicted: An Exhibition
Virtual opening conversation
Alieza Durana, Princeton Eviction Lab
Margaret Walker Center, Jackson State University
6:00 p.m., Thursday, July 1, 2021
Jubilee Picnic
Margaret Walker’s 106th Birthday Celebration
Wednesday, July 7, 2021
Housing, Economic Insecurity and Activism: Voices of Those Impacted
Springboard to Opportunities
Immigrant Alliance for Justice and Equity
Silvina Barrera, Mississippi State School of Architecture, moderator
Dept. of Urban & Regional Planning, JSU Downtown Campus
6:00 p.m., Thursday, July 22, 2021
COFO Mural Dedication
10:00 a.m., Saturday, July 24, 2021
Students and community partners listening party, oral history project
School of Architecture, Mississippi State University, Starkville
5:00 p.m., Saturday, October 9, 2021
“Evicted: An Exhibition of the National Building Museum”
Johnson Hall Art Gallery, Jackson State University
June 28 – October 3, 2021
Telling the Story of COVID-19 and Eviction
Bracey Harris, NBC News
Nick Judin, Mississippi Free Press
Robert Luckett, Margaret Walker Center, moderator
Margaret Walker Center Facebook
6:00 p.m., Thursday, August 12, 2021
Impact of Eviction on Children and Families: The Resources Available
McKinney-Vento Homelessness Program, Jackson Public School District
Stewpot Community Services
Mississippi United to End Homelessness
Joan Wesley, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, moderator
Margaret Walker Center Facebook
6:00 p.m., Thursday, August 26, 2021
Eviction and the Law: Knowing Your Rights
John Jopling, Mississippi Center for Justice
Keisha Stokes-Hough, Southern Poverty Law Center
The Hon. Zakiya Summers, Mississippi State Representative
Kateryna Malaia, Mississippi State School of Architecture, moderator
Margaret Walker Center Facebook and YouTube
6:00 p.m., Thursday, September 9, 2021
The Intersection of Policy, Activism and Economic Well-Being
Dr. Gwen Bouie-Haynes, National Association of Social Workers
Matthew Campbell, Mississippi NAACP
Diane Standaert, Hope Policy Institute
Gloria Shields, Children’s Defense Fund & Southern Rural Black Women’s Initiative
Margaret Walker Center Facebook and YouTube
6:00 p.m., Tuesday, September 28, 2021
October 3, 2021
Exhibition closes
Stitch Their Names Memorial Project
Quilting Exhibit
October 25 – December 17, 2021
Margaret Walker Center, Ayer Hall
Jackson State University
The Foundation of Stitching
Margaret Walker Center Facebook and YouTube
6:00 p.m., Thursday, October 28, 2021
Activism in Quilts, Art, and Music
Margaret Walker Center, Ayer Hall
Jackson State University
4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m., Reception
6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m., Program
Thursday, November 18, 2021
2020
52nd Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Birthday Convocation
Rose E. McCoy Auditorium
10:00 a.m., Friday, January 17, 2020
25th Annual For My People Awards
$20 tickets
JSU Student Center Ballroom
12:00 p.m., Friday, January 17, 2020
Poetry Out Loud
Central Region of Mississippi
Student Center Theater
Jackson State University
12:00 p.m., Wednesday, February 5, 2020
“Will There Ever Be Justice for Emmett Till?”
Duvalier Malone, lecture
Margaret Walker Center, Ayer Hall
6:00 p.m., Thursday, February 6, 2020
March of Remembrance
JSU Student Government Association & Campus Activities Board
50th Commemoration of the Gibbs-Green Tragedy
Gibbs-Green Memorial Plaza to Alexander Hall, Jackson State University
6:30 p.m., Thursday, February 27, 2020
“Tragedy and Triumph: The Lives of the Gibbs-Green Survivors”
Reception and Exhibition Grand Opening
4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Thursday, February 27, 2020
Grrrl Justice (POSTPONED)
Short Narrative Film Screening
Ayer Hall, Margaret Walker Center
6:00 p.m., Wednesday, March 18, 2020
14th Annual Creative Arts and Scholarly Engagement (CASE) Festival
(CANCELLED: The 2020 CASE Festival will be reconvened in 2021.)
Featuring JSU alumnus and artist, John Jennings
“Popular Media, Memory, and Generational Inheritances:
The Power of Intersectional Narratives”
Jackson State University Student Center
Friday and Saturday, April 3 and 4, 2020
“The Gibbs-Green Tragedy at 50: The Photographs of Doris Derby”
(POSTPONED)
Reception and Exhibition Grand Opening
Friday, April 3, 2020
“Jackson State and the Civil Rights Movement on the Lynch Street Corridor”
(POSTPONED)
Reception and Exhibition Grant Opening
Friday, April 3, 2020
50th Commemoration of the Gibbs-Green Tragedy Virtual Townhall
Dale Gibbs, Widow of Phillip Gibbs
Vernon Weakley, Student Survivor
Gailya Porter, Student Survivor
Lap Baker, Student Survivor
Jackson State University
7:30 p.m., Thursday, May 14, 2020
Virtual Jubilee Picnic
Margaret Walker Cooking Demonstration
Maple Nut Cake Recipe
6:00 p.m., Tuesday, July 7, 2020
Jackson State University Facebook Page
The Diversity Project Webinar Series
August Educational Webinars
The Mississippi Plan and Rise of Jim Crow
Hosted by Leon Burnette
Featuring Dr. Robert Luckett, MWC Director
7:00 p.m., Thursday, August 13, 2020
Curating Our Culture
Minority Representation in Museums
Featuring Lance Wheeler, Adrienne Chadwick, & John Spann
12:30 p.m., Friday, August 14, 2020
www.facebook.com/jacksonadvocate
Hoge Fenton Zoom Webinar
Black Lives Matter: No More Happy Talk
Featuring Dr. Robby Luckett, Hon. Ladoris Cordell, Chris Bridges, & Dan Ballesteros
2:00 to 3:00 p.m., Wednesday, August 19, 2020
Talking White: An Anti-Oppression View Towards Transcribing Black Narrators
Summer Workshop Series on Anti-Oppression and Oral History
Columbia University Oral History Master’s Program
Taught by Alissa Rae Funderburk, MWC Oral Historian
3:00 to 6:00 p.m., Saturday, August 22, 2020
#WeltyatHome Book Club Discussion
Featuring Margaret Walker’s Jubilee
Eudora Welty House and Garden
Led by Dr. Robert Luckett, MWC Director
12:00 p.m., Friday, August 11, 18, and 25
Dynamic Black Women In Mississippi
Instagram Live Conversations
Hosted by Alissa Rae Funderburk, MWC Oral Historian
Featuring Aisha Carson, Amanda Furdge, & Arekia Bennett
6:00 p.m., Thursdays, August 13, 20 and 27, 2020
2020 Hall of Fame Induction honoring Margaret Walker
The MAX (Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience) Museum
Thursday, September 3, 2020
Comcast Newsmakers | Voices of the Civil Rights Movement
Equality, Identity & Hope: Race in America
Dr. Robby Luckett Director of the Margaret Walker Center
6:30 p.m., Wednesday, September 9, 2020
History Digest Guest Speaker: Lance Wheeler, Education & PR Manager of MWC
The Belmont Abbey College History Department
11:15 a.m., Thursday, September, 10, 2020
Gardner Institute Transformative Conversations
Institutional Commitments to Inclusivity and Equity
The guests for this session will be:
Dr. Shane Williamson, Vice President of Institutional Diversity, Lindenwood University
Dr. Robby Luckett, Director of the Margaret Walker Center & Associate Professor, JSU
1:00 to 2:00 p.m., Wednesday, September 16, 2020
Grrrl Justice
Virtual short narrative film screening and panel discussion
featuring Shontina Vernon, director of Grrrl Justice; Jensen Luke Matar, TEAP-MS Advocacy Coordinator; Ayana Jones, Jackson State University student; and Arekia Bennett, Executive Director of MS Votes
6:00 p.m., Friday, September 18, 2020
Community Collaboration: The Margaret Walker Center and the Scott-Ford House, Inc.
Society of Mississippi Archivists Virtual Table Talk
Angela Stewart, Archivist, Margaret Walker Center
Dr. Alferdteen Harrison, Founder, Scott Ford House, Inc.
12:00 p.m., Friday, September 25, 2020
2020 Oral History Association Annual Meeting
“The Quest for Democracy: One Hundred Years of Struggle”
October 19-24, 2020 Virtual Meeting
MWC Oral Historian Alissa Rae Funderburk will chair the session
Education in High School and University Involves Listening:
Creating Diverse Curriculum Content in Dissertations
2:30pm to 4:00pm Wednesday, October 21, Zoom, Room 1
And present her own paper in the session
Identity & Citizenship in Religious Communities
10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., Thursday, October 22, Zoom, Room 1
“Popular Media, Memory, and Generational Inheritances: The Power of Intersectional Narratives”
Virtual Exhibit and Discussion
Featuring JSU alumnus and artist, John Jennings
6:00 p.m., Tuesday, November 10, 2020
75th Anniversary of Richard Wright’s Black Boy
Jerry Ward, Charlie Braxton, Kiese Laymon,
Julia Wright, Kevin Powell, and C. Liegh McInnis (moderator)
6:00 p.m., Thursday, November 12, 2020
The Voice of Survivors: The Legacy of Gibbs-Green
50th Commemoration of the Gibbs-Green Tragedy
Gloria Green McCray, Demetrius Gibbs,
Phillip Gibbs, Jr., and Nancy Bristow (moderator)
6:00 p.m., Thursday, December 3, 2020
Margaret Walker Center
College of Liberal Arts
Jackson State University
Ayer Hall
1400 J.R. Lynch Street
P.O. Box 17008
Jackson, MS 39217

Phone: 601-979-3935
mwa@jsums.edu
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