“Shall We Stay in Hell on Earth?” with Alicia Jackson By the early 1870s, life for rural Black Georgians was marred by restrictive laws that unduly regulated Black farmers, separated Black families, and incarcerated Black men at alarming numbers. More specifically, the growth in the incarceration of Black men fed into what became a burgeoning convict …

On Feb. 10 at 5:30 p.m. in Barnard Observatory’s Gammill Gallery, Nadia Alexis presents “What Endures.”  The artwork of Nadia Alexis—photographer, poet, and creative-writing-concentration doctoral student at the University of Mississippi—will be shown in the Gammill Gallery in Barnard Observatory this spring. The photographs in her series “What Endures” focus on the enduring spirit of …

At noon on Feb. 16, Berkley Hudson presents “Listening to the Mississippi Pictures of O.N. Pruitt.” Originating in the Jim Crow era from Columbus, Mississippi, the photographs of O.N. Pruitt (1891–1967) offer a vehicle to consider the vexing interrelations of photography, community, culture, race, and historical memory. During this SouthTalk, Columbus, Mississippi-native and author of …

At noon on Feb. 23, Castel Sweet presents “‘Does My Message Define My Role?’ Hip-Hop Artists’ Interpretation of Having a Role in Their Community.” Using data from interviews with hip-hop artists, Castel Sweet will discuss how artists’ emphasis on their music’s message influences their interpretation of having a role, or identifiable place, in their local …

On March 2 at noon, Melanie Ho presents sống ở đây.  Ho is a producer-director for the Southern Documentary Project whose work deals with trauma, familial relationships, gender, displacement, and intimacy. During her SouthTalk, Ho will screen her documentary film, sống ở đây, followed by a Q&A. Exploring the “intimacy of the mundane,” sống ở …

At noon on Wednesday, March 9, Yolande van Heerden will give the Art in Barnard Lecture in the Courtyard behind Barnard Observatory. This semester, the Art in Barnard Lecture will complement the Center’s yearlong theme of “Mississippi Voices” by featuring fiber artist and art instructor Yolande van Heerden of Greenwood, Mississippi. Van Heerden teaches a …