Rhondalyn K. Peairs

Rhondalyn is an Oxford native, secondary educator and local historian. Her passion for the complex history of Mississippi and its people started early and runs deep. She is a graduate of Tougaloo College and has done graduate work at the University of Southern Mississippi, where her research culminated in the thesis “Resisting in the Storm: Black Landowners in Mississippi from 1930 to the Present.” Her primary areas of research include the Post-Reconstruction American South, Civil Rights, the legacy of race and enslavement, as well as agricultural, women’s and oral history. She previously served as a documentary projects coordinator and documentary educator with the William Winter Institute at the University of Mississippi. One of her proudest achievements was the development of a training workshop for community preservationists entitled, Making History Last: Tips and Tools for Ensuring the Success of Your Cultural Site, Museum or Historical Landmark. In 2018, she founded HISTORICH, a tourism and educational services company. The company seeks to connect communities and visitors alike with the rich and complex history of North Mississippi through experiential learning opportunities. Patrons and visitors receive a more inclusive narrative of Mississippi history that privileges marginalized stories of those who have been erased from the traditional Southern narrative.

Areas of Focus: Marginalized histories and identities in the South (i.e. the indigenous, women, people of color)