MEDGAR AND MYRLIE EVERS INSTITUTE

- "WHAT'S AT STAKE:" FREEDOM SUMMER:"WHAT'S AT STAKE?" IS A SERIES THAT EXAMINES CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL JUSTICE CHALLENGES AFFECTING AFRICAN AMERICANS AND DISENFRANCHISED COMMUNITIES. THE 2024 SERIES FREEDOM SUMMER PROGRAM BRINGS TOGETHER THOUGHT LEADERS FROM THE CIVIL RIGHTS, CREATIVE, AND HEALTHCARE COMMUNITIES TO DISCUSS THE IMPACT OF RECENT EFFORTS AND OTHER MODERN-DAY BARRIERS THAT LIMIT AMERICANS' VALUABLE RIGHTS. EDUCATING YOUNG PEOPLE ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT, WITH A FOCUS ON THE EVENTS OF THE FREEDOM SUMMER OF 1964. PARTICIPANTS LEARN ABOUT THE STRUGGLE FOR VOTING RIGHTS AND THE IMPACT OF CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVISTS. - MEDGAR WILEY EVERS LECTURE SERIES: JOY REID PRESENTS HER NEWEST BOOK, "MEDGAR AND MYRLIE: MEDGAR EVERS AND THE LOVE STORY THAT AWAKENED AMERICA." NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, AND HOST OF MSNBC'S THE REIDOUT WILL DISCUSS HER LATEST BOOK, MEDGAR EVERS AND THE LOVE STORY THAT AWAKENED AMERICA, WITH MODERATOR EBONY LUMUMBA, CHAIR OF THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT AT JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY. THE DISCUSSION WILL ANALYZE THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT'S HISTORICAL AND CONTEMPORARY SIGNIFICANCE THROUGH THE LIVES AND LEGACY OF MEDGAR AND MYRLIE EVERS. - MEDGAR AND MYRLIE EVERS RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP (FORMERLY SCHOLARS PROGRAM):A CONVERSATION WITH KEON BURNS"WE DID MORE THAN BAG GROCERIES: BLACK GROCERS, ACTIVISM, AND COMMUNITY RESISTANCE DURING THE BLACK FREEDOM STRUGGLE IN MISSISSIPPI"KEON BURNS, A DOCTORAL CANDIDATE IN HISTORY AT PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, IS THE RECIPIENT OF THE 2024 MEDGAR AND MYRLIE EVERS RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP AWARDED BY THE MEDGAR AND MYRLIE EVERS INSTITUTE AND THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY.THE MEDGAR AND MYRLIE EVERS RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM IS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE MEDGAR AND MYRLIE EVERS INSTITUTE AND THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF ARCHIVES AND HISTORY. DESIGNED TO FOSTER LIFELONG INTEREST, ENCOURAGE PUBLIC APPRECIATION OF MEDGAR EVERS'S LIFE AND WORK, THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN MISSISSIPPI, AND THE STRUGGLE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, THE FELLOWSHIP SEEKS TO NURTURE GRADUATE STUDENTS AND EARLY-CAREER FACULTY MEMBERS. PRIMARY SOURCE RESEARCH WILL BE CONDUCTED IN RESIDENCE AT THE WILLIAM F. WINTER ARCHIVES AND HISTORY BUILDING IN JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI. - REDI (RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE)THE RURAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE TOUGALOO COLLEGE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION, IS A FREE, TWELVE-WEEK PROGRAM THAT PROVIDES ON-SITE AND VIRTUAL TRAINING SESSIONS FOR MISSISSIPPI BUSINESS OWNERS AND PROSPECTIVE BUSINESS OWNERS IN ADAMS, CLAIBORNE, JEFFERSON, AND WILKINSON COUNTIES. THE PROGRAM PROVIDES KNOWLEDGE AND RESOURCES TO ESTABLISHED AND PROSPECTIVE BUSINESS OWNERS ON BUSINESS STRUCTURE, LEGAL REQUIREMENTS, FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, LEADERSHIP SKILLS, STRATEGIC PLANNING, AND SHORT- AND LONG-TERM BUSINESS GOALS. WITH THIS INFORMATION, BUSINESS OWNERS AND EMERGING BUSINESS OWNERS IN AREAS THAT HAVE HISTORICALLY HAD HIGH POVERTY, AND HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT CAN CREATE BETTER OPPORTUNITIES AND LIVELIHOODS FOR MANY RURAL FAMILIES. - A-TEAAM (AMBASSADORS OF THE EVERS ACADEMY FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN MALES) THE A-TEAAM IS A MENTORSHIP PROGRAM, ORIGINALLY BASED IN CENTRAL MISSISSIPPI, WHICH INSPIRES YOUNG MALES OF COLOR IN MIDDLE SCHOOL TO HONOR THE LIFE AND LIVE THE LEGACY OF MEDGAR EVERS. THESE YOUNG MEN INTERACT WITH A "VILLAGE" OF ROLE MODELS AND MENTORS OF TWENTY-THREE COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS. WITH THE TREMENDOUS SUCCESS OF THE PROGRAM IN JACKSON, CANTON, AND MERIDIAN, MS, THE A-TEAAM HAS EXPANDED ITS REACH TO OTHER CITIES WITHIN THE UNITED STATES TO INCLUDE HOUSTON, TX, E. ST. LOUIS, IL, LAS VEGAS, NV, CINCINNATI, OH, CHICAGO, IL, LOUISVILLE, KY, AND WASHINGTON, D.C. - PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM TO MEDGAR WILEY EVERS:MEDGAR WILEY EVERS WAS POSTHUMOUSLY AWARDED THE PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM BY PRESIDENT JOSEPH BIDEN.THE PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM IS THE HIGHEST U.S. CIVILIAN HONOR, AWARDED TO INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE MADE "AN ESPECIALLY MERITORIOUS CONTRIBUTION TO THE SECURITY OR NATIONAL INTERESTS OF THE UNITED STATES, WORLD PEACE, CULTURAL OR OTHER SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC OR PRIVATE ENDEAVORS." AWARDEES ARE SELECTED BY THE PRESIDENT. PRESIDENT HARRY S. TRUMAN SELECTED THE FIRST RECIPIENT OF THE MEDAL OF FREEDOM IN 1946. - GORDON PARKS FOUNDATION HONORING MYRLIE EVERS-WILLIAMS:SINCE 2007, THE GORDON PARKS FOUNDATION AWARD HAS BEEN GIVEN TO INDIVIDUALS WHOSE VISION AND LEADERSHIP IN THE ARTS AND HUMANITARIANISM HAVE TRANSFORMED THEIR RESPECTIVE FIELDS AND ADVANCED SOCIAL CHANGE IN THE SPIRIT OF GORDON PARKS' OWN WORK.MYRLIE EVERS-WILLIAMS WAS HONORED BY THE GORDON PARKS FOUNDATION AT ITS ANNUAL AWARDS DINNER AND AUCTION. THE HONOR RECOGNIZED MS. EVERS-WILLIAMS'S LIFELONG LEADERSHIP IN CIVIL RIGHTS AND PUBLIC SERVICE AND ELEVATED PUBLIC AWARENESS OF MMEI'S MISSION TO PRESERVE CIVIL RIGHTS HISTORY, PROMOTE CIVIC ENGAGEMENT, AND EDUCATE FUTURE GENERATIONS. - POMONA COLLEGE: DISCUSSION WITH JOY REID AND HER BOOK "MEDGAR AND MYRLIE: MEDGAR EVERS AND THE LOVE STORY THAT AWAKENED AMERICA."MMEI PARTICIPATED IN AN EDUCATIONAL DISCUSSION AT POMONA COLLEGE FEATURING JOY REID AND HER BOOK MEDGAR AND MYRLIE. THE PROGRAM CENTERED ON MS. REID'S 2024 PUBLICATION, MEDGAR AND MYRLIE: MEDGAR EVERS AND THE LOVE STORY THAT AWAKENED AMERICA AND EXAMINED THE HISTORICAL AND CONTEMPORARY SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT THROUGH THE LIVES AND LEGACY OF MEDGAR AND MYRLIE EVERS.