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The Margaret Walker Center at Jackson State University will receive a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in the public humanities: exhibitions category. JSU is the only school in the state to receive this NEH award.
“The Margaret Walker Center is honored to be awarded this nearly $40,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. It will enable us to fulfill a central part of our mission by producing a major traveling and digital exhibition about our founder, Margaret Walker, which will help to lift her into the national consciousness, where she belongs,” said Dr. Robert Luckett, center director.
The Margaret Walker Center is an archive and museum dedicated to the preservation, interpretation, and dissemination of African-American history and culture.
Founded as the Institute for the Study of the History, Life, and Culture of Black People by Margaret Walker in 1968, the Center seeks to honor her academic and artistic legacy through its archival collections, exhibits, and public programs.
Open to the public, the Center houses significant records like the papers of the late Margaret Walker; those of the former U.S. Secretary of Education, Roderick Paige (current interim president of Jackson State); and a large oral history department that includes nearly 2000 interviews. It also offers museum and exhibit spaces that highlight the Centers collections and the history of Jackson State University.
[pullquote]According to the NEH website an outright award of $ 39,600 will be given towards the development of This Is My Century: The Life and Legacy of Margaret Walker, a traveling exhibition, a digital exhibition and public programs on the life and cultural influence of writer Margaret Walker (1915–98).[/pullquote]
Created in 1965 as an independent federal agency, the Endowment for the Humanities supports research and learning in history, literature, philosophy, and other areas of the humanities funding selected, peer-reviewed proposals from around the nation.
“NEH grants matter in the many communities we serve around the country in preserving cultural heritage, supporting local organizations, and helping teachers teach and students learn,” said Chairman of the NEH William D. Adams. “Our grants also matter at the national level, where they preserve our history and acquaint people more deeply with our cultural and political traditions. In making the humanities accessible to all Americans, NEH serves the common good.”
For more information about current and upcoming Walker Center events and exhibitions, please visit https://www.jsums.edu/margaretwalkercenter/