{"id":69735,"date":"2016-03-28T07:54:55","date_gmt":"2016-03-28T12:54:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/?p=69735"},"modified":"2016-03-28T07:54:55","modified_gmt":"2016-03-28T12:54:55","slug":"mdnha-delta-jewels-partnership-visits-the-white-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/2016\/03\/mdnha-delta-jewels-partnership-visits-the-white-house\/","title":{"rendered":"MDNHA, Delta Jewels partnership visits the White House"},"content":{"rendered":"

When University of Mississippi journalism professor Alysia Burton Steele embarked on a journey to record oral histories from African American church women in the Mississippi Delta over three years ago, she was not sure exactly where the journey would take her.<\/p>\n

It started at as labor of love to reconnect with her recently deceased grandmother, which led to the publishing of her critically acclaimed book “Delta Jewels: In Search of My Grandmother\u2019s Wisdom.”\u00a0The book led to an oral history partnership with the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Are<\/a>a and The Delta Center for Culture and Learning<\/a>, a partnership that culminated in an opportunity for Annyce Campbell, featured on the book cover, to visit the White House in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they said they wanted the woman whose portrait graces the book cover to attend the presentation, I knew that we had to get Mrs. Campbell to the White House,\u201d said Steele. \u201cShe was so proud when President Obama was elected. So much so that the walls in her home are filled with portraits of the president and first lady.\u201d<\/p>\n

The visit occurred March 12 during a trip to the nation’s capital\u00a0for a presentation at the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum. The Smithsonian program was held in honor of Women\u2019s History Month and the National Park Service Centennial, which is about reconnecting people with their national parks, especially those from underrepresented communities. The White House is part of President\u2019s Park, a National Park Service site.<\/p>\n

Campbell still lives in the Mound Bayou, Mississippi home where she and her husband of 69 years raised their nine\u00a0children. The election of the first African American President of the United States was something she never imagined would happen in her lifetime. Her goal was to enable her family to have opportunities she never enjoyed. She was thrilled that she and her daughters would get a chance to experience the visit together.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat moment \u2014 visiting the White House with my daughters \u2014 was more than my mind could conceive,\u201d said Campbell. \u201cI held my ID in my hand for so long. How many more stops do I get to make? Where do we get to go next? Who do we get to meet? I can\u2019t fully express the joy of that trip. Everyone should have an opportunity like this in their lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n

The trip to the White House\u00a0was not part of the original itinerary. It wasn\u2019t until Campbell landed in D.C. that the tour was finalized.<\/p>\n

\"Annyce<\/a>

Annyce Campbell, seated, poses in the White House with her daughters Alma Campbell and Emily Harris, as well as Dr. Rolando Herts, director of the Delta Center for Culture and Learning.<\/p><\/div>\n

Mossi Tull, board member for the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum, sponsored Campbell\u2019s travel to Washington.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy grandparents were from Kentwood, Louisiana,\u00a0and I spent many summers down there,\u201d he said. \u201cVisiting with Mrs. Campbell and her daughters brought back so many wonderful memories for me, and reminded me of the importance of my own family. We laughed. We smiled. We celebrated the fact that we were all together in that moment. It was truly a wonderful afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through the efforts of Maggie Tyler, Southeast Region National Heritage Areas program manager, Campbell was able to participate in the tour with her daughters Emily Harris and Alma Campbell, as well as Dr. Rolando Herts, director of The Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was so excited to walk up to the White House gates with them and give Mrs. Campbell her tour ticket and introduce her to the NPS ranger working that day,\u201d said Tyler. \u201cEveryone was so gracious to Mrs. Campbell and her daughters and they were all beaming from ear to ear.\u00a0 It’s these small moments that make me proud to work for the National Park Service.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Delta Center serves as the managing entity of the MDNHA. The mission of The Delta Center is to promote greater understanding of the Mississippi Delta\u2019s history and culture through education, partnerships, and community engagement. According to Herts, serendipitous moments like this are precisely why their efforts are so important.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis White House visit is significant on so many levels,\u201d said Herts. \u201cIt represents a lifelong dream come true for Mrs. Campbell, her family and her community. It represents the kind of powerful connections that are being made between people and national parks, which is what the National Park Service Centennial is all about. And it represents a story that will be told again and again, which is part of a rich oral history tradition that we are celebrating and honoring with Alysia Burton Steele.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steele spent the early years of her career as a photojournalist and editor. She never viewed herself as an oral historian, but through the Delta Jewels<\/em>\u00a0project has discovered the craft to be her new passion. Working with the MDNHA\u00a0and The Delta Center, Steele has been empowered to share the importance of telling stories that have often been left untold and to demonstrate the positive effect conversations can have on communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s pretty simple, really, why this important. We\u2019re not going to learn and grow if we don\u2019t talk to each other,\u201d said Steele.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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