JANS – The Oxford American and the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument have partnered to present the No Tears Project Jackson. The civil rights and arts education programs will be held September 27-29, 2024. All events are free to the public.
The No Tears Project residency will include programs located at various sites in the city, including Myrlie’s Garden at the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument. Programs will interpret Mississippi’s past and present in the broader American civil rights story. To carry forward the work of the Evers family and all the others who have worked for equality, the programs will be presented in partnership with the Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP and One Voice, who will provide resources for voter registration at the events.
NO TEARS PROJECT JACKSON EVENTS:
Music Masterclass:Friday, Sept. 27; campus of Jackson State University. A music workshop with No Tears Project ensemble members in-classroom at Jackson State University’s Department of Music. This event is limited to invited students from JSU, Tougaloo College, and other educational institutions.
Sock Hop Dance Party and Freedom Library Storytime: In partnership with Mississippi Book Festival and Penguin Random House; Saturday, Sept. 28; 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.; Myrlie’s Garden, intersection of Missouri Street & Margaret W. Alexander Drive. Free to the public. RSVP via Eventbrite. Drop in with your kids to this family-friendly program to dance, for story time, and to pick up new, free children’s books that celebrate Black heroes. Enjoy a reading from Nadia Salomon’s just-published book “A Voice of Hope: The Myrlie Evers-Williams Story”, and an educational activity for children ages 4-12. No Tears Project ensemble will play a short set of live music as choreographer/researcher Ashley Tate and dancers from JSU’s African Drum and Dance Ensemble get your family moving and grooving. One Voice representatives will be on-site to provide voter registration resources.
Free Community Concert:Presented in partnership with Central Mississippi Blues Society; Saturday, Sept. 28; 7:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.; Shady Grove Missionary Baptist Church, 2118 W Ridgeway St., Jackson. Free to the public. Seating is limited and reservations are required via Eventbrite. A 90-minute concert from the No Tears Project ensemble led by Kelley Hurt (voice) and Christopher Parker (piano), including the world premiere of new work by bassist and composer Rodney Jordan inspired by the Evers family. Jordan is a Jackson State University alumnus. Ensemble members also include Jackson native Darrian Douglas, Bobby LaVell, Marc Franklin, Chad Fowler, and dancer Ashley Tate. One Voice representatives will be on-site to provide voter registration resources.
We Have Overcome: A Conversation on Progress and the Path Forward: Presented in partnership with One Voice and the Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP; Sunday, Sept. 29; 3:00 p.m. A pre-recorded video will stream online. Free to the public via Facebook. Pre-recorded at the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument, there will be a discussion with civil rights advocates including Nsombi Lambright, executive director of One Voice, and Allytra Perryman, deputy director of the Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP. The panel will be moderated by Dr. Ebony Lumumba, Associate Professor of English and Chair of the Department of English and Modern Languages at Jackson State University. The conversation will track the progress of equality and voter access in Mississippi from the past to the present. View the panel at one of the following Facebook pages: @oxfordamerican, @MedgarandMyrlieEversHomeNPS, or @CentralHighNPS.
For more information, visit https://www.notearsproject.com and/or https://oxfordamerican.org/notearsproject/jackson2024.
