FACULTY/STAFF SPOTLIGHT Favorite DSU archive? Impossible to say. Or, each of the archives’ 490 collections and 504 oral histories, created by people who experienced and changed their world, is my favorite. Knowing that discarding or keeping something could mean irretrievable loss or the sole remaining remnant of a story preoccupies me. The holdings challenge and bully me and provide happily-ever-afters. The interaction between collection and viewer, when someone recognizes sacredness or value in something retained, is worth everything. Memorable curated exhibits? My debut exhibit in 2004 on Delta Foodway Traditions, a local component of the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Services’ Key Ingredients: America by Food, compelled me to figure out how to display material in an environment where food and drinks were forbidden! Conquering that challenge, I discovered the significance of connecting our local history with national events. Curating an Emmett Till in-house exhibit in 2007 and a subsequent traveling exhibit woke me up. Unwittingly, I had entered a subject with “sides.” Some people were displeased with this exhibit. I created it from research and primary sources mostly collected by the late Dr. Henry Outlaw, DSU chemistry professor. School groups stayed glued to Dr. Outlaw’s guiding them through the exhibit. This good work morphed into a traveling exhibition, with talent from former DSU graphic designer Laura Fleeman Walker. It has traveled coast-to-coast nearly a dozen times. In fall 2006, I was gifted a rare opportunity to create a museum from scratch, featuring legendary DSU baseball coach Dave “Boo” Ferriss. He and his wife, Miriam, never tired of explaining differences between “freshman” and “rookie” years or the American and National Leagues. They taught me the blessing of having a relationship with donors, no matter how big or small the gift.
HEART AND SOUL: WHAT UNIVERSITY ARCHIVIST EMILY JONES MAINTAINS FOR THE RECORD Ask Emily Jones, university archivist since 2003, about her professional achievements, and the Delta native answers through analogy. “I’m a doorkeeper,” says Jones, who graduated from Washington School in Greenville in 1995, Delta State as a history major in 1999, and University of West Georgia with a master’s in public history and archival management in 2004. Stewarding collections, their creators, and audiences requires trust, she reveals. —Editor Peter Szatmary 22 • Delta State Magazine • Winter/Spring 2020
Experiences you wouldn’t trade for anything? Twice I’ve been reminded to be sensitive to audiences. Because of people’s openness and willingness to share their history with me while working on the Mississippi Delta Chinese Heritage Museum in 2012, I was caught off-guard by occasional resistance. Because I’m not Chinese, some people struggled to accept that I was honestly interested in helping preserve their history for and with them. There were moments that I doubted my abilities, too, and if the archives and I could live up to their expectations. The extra effort was worth it. A similar moment occurred while completing a Mississippi Humanities Council grant documenting Delta black farmers in 2007. One interviewee, with no malice, only curiosity, wondered why “a white girl would want to know about black farmers.” I probably fumbled the reply, but he saw the sincerity in the project. I’m thankful for those lessons. It’s crucial to be careful and intentional with the relationships and history I’m offered, build mutual respect, and remember that some history doesn’t require rescuing. Why did you attend Delta State? Former director of admissions Betsy Bobo Elliott ’73 said I would like it. After we had visited during my high school’s college night, she wrote me a note reminding me. I believed her then. I still do.
