Honoring the History of Cotton Pickers Exhibit

Dr. C. Sade Turnipseed Announcement
Location
Mississippi, United States
Subject Fields
African American History / Studies, American History / Studies, Art, Art History & Visual Studies, Cultural History / Studies, Fine Arts

Honoring the History of Cotton Pickers

 

Khafre, Inc Executive Director and history Professor Dr. C. Sade Turnipseed is working in conjunction with Mississippi Valley State University to facilitate the restoration of the dignity and honor of the people who labored in the cotton fields of the Mississippi Delta and beyond. This effort is picking up steam and garnering widespread recognition and support, both nationally and internationally. Unbeknown to Khafre, Inc - its demonstrated passion and insistence for scholarly documentation and official honoring of cotton pickers gained the attention of retired Tennessee Tech University professors Leo and Gloria McGee from Cookeville, TN.

 

For nearly forty years, both Drs Leo and Gloria McGee shared in their passion to honor the work of cotton pickers, by collecting and exhibiting throughout the region original art, photogragphs, memorabilia, and artifacts that depict field workers, particularly Cotton Pickers, with the  dignity and respect they deserve. Their phenomenal collection is called “Cotton in My Hands.” The collection is mainly images of African Americans working in the cotton industry, since the days of slavery. The images can help all of us celebrate rather than ignore a vital segment of African Americans’ rich heritage.

 

Dr. Leo McGee who himself grew up picking cotton as a young boy in Arkansas says, “To me, laboring in the fields of the South is as much a part of African American heritage as the blues, jazz, chittlerlings, the dozens, and doubledutch. In many ways, I think the “field hands” may well be the unsung heroes of the American experience.” Both Drs Leo and Gloria McGee are excited to see their collection take on a new life and continue to preserve the history of those who endured the painful labor of picking cotton.

 

Earlier this year, the McGees reached out to professor Turnipseed with the intent of finding a new home for their collection, which quite possibly is the largest of its kind in private collection, or otherwise. They wanted to find someone, who they believed would not only receive the collected works with sincere appreciation; but, who also had the ability to take the collection to new heights. They found what they were looking for in Khafre, Inc., a Mississippi Delta based 501 c3 not for profit organization under the leadership of Dr Turnipseed.

 

The primary work of Khafre, Inc., as the McGees discovered is to correct the historical oversight of the legendary contributions made by Cotton Pickers; and, to assist in the process of healing the traumatic pain still felt by the people who sharecropped, and were historically neglected in the American South narrative.

 

For the last few years, Dr Turnipseed and the Khafre, Inc team have traveled throughout the country listening to people share their hopes and dreams for the South, but particularly the Mississippi Delta. Those concerns are heartfelt and strikingly similar. They are hopes of fairness; harmony among the races; a state government that serves and protects all Mississippians. They also had hopes of finding an equitable way to show respect for the culture and historical legacy of the people who worked so hard to give this country its financial footing to become a world super power. In essence, it’s all about dignity preservation.

 

Dr Turnipseed goes further in her assessment, to say, “It is the lack of awareness about the major contributions made by the millions of people who planted, chopped, picked and ginned cotton in the South which is the central issue that impacts the disjointed harmony throughout the country. The minimal respect for the history of the South, and the non-inclusion of the legacy of field workers in most historical sites and monuments are major issues that can be resolved in the building of a Cotton Pickers of America Monument and Historical Site, in the Mississippi Delta.”

 

It is for this reason that the Khafre Inc Board, Dr. Bobby Rush (Honorary Chair), Dr. Maya Angelou (former honorary chair), Dr. B.B. King (former honorary chair), Dr. Ed Dwight (Monument developer), Dr. Clifton Taulbert (national spokesman), Congressman Danny Davis (historical advisor), Dr. Carroll Van West (historical advisor), Dr. Louis L Woods (historical advisor), and thousands of people from around the world who have agreed to support the initiative to build the Monument and Historical Site in the Mississippi Delta.

 

Dr. Turnipseed, in addition to her connection to Khafre, Inc has partnered with Mississippi Valley State University to house the collection in the J.H. White Library on MVSU’s campus. The entire exhibit is dedicated to Dr. Leo and Gloria McGee in appreciation of their extremely generous donation. The “Cotton in My Hands” exhibit will open to the public THURSDAY NOVEMBER 1, 2018, in conjunction with the 7th Annual Sweat Equity Investment in the Cotton Kingdom Symposium (November 1-2, 2018) on the MVSU campus, and will remain on exhibit through April 30, 2019.

 

For more information, contact:

Dr. C.Sade Turnipseed—662.347.8198; cassie.turnipseed@mvsu.edu,

or visit

Khafre, Inc’s website:  khafreinc.org

 

 

 

 

Contact Information

Dr. C.Sade Turnipseed

Khafre, Inc

POB 64, Indianola, MS 38751

662.347.8198

Contact Email
cassie.turnipseed@mvsu.edu