The Burns Belfry Black History Beacon monthly program will feature Assistant Professor of History
at Jackson State University, Dr. C. Sade Turnipseed.

The meeting will take place at 3 p.m. on April 27 at the Burns-Belfry Museum and Multicultural Center on Jackson Avenue.

The April presentation will focus on the impact of cotton on slavery and on America’s economic position in the world.

Turnipseed is an internationally acclaimed public historian who was named the 2017 Mississippi Institute of Higher Learning’s Educator of the Year and is also the recipient of a 2018 summer research grant to formally study America’s original “cotton kingdom,” the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, which resulted in a textbook and accompanying documentary entitled, “The Gullah Geechee: Making a Way Out of No Way.”

She is the recipient of a U.S. Congressional Honor by Congressman Bennie G Thompson, for her commitment to preserving the rich history and heritage of the Mississippi Delta, and the NAACP Youth Outreach and Cultural Learning Award.

She is the executive director of Khafre Inc., a Mississippi Delta-based non-profit whose mandate is to erect a monument and historical site in tribute to Cotton pickers of the American South, and the founder of the Sankofa Empowerment Initiative, an international student exchange project.

The Burns-Belfry Black History Beacon monthly meeting is designed to acquaint, remind and educate the community concerning the contributions of African-Americans to the volume of American history shared by all Americans.

Each month, the Beacon will focus on an era in American History impacted by African Americans.

Everyone is welcome, and there will also be crafts for children.