Fifty-two years ago, President Lyndon Johnson signed legislation establishing the national endowments for the arts and humanities. Upon signing the bill, President Johnson noted that a great nation needed great art and humanities, declaring, "In the long history of man, countless empires and nations have come and gone. Those which created no lasting works of art are reduced today to short footnotes in history's catalog." Ever since, both NEH and NEA have leveraged a relatively tiny amount of federal funding to support and foster artistic expression and cultural and historical understanding across the country.

In 1972, educational leaders in Mississippi, including Porter Fortune, the chancellor of Ole Miss, and John Peoples, the president of Jackson State University, came together to establish the Mississippi Committee for the Humanities, which was designed to function as the statewide partner of the NEH, distributing federal funds to help support grassroots public humanities programs. Since 1987, we have been known as the Mississippi Humanities Council.

Sharing this history is especially important now as Congress debates whether to continue to fund NEH, and by extension the state humanities councils. We must educate Mississippians about the impact NEH has had on our state.

Sharing this history is especially important now as Congress debates whether to continue to fund NEH, and by extension the state humanities councils. We must educate Mississippians about the impact NEH has had on our state. For the past few weeks, we have been highlighting this impact through our social media, using the hashtag #NEHMattersinMS. Each weekday, we recognize a cultural institution or project that has received significant NEH support. These include: the Mississippi Blues Trail; the newspaper collection at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History; the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at Ole Miss, whose former director, William Ferris, became the NEH chairman; the Eudora Welty House and Garden, and so many more. Visit our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter (@ms_humanities) or Instagram (mshumanitiescouncil) to learn how much NEH has done to foster the cultural richness of our state.

These examples don't even include the work of the Mississippi Humanities Council. The NEH has been our primary funder since we were founded 45 years ago. As you read this newsletter, you will see how we are helping to support more than 70 different local bicentennial projects; how our racial equity grant program, funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, is fostering deep explorations of our state's often difficult history through documentary films, panel discussions, and community dialogues; how we are bringing diverse groups of people together to discuss the important issues we all face in our monthly "Ideas on Tap" series; how we are instilling a love of books and reading through the Prime Time Family Reading and Luciérnagas programs; and how we are bringing Smithsonian traveling exhibits to small towns across Mississippi. The MHC creates opportunities for Mississippians to learn about themselves and the larger world and enriches communities through civil conversations about our history and culture.

If you appreciate the work we do, there are a few ways you can help. First, please contact your senators and member of congress and remind them of the value their small investment in the humanities represents for Mississippians. Tell them to continue to fund the NEH and the work of the state councils. This is very easy to do - each member our delegation has a simple email form on their congressional website. Also, you can show your support for the humanities in Mississippi by making a tax deductible donation to the MHC here. The more private support we receive, the less reliant we will be on federal funding. Thank you for your friendship and for all you do to support the arts and humanities in Mississippi.