Ellen Ann Fentress
@eafentress.bsky.social
Honored to work with Beatrice Alexander’s family to tell how she and 387 others in Holmes County Mississippi ended stalled school integration in the South through their 1969 Supreme Court win
“If we don’t tell these stories, we kill the strength of the next generation.”
—Santrece Ross discovers her mother was the lead plaintiff in Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education in this new feature by Ellen Ann Fentress
🔗: https://shorturl.at/nDM6K
—Santrece Ross discovers her mother was the lead plaintiff in Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education in this new feature by Ellen Ann Fentress
🔗: https://shorturl.at/nDM6K
October 9, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Honored to work with Beatrice Alexander’s family to tell how she and 387 others in Holmes County Mississippi ended stalled school integration in the South through their 1969 Supreme Court win
Mannerly ask & wit at the Texaco in Louisville, Mississippi today
October 3, 2025 at 10:53 PM
Mannerly ask & wit at the Texaco in Louisville, Mississippi today
Golden Triangle see you 6 pm Thursday at the W to talk memory, revising our truths, Mississippi and @johntedge.bsky.social new memoir House of Smoke @friendlycitybooks
October 1, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Golden Triangle see you 6 pm Thursday at the W to talk memory, revising our truths, Mississippi and @johntedge.bsky.social new memoir House of Smoke @friendlycitybooks
Reposted by Ellen Ann Fentress
‘A good education’ excuse was used to justify avoiding integration
Column: My parents were “good people” and respected “all” people. But not accepting that a teacher was capable of providing a “good education” to me or my brother because that teacher was Black was racism. It still is.
Column: My parents were “good people” and respected “all” people. But not accepting that a teacher was capable of providing a “good education” to me or my brother because that teacher was Black was racism. It still is.
‘A good education’ excuse was used to justify avoiding integration
Column: My parents were “good people” and respected “all” people. But not accepting that a teacher was capable of providing a “good education” to me or my brother because that teacher was Black was racism. It still is.
mississippitoday.org
September 26, 2025 at 6:37 PM
‘A good education’ excuse was used to justify avoiding integration
Column: My parents were “good people” and respected “all” people. But not accepting that a teacher was capable of providing a “good education” to me or my brother because that teacher was Black was racism. It still is.
Column: My parents were “good people” and respected “all” people. But not accepting that a teacher was capable of providing a “good education” to me or my brother because that teacher was Black was racism. It still is.
Join us at History Is Lunch 12 pm Wednesday Oct. 1 at the Two Museums. Rita Watts Boone & I will talk admissionsprojects.com
September 25, 2025 at 1:55 AM
Join us at History Is Lunch 12 pm Wednesday Oct. 1 at the Two Museums. Rita Watts Boone & I will talk admissionsprojects.com
The shorthand of that white talk about a “good education” New story by @jalvis2.bsky.social
admissionsprojects.com/2025/09/04/w...
admissionsprojects.com/2025/09/04/w...
We’ve Come a Long Way. Haven’t We? – Admissions
admissionsprojects.com
September 5, 2025 at 10:03 PM
The shorthand of that white talk about a “good education” New story by @jalvis2.bsky.social
admissionsprojects.com/2025/09/04/w...
admissionsprojects.com/2025/09/04/w...
Reposted by Ellen Ann Fentress
Nothing more delightful than media dutifully facilitating a Haley Barbour rehabilitation tour. Read the rest of the story here, by Ellen Ann Fentress, about his #HurricaneKatrina games:
www.mississippifreepress.org/before-missi...
www.mississippifreepress.org/before-missi...
From Haley Barbour’s $570M Port Scheme to Mississippi's TANF Scandal
Then-Gov. Haley Barbour channeled $570 million away from post-Katrina housing assistance into a port, which did not deliver on the “economic development” promised.
www.mississippifreepress.org
August 29, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Nothing more delightful than media dutifully facilitating a Haley Barbour rehabilitation tour. Read the rest of the story here, by Ellen Ann Fentress, about his #HurricaneKatrina games:
www.mississippifreepress.org/before-missi...
www.mississippifreepress.org/before-missi...
His morale-boosting talk, sure, but also his walk: diverting $570 million in needed housing $ for a touted job-rich port project netting only 1 job per $2.2 million @ashtonpittman.bsky.social
www.mississippifreepress.org/haley-barbours-post-katrina-leadership-remembered-fondly-was-controversial/
www.mississippifreepress.org/haley-barbours-post-katrina-leadership-remembered-fondly-was-controversial/
Haley Barbour’s Post-Katrina Leadership, Remembered Fondly, Was Controversial
Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour’s leadership after Hurricane Katrina was often controversial despite fond recollections.
www.mississippifreepress.org
September 4, 2025 at 8:35 PM
His morale-boosting talk, sure, but also his walk: diverting $570 million in needed housing $ for a touted job-rich port project netting only 1 job per $2.2 million @ashtonpittman.bsky.social
www.mississippifreepress.org/haley-barbours-post-katrina-leadership-remembered-fondly-was-controversial/
www.mississippifreepress.org/haley-barbours-post-katrina-leadership-remembered-fondly-was-controversial/
Saturday’s the Possumtown Book Fest in Columbus. This lineup! In conversation at 11:15 with Jason McCall, Jaz Brisack, Robert Fieseler & Adam Gussow about their powerful, deeply felt new books. Friendly City Books & Emily Liner are Mississippi powerhouses
August 13, 2025 at 4:12 PM
Saturday’s the Possumtown Book Fest in Columbus. This lineup! In conversation at 11:15 with Jason McCall, Jaz Brisack, Robert Fieseler & Adam Gussow about their powerful, deeply felt new books. Friendly City Books & Emily Liner are Mississippi powerhouses
“Inculcated into acquiescent ladyhood which backfired” Works for me. Thanks @southrevbooks.bsky.social and Katharine Armbrester southernreviewofbooks.com/2025/07/08/t...
Performative “Southern Ladyhood” in “The Steps We Take”
An interview with journalist and author Ellen Ann Fentress.
southernreviewofbooks.com
July 8, 2025 at 7:24 PM
“Inculcated into acquiescent ladyhood which backfired” Works for me. Thanks @southrevbooks.bsky.social and Katharine Armbrester southernreviewofbooks.com/2025/07/08/t...
Her eyes, my ambition Thank you @salvationsouth.com & @chuckreece.bsky.social
@eafentress.bsky.social took what, in most writers’ hands, would have been a reflection on an artist’s career and turned it into inspiration for anyone in midlife who is driven to create. Proud to publish this in @salvationsouth.com.
The Power of Blooming Late
Discover Dusti Bongé’s biography and legacy in Ellen Ann Fentress’s essay on Mississippi women artists and creative ambition blooming late.
www.salvationsouth.com
May 18, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Her eyes, my ambition Thank you @salvationsouth.com & @chuckreece.bsky.social
Reposted by Ellen Ann Fentress
The church said it's terminating a decades-long partnership with the federal government to help refugees arriving in the U.S., citing moral opposition to resettling white Afrikaners from South Africa.
Episcopal Church refuses to resettle white Afrikaners, citing moral opposition
The church said it's terminating a decades-long partnership with the federal government to help refugees arriving in the U.S., citing moral opposition to resettling white Afrikaners from South Africa.
www.npr.org
May 12, 2025 at 7:14 PM
The church said it's terminating a decades-long partnership with the federal government to help refugees arriving in the U.S., citing moral opposition to resettling white Afrikaners from South Africa.
Reposted by Ellen Ann Fentress
"Sinners" has made $161 million at the box office, but residents of Clarksdale, Mississippi, where the film is based, are unable to see it because there are no open theaters in town. The Mississippi Delta town launched a petition in hopes of hosting a screening. capitalbnews.org/clarksdale-r...
‘Sinners’ Is Set in Clarksdale, Where There’s No Theater. Locals Are Asking for a Screening.
The Mississippi Delta town launched a petition in hopes of bringing director Ryan Coogler and his team to the community that helped inspire the hit film.
capitalbnews.org
April 30, 2025 at 2:10 PM
"Sinners" has made $161 million at the box office, but residents of Clarksdale, Mississippi, where the film is based, are unable to see it because there are no open theaters in town. The Mississippi Delta town launched a petition in hopes of hosting a screening. capitalbnews.org/clarksdale-r...
Absentee voting in the April 22 runoff for mayor and city council in Jackson takes place at City Hall, not the courthouse. Expect a little wait if the line is as it was when I voted today
April 14, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Absentee voting in the April 22 runoff for mayor and city council in Jackson takes place at City Hall, not the courthouse. Expect a little wait if the line is as it was when I voted today
The Mississippi Humanities Council has been the reason scores of events, projects & festivals happen around the state
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/10/a...
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/10/a...
Canceled Humanities Grants to Help Pay for Trump’s ‘Garden of Heroes’ (Gift Article)
The National Endowment for the Humanities, which supports museums and historical sites, will redirect funds to the president’s planned patriotic sculpture garden.
www.nytimes.com
April 11, 2025 at 3:39 AM
The Mississippi Humanities Council has been the reason scores of events, projects & festivals happen around the state
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/10/a...
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/10/a...
Mark your calendar for Tuesday June 3 to celebrate Lauren Rhoades’s wondrous memoir. We make it to adulthood from a perch inside Lauren’s head & heart. She’s bat-mitzvahed & confirmed Catholic on her 90s suburban ride, engaging, heartbreaking, infuriating & wry. Pre-orders open!
April 3, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Mark your calendar for Tuesday June 3 to celebrate Lauren Rhoades’s wondrous memoir. We make it to adulthood from a perch inside Lauren’s head & heart. She’s bat-mitzvahed & confirmed Catholic on her 90s suburban ride, engaging, heartbreaking, infuriating & wry. Pre-orders open!
The audiobook for The Steps We Take is out. Award-nominated Lee Ann Howlett narrates. How cool is it that she previously narrated Little Women and Heidi, a pretty ultimate girl reader two-fer. Spread the word on The Steps We Take on audio @upmississippi.bsky.social
March 19, 2025 at 2:09 AM
The audiobook for The Steps We Take is out. Award-nominated Lee Ann Howlett narrates. How cool is it that she previously narrated Little Women and Heidi, a pretty ultimate girl reader two-fer. Spread the word on The Steps We Take on audio @upmississippi.bsky.social
Reposted by Ellen Ann Fentress
Oh and, perhaps, Anita Lee at the Sun-Herald and her stellar coverage of his scheme as governor to divert low-income Katrina housing funds into a port. Her work is linked in this stellar and rather shocking piece by Ellen Ann Fentress for MFP: www.mississippifreepress.org/before-missi...
From Haley Barbour’s $570M Port Scheme to Mississippi's TANF Scandal
Then-Gov. Haley Barbour channeled $570 million away from post-Katrina housing assistance into a port, which did not deliver on the “economic development” promised.
www.mississippifreepress.org
March 13, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Oh and, perhaps, Anita Lee at the Sun-Herald and her stellar coverage of his scheme as governor to divert low-income Katrina housing funds into a port. Her work is linked in this stellar and rather shocking piece by Ellen Ann Fentress for MFP: www.mississippifreepress.org/before-missi...
Reposted by Ellen Ann Fentress
@mississippifreepress.org: Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a Republican, says he no longer supports dismantling the U.S. Department of Education. When I asked if he still believed in abolishing the department as he called for in his 1996 book, former RNC chairman Barbour said, “not really.”
Barbour: Restructure Education Department, Don’t Abolish It
As RNC chairman, Haley Barbour once called for the Department of Education to be abolished. Now that it’s happening, he says he’s changed his mind.
www.mississippifreepress.org
March 13, 2025 at 5:35 PM
@mississippifreepress.org: Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a Republican, says he no longer supports dismantling the U.S. Department of Education. When I asked if he still believed in abolishing the department as he called for in his 1996 book, former RNC chairman Barbour said, “not really.”