Background

Shannon Evans earned her MFA in Creative Writing at the Mississippi University for Women, and she once worked as a full-time faculty member at a former segregationist academy in her hometown of Columbus in Lowndes County, Mississippi. Shannon lost her job in the aftermath of “critical race theory” hysteria, however, and she has re-dedicated herself to preventing the silencing of African American History as the Vice President of the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund. She served as a research and community engagement specialist for the American Historical Association-funded pilot project to build the WebAtlas of African American Burial Grounds, and she looks forward to expanding upon her successful project implementation strategies in Lowndes County, where she documented over 120 cemeteries. Shannon also expanded the WebAtlas to include cemeteries in Washington and Carroll Counties through funding from the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area.