The Blues Communities Project seeks to add all missing stories and locations to our WebAtlas by working with descendant communities to preserve plat maps, obituaries, photos, and documents. By developing a research agenda and community of practice, which centers on locating information about Blues communities in all 82 counties, we can prevent the erasure of historic resources in the African American community.
We need volunteers in all 82 Mississippi counties!
A host of Blues communities have not yet been located, and most of them are in dire need of preservation and more research. To discover more information about these communities and map them, the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund established County Affiliates Program. Building upon our existing practice of supporting local volunteers in their research efforts, we intend to expand our online platform for volunteers and supporters to share their research and stories with the larger community. Our Facebook group, The Headstone Blues Network, was the first attempt to create this community prior to the pandemic, but we plan to organize regular events to broaden the research skills of volunteers and descendant communities.
We already have more than a dozen talented volunteers, and the program is growing!
Do you want to learn more about the program? Do you have important information about Blues communities in Mississippi? Fill out the form below!
