American Studies Commons^™

The South In Review, Adam Gussow, Peter Lurie, David Wharton

Study the South

The following books are reviewed in this issue:

• I Am a Man: Photographs of the Civil Rights Movement, 1960-1970 / William R. Ferris and Lonnie G. Burch, III. University Press of Mississippi. Reviewed by David Wharton
• William Faulkner and the Faces of Modernity / Jay Watson. University Press of Mississippi. Reviewed by Peter Lurie.
• New York City Blues: Postwar Portraits from Harlem to the Village and Beyond / Edited by Larry Simon and John Broven. Photos by Robert Schaffer. Reviewed by Adam Gussow.
• Road Through Midnight: A Civil Rights Memorial / Jessica Ingram. University of North Carolina Press. Reviewed by …

By Way Of Remembrance: Rural Cemeteries Of North Mississippi, David Wharton

Study the South

"My habit was to drive back roads, explore, and not worry about getting anywhere quickly or about getting lost. With my wife, Marianne, often accompanying me, we would stick to county roads, always on the lookout for places of visual interest. Among the places we frequently stopped were small towns—in both business and residential areas—and, especially, rural churches and cemeteries. Many of the churches, whether still active or not, had burial grounds close by, and even long-abandoned churches sometimes had cemeteries that showed signs of recent use. A few cemeteries were off by themselves, however, apparently forgotten by any church …

What Has Been Will Be Again: Photographic Meditations On Social Isolation In Alabama, Jared Ragland, Catherine Wilkins

Study the South

"Social isolation is both a phrase and an experience that has defined the past year in the wake of the global Covid-19 pandemic. Jared Ragland’s ongoing photographic travelogue, What Has Been Will Be Again: Photographic Meditations on Social Isolation in Alabama, expressly evokes the loneliness that has characterized this period; solitary subjects inhabit these frames, and many images in the series are devoid of people altogether. One can imagine the photographer, alone, navigating deserted landscapes with only a camera as his companion, documenting the recent ravaging of the public sphere. Yet, while the theme is certainly au courant, What …

Through The Words Of Those Who Have Experienced It: Reading The Whitney Plantation Along Neoslave Narratives, Sarah Payne

Study the South

Recent representations of slavery, however well intentioned, have provoked discussions about who should represent black pain and oppression and what purpose such representations serve. Also evoking such questions are contemporary plantation tours, most of which are white-centered, “moonlight and magnolia” recreations. There have been efforts to represent slavery more accurately at plantations such as Oak Alley, and most notably, the Whitney Plantation, which opened in 2014 in Wallace, Louisiana.

This essay asks how our understanding of the Whitney Plantation, as a representation of slavery, a public history project, and an example of dark tourism, might be affected by reading the …

Sister Act: Margaret Walker And Eudora Welty, Carolyn J. Brown

Study the South

At the end of their lives, in the 1980s and ’90s, both Margaret Walker and Eudora Welty were recognized several times by their hometown and state for their long careers and bodies of work. The paths they traveled to reach this intersection of common recognition were quite different, however. Almost exact contemporaries -— Welty lived from 1909-2001 and Walker from 1915-1998 -— they share similar timelines and histories, both having lived through the Depression, World War II, and the civil rights movement. But as one was white and one was black, their stories are very different, as are their paths …

Scrapbook 1: School Days, Betty Rose Mermelstein

Betty Mermelstein Collection

Photos and ephemera from Betty Mermelstein's "school days, 1934-1946", including her senior year at Natchez High School (Miss.), 1945-46.

Scrapbook 2: Family And Ephemera, Betty Rose Mermelstein

Betty Mermelstein Collection

Photos of Betty Mermelstein and her family, as well as men in uniform, including her friend, Sam Schwarz, serving in France, Germany and England during World War II. Ephemera includes: souvenir program from Mississippi High School Band Contest, 1946; souvenir program from the Natchez High School Senior Class and Dancing Clubs "Dance Review and Two One Act Plays"; greeting cards, visiting cards; souvenir undergarment from Hollywood, Calif.; invitations; American Red Cross certification card; party napkins