Hello, my name is Kiestin Jackson, sophomore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As part of the Robertson Scholar Leadership Program—a full-ride merit scholarship program adjoining Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill—I have had the opportunity to intern this summer at the Delta Center for Culture and Learning.
(Kiestin is pictured on the left-hand side of the photo, shown holding a Panasonic camera)
This image, taken by Dr. Alysia Burton Steele, photojournalism professor at the University of Mississippi, vividly encapsulates the lessons, skills, and insights I have gained thus far working with The Delta Center for Culture and Learning. It shows me filming the Emmett Till & Storytelling in the Delta Saturday session for the MS Delta Cultural Heritage Ambassadors Program—a cultural heritage interpretation education program empowering Mississippi Delta residents to own their lived histories, the art they have created, and the culture they have nurtured.
From the soulful blues and delectable cuisine to the intricate remanence of Black history, the Delta weaves a sinuous tapestry of interconnection, vivacity, and triumph that has deeply influenced my interest in reforming our lived environments—uplifting marginalized communities and safeguarding the culture that has molded them. To me, a culturally sustainable community relies on the stories that are preserved and recounted by its occupants. The Mississippi Delta emits an essence of synchrony and impending justice accreditable to the committed people at work here—this land is permeated with an elegant history, and the folks that hail from it own a story worth telling and hearing.
Working under Dr. Rolando Herts and the Delta Center team has been a genuine privilege. In part with his copious network of changemakers such as Dr. Steele, Dr. Herts’ expertise in tourism planning and community engagement has been pivotal to my development this summer. The Mississippi Delta has served as a landscape of inspiration for my ongoing work in visual media, urban planning, and economic development.
Kiestin Jackson, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 27’
