Ke Francis | Excellence in Visual Arts

Dr. Roderick Little is an accomplished conductor, clinician, adjudicator, composer, arranger, drill writer, and instrumentalist, and currently serves as Director of Bands/Assistant Professor of Music at Jackson State University. A native of Jackson, he grew up in a musical family/background, and received his Bachelors and Masters in Music Education, and a Doctorate in Urban Higher Education Administration, all from JSU. He has worked in some form of leadership role for the Sonic Boom since 2012, and has witnessed a plethora of successes and opportunities that the collegiate band has seen, including a recent Super Bowl Halftime Show performance.

Marshall Ramsey, a nationally recognized, Emmy award winning editorial cartoonist, shares his cartoons and travels the state as Mississippi Today's Editor-At-Large. He's also host of a "Now You're Talking" on MPB Think Radio and "Conversations" on MPB TV, and is the author of several books. Marshall is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and a 2019 recipient of the University of Tennessee Alumni Professional Achievement Award.

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Our guest today is Peter Zapletal, one of those most recent recipients of a Governor’s Arts Award. A five-time Emmy Award-winning puppeteer, Peter had an illustrious career right here at Mississippi Public Broadcasting that spanned over several decades, and recently retired as the director of the Puppet Arts Theatre, a professional touring theatre company. Originally from Czechoslovakia, he has a Master’s Degree in Puppetry from the Academy of the Performing Arts in Prague and immigrated with his family soon after to New York.

Marshall Ramsey, a nationally recognized, Emmy award winning editorial cartoonist, shares his cartoons and travels the state as Mississippi Today's Editor-At-Large. He's also host of a "Now You're Talking" on MPB Think Radio and "Conversations" on MPB TV, and is the author of several books. Marshall is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and a 2019 recipient of the University of Tennessee Alumni Professional Achievement Award.

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Sally Burchfield Doty was recently named as the first director of BEAM - the Office of Broadband Expansion and Accessibility of Mississippi. This office serves as the State's sole point of contact for broadband policy and oversees the administration of federal funding for broadband infrastructure expansion. Sally previously served as the Executive Director of the Mississippi Public Utilities Staff where her team provided recommendations to the Mississippi Public Service Commission on all utility rate filings. While at the Staff, Sally and her team administered 75 million in CARES Act funding for rural broadband resulting in 5,500 miles of new fiber across the state. Her team also applied for and received an additional 32 million in broadband expansion funds that will reach 12,000 unserved Mississippi households.

Marshall Ramsey, a nationally recognized, Emmy award winning editorial cartoonist, shares his cartoons and travels the state as Mississippi Today's Editor-At-Large. He's also host of a "Now You're Talking" on MPB Think Radio and "Conversations" on MPB TV, and is the author of several books. Marshall is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and a 2019 recipient of the University of Tennessee Alumni Professional Achievement Award.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are honored to welcome an iconic Mississippian from an iconic family to the show today. Reena Evers-Everette is the daughter of civil-rights activists Medgar Evers and Myrlie Evers-Williams. Born in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, she studied business merchandising at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology. She is now executive director of the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Institute in Jackson, Miss., the same city where he saw her father assassinated at their home in 1963. In addition to the Institute, Reena serves as an Advisory Board Member for the Mississippi Free Press and is currently a W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Leadership Network fellow.

Marshall Ramsey, a nationally recognized, Emmy award winning editorial cartoonist, shares his cartoons and travels the state as Mississippi Today's Editor-At-Large. He's also host of a "Now You're Talking" on MPB Think Radio and "Conversations" on MPB TV, and is the author of several books. Marshall is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and a 2019 recipient of the University of Tennessee Alumni Professional Achievement Award.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the past few months, today's guests have made their own "black history," Here at Mississippi Public Broadcasting, Director of Television Taiwo Gaynor and Director of Radio Java Chatman are the first black individuals to ever serve in their respective roles for the organization. On today's show, both of these men chat with Marshall about upcoming projects, meeting impactful Mississippians, and why our beautiful state has some of the best storytellers in the world.

Marshall Ramsey, a nationally recognized, Emmy award winning editorial cartoonist, shares his cartoons and travels the state as Mississippi Today's Editor-At-Large. He's also host of a "Now You're Talking" on MPB Think Radio and "Conversations" on MPB TV, and is the author of several books. Marshall is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and a 2019 recipient of the University of Tennessee Alumni Professional Achievement Award.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you’re a Jackson native, my guest today needs no introduction. Bill Ellison is a musician/radio host based in Jackson, Mississippi. Bill, a vocalist, guitarist and pianist, has performed professionally for more than 40 years, playing all styles of music from bluegrass to jazz. Bill has also worked for radio and television stations in Jackson and Memphis during his 45-year broadcasting career in several capacities, including news reporter, morning radio personality, account executive and in management. He’s a former executive director of the Mississippi Public Broadcasting Foundation and is currently semi-retired, working part-time with the MPB Foundation.

Marshall Ramsey, a nationally recognized, Emmy award winning editorial cartoonist, shares his cartoons and travels the state as Mississippi Today's Editor-At-Large. He's also host of a "Now You're Talking" on MPB Think Radio and "Conversations" on MPB TV, and is the author of several books. Marshall is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and a 2019 recipient of the University of Tennessee Alumni Professional Achievement Award.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you’ve ever wondered what good it would do if large organized faiths joined forces, todays guests will certainly be of interest to you. Lapidus & Myles is a collaboration between two faith-based musicians in Atlanta. Micah Lapidus is a Reform rabbi who serves as school rabbi for The Davis Academy and is also composer-in-residence at The Temple. Melvin Myles is a highly regarded soloist with the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church Choir, former pulpit of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. and is also a native of Clarksdale, Mississippi and a graduate of Jackson State University. Indicative of the longstanding ties between these communities, their music and message is all about bringing people together in a spirit of love, respect, peace, and justice.

Marshall Ramsey, a nationally recognized, Emmy award winning editorial cartoonist, shares his cartoons and travels the state as Mississippi Today's Editor-At-Large. He's also host of a "Now You're Talking" on MPB Think Radio and "Conversations" on MPB TV, and is the author of several books. Marshall is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and a 2019 recipient of the University of Tennessee Alumni Professional Achievement Award.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Happy New Year! We’re doing things a bit differently today and sharing some of our favorite moments from 2023 with you. Join me and my producer Lacey Alexander as we talk about some highlights from the past year, from moving conversations to belly laughs to talks of exciting future projects with some of the coolest guests we’ve talked to this year.

Marshall Ramsey, a nationally recognized, Emmy award winning editorial cartoonist, shares his cartoons and travels the state as Mississippi Today's Editor-At-Large. He's also host of a "Now You're Talking" on MPB Think Radio and "Conversations" on MPB TV, and is the author of several books. Marshall is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and a 2019 recipient of the University of Tennessee Alumni Professional Achievement Award.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our guest today is Nina Parikh, the director of the Mississippi Film Office. She celebrates 25 years with the office this year, as she began working for the Film Office as the deputy director in 1998 and became director in 2017. She studied filmmaking at New York University and the University of Southern Mississippi, and her work place is celebrating a massive anniversary. Mississippi Film is now celebrating 50 years, and she is here to tell us how much has changed since filmmakers started coming to the Magnolia State to work on their artform. 

Marshall Ramsey, a nationally recognized, Emmy award winning editorial cartoonist, shares his cartoons and travels the state as Mississippi Today's Editor-At-Large. He's also host of a "Now You're Talking" on MPB Think Radio and "Conversations" on MPB TV, and is the author of several books. Marshall is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and a 2019 recipient of the University of Tennessee Alumni Professional Achievement Award.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Coach Bill Courtney is a native Tennessean and an Ole Miss graduate. Though already a successful business owner, in 2003, Bill began volunteering at Memphis’ inner city Manassas High School in an effort to turn its underperforming football team around. In 2003, the team had 19 players with a dismal 4-95, 10-year record. In the 2008 & 2009 seasons, the team’s record improved to 18-2, with 75 players. The story inspired a Hollywood film—Undefeated—which won the 2012 Academy Award for Best Feature Length Documentary. Now an accomplished author and public speaker, Bill travels the southern United States talking to audiences about the power of dreaming big and perseverance. He is also the host of the podcast 'An Army of Normal Folks,' which allows normal civilians that are doing excellent things for their communities to take center stage. 

Marshall Ramsey, a nationally recognized, Emmy award winning editorial cartoonist, shares his cartoons and travels the state as Mississippi Today's Editor-At-Large. He's also host of a "Now You're Talking" on MPB Think Radio and "Conversations" on MPB TV, and is the author of several books. Marshall is a graduate of the University of Tennessee and a 2019 recipient of the University of Tennessee Alumni Professional Achievement Award.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.