Dear Editor,

To the panelists, moderator, presenter, education information tables (Resilient Paths, LLC; Hinds Community College Upward Bound Math and Science Program and Vicksburg National Military Park), guests and volunteers on behalf of the V200 Bicentennial Symposium Committee, thank you! We are grateful for your contribution to making the “Vicksburg’s Legacy of Lifelong Learning” symposium held Feb. 18 a success.

Special thanks for the time, energy and attention before and after provided by the panelists and moderators traveling from Rhode Island and Jackson: Dr. Donald Kizza-Brown (Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of English, Brown University), Dr. Albert Dorsey, Jr. (Assistant Professor Department of History, Jackson State University), Dr. Susie Calbert (Director Vicksburg-Warren Youth Development Center), William Harrison (CEO Sylvan Learning Jackson & BSTEM Academy), Bess Averett (Executive Director of Friends of Vicksburg National Military Park), Senator Briggs Hopson and Dr. Terrence James (Vicksburg Warren School District’s Career and Technical Administrator).

We appreciate the time, expertise and attention you brought to the program. Your presentation was informative and inspiring. Your insights and stories resonated with our audience (over forty in attendance, ages 9-80+) and ignited meaningful conversations across generations. Thank you once again for sharing your voice with us. We look forward to future opportunities collaborating with you!

Stay connected and discover ways to support the featured Vicksburg Legacy of Lifelong Learning Trailblazers at future events: Vicksburg Civil War Museum-Charles Pendelton; Dr. Jane Ellen McAllister House Foundation; “Legacy of Dilla Irwin’s Vicksburg Citizen’s Appeal.”

Upcoming Bicentennial Events: Vicksburg200.com

• March 28: Vicksburg Bicentennial Women’s Brunch
• April 26: Bicentennial Music & Culture Festival
• April TBD: Education Symposium
• July 4-6: Bicentennial Independence Day Celebration
• September 26-28: Vicksburg Historic Art Festival
• October 4: Bicentennial Fall Family Fair
• October 16-18: Vicksburg Voices from the Hills
• December 31: Bicentennial New Year’s Eve & Closing

Upcoming Vicksburg special events:

• February 27 at 6 p.m., Black History Month Jazz Celebration featuring Robert Walker, Medgar & Angela Scott Foundation.
• March 8 at 2 p.m., Vicksburg Voices Story Sessions: Community Conversations: “Youth Empowerment & DREAM Initiative with North Ward Alderman Thomas “T.J.” Mayfield, Catfish Row Museum.
• April 26, 43rd Annual ASU Jazz Festival/Conference, Vicksburg Convention Center.

Hope to see you at future events!

Toni Williams 

2nd Mayor Bicentennial Symposium Organizer

Vicksburg, MS