C. Sade Turnipseed

My professional journey has been deeply rooted in education and public history, spanning over 30 to 40 years across every level from primary school to university. Originally from San Francisco, I came to the Mississippi Delta following a divorce, seeking to refocus my life and career. I started the Young Publishers Network, a youth writing group that published about 12 books written by children and women, featuring poetry and narratives about their lives and hopes for the future. I then worked with the Mississippi Action for Community Education (MACE) as Director of Cultural Affairs and Educational Outreach, helping produce the Delta Blues and Heritage Festival in Greenville, Mississippi. It was during this time that I truly began to understand the profound significance of cotton and the culture, music, and energy that emerged from the cotton fields. I became the inaugural Director of Education and Community Outreach Director at the B.B. King Museum, where my work was so impactful that I was recruited into a PhD program at Middle Tennessee State University with a full scholarship and stipend. I earned my PhD and now teach as a professor at Jackson State University, serve as adjunct at Mississippi Valley State University, and work as a visiting scholar at the University of The Gambia in West Africa. My life's work has become centered on honoring and respecting the contributions of cotton pickers through building monuments, creating historic markers, collecting oral histories, and producing documentaries. This passion was ignited by a profound moment when I brought cotton to my father, who was from Mississippi, and his visceral reaction revealed the deep trauma and untold stories of those who labored in the cotton fields. I am now planning to retire from full-time teaching to dedicate myself entirely to this international movement to honor cotton pickers worldwide and redefine the narrative around their essential contributions to building America's wealth.