From University of Mississippi students to North Mississippi natives, members of the community eagerly swarmed Off Square Books to listen to author Jodi Skipper share a glimpse of her new book, “Behind the Big House: Reconciling Slavery, Race, and Heritage in the U.S. South.”
Skipper, an associate professor of anthropology and southern studies at the University of Mississippi, spoke boldly about what influenced her latest work.
By incorporating the legacy of enslaved people into the field of heritage tourism and historical research, “Behind the Big House” adds an important yet often concealed truth to Southern American history.
Before her book, Skipper spent eight years working with Behind The Big House in Northern Mississippi, a group of people representing the experiences of enslaved people, whose histories and historic interpretations are often minimized and undervalued.
Photo courtesy Caroline McCutchen.
“I was compelled to critically think about how my identity as a descendant of countless enslaved people, a black woman, a U.S. Southerner and an activist anthropologist could influence how I do academic work in ways that make it accessible to racially diverse communities,” Skipper said.
Skipper also reflected on her experiences growing up in Louisiana and vividly shared what it was like as a black woman in a society that tells you “you’re not worthy of being loved.”
To overcome this sentiment that a large majority of minorities share, Skipper’s work aims to shed light on the misconstrued notions surrounding Southern history and the racial hierarchy to bridge the gap in knowledge and accessibility of the history and culture of African Americans.
In presenting her work, Skipper emphasized the complex duality of her role as an activist and as an academic scholar. She described her work as auto-ethnography. Auto-ethnography is a stylistic method that blends memoir and ethnography, the process of scientifically describing people and their culture, to create a work that seeks to highlight the discrepancies between common historical perspectives and factual events.
“I just couldn’t understand how we were talking about civil rights and the blues without talking about slavery,” Skipper said, highlighting the stark divide between the perspectives of white and Black Mississippians.
One audience member shared that the institution of slavery and the lives of enslaved people were not mentioned in his early education as a white Mississippian.
As several agreed with this experience, Skipper responded with her experiences, asking family members about slavery. Skipper expressed that it is a sensitive subject for many of them, and they often felt at risk by vocalizing their views.
Skipper also discussed how the titular Holly Springs Based organization, Behind the Big House, became a major inspiration for her book.
Behind the Big House strives to disrupt the traditional narrative that excludes the experiences of enslaved people by preserving historical sites, interpreting the institution of slavery and educating the public with a report of the past that encapsulates the experiences of enslaved individuals.
“This book is also about them, how they came to do this kind of work, what sustains it and what, at times, makes it almost impossible,” Skipper said.
She described the initiative that inspired the name of her book as a template for communities and historical sites that seek to shift their historical narrative “to one that is more accurate, complete, and inclusive.”
However, in the activist’s mission, she continually faces the challenge of sustaining resources and funds to further the mission of transforming the traditional narrative.
Despite this, at the end of her presentation, Skipper announced that she and her colleagues have been considering a Behind the Big House expansion into Oxford’s historical preservation site, Rowan Oak, to conduct historical research and educate the local community.
“Behind the Big House: Reconciling Slavery, Race, and Heritage in the U.S. South” is now available at Square Books.
