Who are We? Where are We?
The slideshow below includes photos from in and around Batesville, Sardis, Como, Crenshaw, and Oxford. What a beautiful land to live in!
The Antagonist:
|
There's not a lot to know about me. I was born in South Mississippi and was raised all around the state. I love Mississippi--I love its places, people, and dirty roots. We've got red clay on our hands here, and it's not washing off.
I am a follower of Christ and only here by grace. I am also in love with my fiancee and best amiga of almost a decade, Katrina Briscoe. |
The Setting:
A county just west of Lafayette County, home of Oxford and Ole Miss. A county just a bit south of Desoto county, home of some of Mississippi's most affluent school districts.
Not quite the Delta, but not quite North Mississippi hill country, we are a mix of landscapes--a place of transition. A place left behind. Panola County contains two school districts: North and South Panola School Districts. South Panola is further south, settled in Batesville. The school is a 6A school with a (previously) legendary football team. North Panola is a smaller school (3A), settled ten miles north of Batesville in the seemingly forgotten hamlet of Sardis. We are a 99% African-American school, largely forgotten and totally misunderstand. |
The Protagonists:
|
The kids of Panola County are unbelievable little jokers. Being from Mississippi, I see a lot of myself in them (even though they experience problems I've never seen a day in my life). They're set in their ways, and they don't see much need for change.
However, when the right avenues crack open, when the right pistons fire, these kids are thirsty to know more than they previously knew ten minutes ago. They want to know more, to understand more--they'd never admit it, but they want to learn. They're realizing they've been sort of left behind--and many of them want to change that. They're just looking for how. And so it begins. |