top of page
Thank God For Mississippi: A Collection
Emerson Morris

Waiting
Taken during a summer school program. Children were waiting for a helicopter to land on their football field. However, due to an emergency and the overwhelming lack of emergency response staff in the state of Mississippi, the helicopter did not arrive.

Leland Elementary School, Leland, MS
The entrance to Leland Elementary School in Leland, Mississippi. The cubs are the school's mascot.

School Bus, Hollandale School District
This school bus sat on the football field of the Hollandale Schools. A chair sits behind it for reasons unknown.

Teacher's Lounge
A makeshift Teacher's Lounge Sign is placed slightly over a "No Smoking" sign.

Our Future
A young boy participating in a summer school program. He loves the color purple and discovering new places.

Music Program
A music in the Band Hall of Hollandale School District. The District no longer offers a music program, but the room remains untouched.

I Love You
During a field trip, students are given arts and crafts funded by various community groups. The school does not have an arts program. The Hollandale School District Superintendent and other leaders in the state were recently indicted on four federal counts of conspiracy to commit embezzlement, theft, and bribery.

Who am I?
Children make collages explaining who they are. The art supplies and magazines are provided by a nonprofit and the teacher of the class.

Bleachers
Taken during a summer program.

Frostop
Greenville, Mississippi. An old root beer sign remains long after the restaurant has closed. Greenville is now one of the most dangerous cities in the South due to gang violence and rampant crime. The population is steadily declining.

Christmas in July
A deserted storefront in Leland, Mississippi. The shop is only filled by pop up shops once a year during the "Christmas on the Creek" celebration in the town.

Crossroads
An in-progress mural in downtown Leland, Mississippi. Very few businesses remain open throughout the entire year.

Stand for the Flag
An American Flag remains hanging in an abandoned store strip in Leland, Mississippi.

Bluegrass
A band performs at the Cleveland Farmer's Market in Cleveland, Mississippi. Cleveland remains an affluent city in the Mississippi Delta, and it houses Delta State University.

Pamphlets
University students ignore a man handing out condemning pamphlets in The Circle at the University of Mississippi.

Change His Mind
As I was taking photos of a demonstration in the Circle at the University of Mississippi, this young boy comes up to me and asks me to take his picture. Without me responding, he poses next to the sign I was photographing at that time. Explicit permission was given to photograph the signs and all people involved.

Unborn
Two young men participate in a demonstration on the Circle at the University of Mississippi.

Artificial Intelligence
A student at the University of Mississippi gathers signatures and protests the usage of AI-generated art in a recent social media post by the University.

Waiting
Taken during a summer school program. Children were waiting for a helicopter to land on their football field. However, due to an emergency and the overwhelming lack of emergency response staff in the state of Mississippi, the helicopter did not arrive.

Leland Elementary School, Leland, MS
The entrance to Leland Elementary School in Leland, Mississippi. The cubs are the school's mascot.

School Bus, Hollandale School District
This school bus sat on the football field of the Hollandale Schools. A chair sits behind it for reasons unknown.

Teacher's Lounge
A makeshift Teacher's Lounge Sign is placed slightly over a "No Smoking" sign.

Our Future
A young boy participating in a summer school program. He loves the color purple and discovering new places.

Music Program
A music in the Band Hall of Hollandale School District. The District no longer offers a music program, but the room remains untouched.

I Love You
During a field trip, students are given arts and crafts funded by various community groups. The school does not have an arts program. The Hollandale School District Superintendent and other leaders in the state were recently indicted on four federal counts of conspiracy to commit embezzlement, theft, and bribery.

Who am I?
Children make collages explaining who they are. The art supplies and magazines are provided by a nonprofit and the teacher of the class.

Bleachers
Taken during a summer program.

Frostop
Greenville, Mississippi. An old root beer sign remains long after the restaurant has closed. Greenville is now one of the most dangerous cities in the South due to gang violence and rampant crime. The population is steadily declining.

Christmas in July
A deserted storefront in Leland, Mississippi. The shop is only filled by pop up shops once a year during the "Christmas on the Creek" celebration in the town.

Crossroads
An in-progress mural in downtown Leland, Mississippi. Very few businesses remain open throughout the entire year.

Stand for the Flag
An American Flag remains hanging in an abandoned store strip in Leland, Mississippi.

Bluegrass
A band performs at the Cleveland Farmer's Market in Cleveland, Mississippi. Cleveland remains an affluent city in the Mississippi Delta, and it houses Delta State University.

Pamphlets
University students ignore a man handing out condemning pamphlets in The Circle at the University of Mississippi.

Change His Mind
As I was taking photos of a demonstration in the Circle at the University of Mississippi, this young boy comes up to me and asks me to take his picture. Without me responding, he poses next to the sign I was photographing at that time. Explicit permission was given to photograph the signs and all people involved.

Unborn
Two young men participate in a demonstration on the Circle at the University of Mississippi.

Artificial Intelligence
A student at the University of Mississippi gathers signatures and protests the usage of AI-generated art in a recent social media post by the University.
Artist's
Statement
Mississippi draws each of us back like a moth to a flame.
bottom of page