PicoBlog

What does it mean to call Mississippi home? Why do people choose to leave or live in this weird, wonderful, and sometimes infuriating place? Jerid P. Woods (also known as Akili Nzuri) started the Instagram account @ablackmanreading in 2018 as a way to connect communities of color across all diasporas through a shared love of literature. From the beginning, says Jerid, “it was going to be important that folks not only knew that I was from Mississippi, but that I was very proud of it, and that this was headquarters.” Through his work with Baldwin & Co. Bookstore, the Mississippi Book Festival, and Oxford Conference for the Book, Jerid has talked with authors from Deesha Philyaw to Kiese Laymon to James McBride. Today, he tells us why home—specifically Natchez, Mississippi—matters so much to him and the work he does.

Where are you from?

I’m from what we affectionately call, the Miss-Lou! That’s Natchez, Mississippi, to be exact, born and raised. Kudzu, garlic sausages, ghosts, plantations, tree moss, bayous, clubs that never close, parties that feel like forever, and extremely long nights riding around the city trading stories with my folk on streets paved with history will always and forever be home. 

How long have you lived in Mississippi?

I’ll be 37 in February so *counts fingers* that would be 37 years.

What does “home” mean to you? How does Mississippi fit into that definition?

Earlier I said I’m from the Miss-Lou, which means so much to me because Natchez is unlike any other city in the state. Home for me means I know southeast Louisiana like I know southwest Mississippi. I know kudzu, I know bayous, I know sweet tea, and I know crawfish. I know liquor stores are closed on Sundays, and I know they aren’t across the bridge.

I’ve been doing so much all around the nation lately, but home is like falling into a mattress at the end of the day. The way the mattress wraps you up and lets you know you’re safe and the way the mattress begins to fit your body perfectly because it knows the contours of it? That’s what the people of Natchez and Mississippi as a whole mean to me. Safety, comfort, and knowing.

I don’t live in my city anymore, but Hattiesburg has become a second home for me. I taught high school here for seven years and I’m the director of my fraternity’s auxiliary group Kappa League here, so I’m in the fabric of this city as well. Being in the stitching that holds things together in Mississippi is so important to me because that’s how the adults were when I was growing up. Instead of being with the folks who complain about what’s going on, I’d rather be with the ones in the thick of it, making sense of things. That’s what home means to me and that’s how you sustain it. 

Instead of being with the folks who complain about what’s going on, I’d rather be with the ones in the thick of it, making sense of things. That’s what home means to me and that’s how you sustain it. 

How have you cultivated community in Mississippi? Who are the people who have made you feel rooted here?

Oh wow, this is such an amazing question. From the beginning of my work with A Black Man Reading it was very evident that it was going to be important that folks not only knew that I was from Mississippi, but that I was very proud of it, and that this was headquarters. If you wanted to work with me, you had to come find me. Once I put that flag in the ground, Mississippi stood up immediately and wrapped me up like that mattress I mentioned earlier.

Ellen Daniels, the executive director of the Mississippi Book Festival, and Tonja Murphy, the community engagement director of the Mississippi Book Festival are two folks who instantly made me feel rooted in the literary community here in Mississippi. Their work is so inspiring to me because their love for Mississippi literature is palpable, pure, and engaging. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Kiese Laymon. I can’t begin to tell you how transformative this brother has been to every facet of my work, and my development as a creative in this state. Of course my wife is instrumental to my ability to build community, who is also a Mississippi native, who operates as the Wifeager, and the first person to put a battery in my back when it comes to everything I do.

With these four folks kind of being the catalyst to some of my early work in the state, I’ve been able to do other amazing stuff like work with the National Book Foundation and the Oxford Conference for the Book, in Oxford, MS. With them and my love for service, I’ve expanded out into New Orleans working extensively with DJ Johnson of Baldwin & Company bookstore, and I even worked with Essence last year. 

What’s the weirdest question or assumption you’ve encountered about Mississippi (or about you as a Mississippian) by someone who’s never been here?

You know, I don’t actually have those horror stories of talking to someone who thought the worst of us, but I know they exist. I hear them through other people. Thankfully I’ve been blessed to only have encountered folks who have a kinship with the state. It’s usually, oh I’ve got family there. Or, man everybody’s really from there on the low. I think where I see that the most, the whole backward idea, is how we appear on the national scale politically and that hurts. I see that play out and I always want to come through folks’ TV screen across the nation and be like “That’s not all of us. That’s not me and that’s not anyone I know.” I wish we could make those folks plain you know? I want the worst of us to not be able to hide behind the best of us so well.

I always want to come through folks’ TV screen across the nation and be like “That’s not all of us. That’s not me and that’s not anyone I know.” I wish we could make those folks plain you know? I want the worst of us to not be able to hide behind the best of us so well.

How has living in Mississippi affected your identity and your life’s path?

I think it’s everything. There are so many feelings that come with knowing just how much starts here and how little credit we get for any of it. It really puts a chip on your shoulder and you have to be really careful not to let it be the wrong one, you know? There are a lot of folks who let that motivate them to leave and kind of continue the cycle of pretending like this place was the only thing holding them back. I don’t subscribe to that. This place is the main reason I am successful. It is foundational, not only to most things, but most specifically to me. The folks whose love, admiration, and prayers I stand on, the folks who raised and nurtured me, they aren’t easily impressed. You can’t pull the wool over their eyes and just tell them anything. They notice a fool instantly no matter how they’re dressed up and that’s given me a certain magic that I’m so thankful for. 

What is something that you’ve learned about Mississippi only by living here? In what ways has Mississippi lived up to your expectations?

Before my uncle Alex passed one of the coolest things he said to me was that he’d been all over the world, seen a lot of people and things, but he’s never seen a place that made people slicker than they make them in Natchez, MS. I love that so very much because the nuance of what I believe he was getting at is everywhere outside of Natchez—and outside of Mississippi—thinks that they have like a one-up on folks from down here and they do not. It’s like I said earlier, we aren’t easily impressed and they want us to be, and that’s usually to their detriment once we figure out how to go beyond, which is what our folks have been doing always and all ways. 

This place is the main reason I am successful. It is foundational, not only to most things, but most specifically to me.

Do you ever consider moving away someday? Does a sense of duty keep you rooted here?  Do you have a “tipping point”?

There’s nothing that I can point to as a tipping point, but I do think that I’ll end up splitting my time between Dallas, TX, and Mississippi. Texas has that right blend of everything I love about Mississippi and the right splash of city living, but I don’t want to only live there. I want a huge amount of land here in Mississippi where I can set a home and just do all of the Mississippi things that I love forever, then go catch a Cowboys game in Dallas. Is that too much to ask? 

What do you wish the rest of the country understood about Mississippi?

I just want them to give us our credit. So many things find their start here but we don’t really get our credit. Everything that Americans hold high we cultivate and we’ve been churning it out for ever. Whatever you want. We build geniuses, and athletes, and don’t even get me started on the food. And I’m not talking about restaurants, I’m talking about in folks’ houses…and gas stations. That’s right. Gas stations. I’ve eaten at gas stations that smother some of what these folks swear is amazing in these cities.

 Do you have a favorite Mississippi writer, artist, or musician who you think everyone needs to know about?

Kiese Laymon. Running into him anywhere is like running into my grandmother’s screen door at the right moment, smelling like outside, and grabbing a handful of those old strawberry candies. Moments with him make me feel like I’m doing the right thing at the right time. Reading his work makes me fearless in the pursuit of my dreams. His existence proved to me that there was space for my part of Mississippi to come to life, and knowing that he believes in my mission makes me want to carry it out. I love that guy to smithereens. 

We build geniuses, and athletes, and don’t even get me started on the food. And I’m not talking about restaurants, I’m talking about in folks’ houses…and gas stations. That’s right. Gas stations.

If you had one billion dollars to invest in Mississippi, how would you spend your money?

Mississippi has not fully funded public education since the 2007-2008 school year. In the 2023-2024 school year they were under funded -$175,829,477, and since the 2007-2008 school year the Mississippi public school system has been underfunded around $3.5 billion dollars. Though a billion dollars wouldn’t right things I would probably put it there since our government has failed to do so for so long. I think I’ll pass out the money myself also…for similar reasons. 

What or who do you want to shamelessly promote? (It can absolutely be a project you’re working on, or something you are involved in.)

Please, please just go follow @ablackmanreading on Instagram and then find me on all social platforms at the same name, but specifically on Instagram. There you can tap in with all of the amazing work that I do throughout the year. I have a super big project coming in 2024, but I can’t say what here, but it will definitely be posted there! Also pay attention to ablackmanreading.com which I’m overhauling now!

Jerid P. Woods, also known as Akili Nzuri, is a writer, educator, PhD candidate, and literary influencer. He was born and raised in Natchez, MS, and survives on an unwavering commitment to ignite a passion for reading in the youth; he also exists as a living testimony to the power of shared stories and knowing one's self. He is the owner and creator of Ablackmanreading.com and the Instagram blog: @ablackmanreading. He is also one half of the dynamic podcast duo, @booksarepopculture available for streaming on all services.

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