EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

The educational opportunities are endless. Embedded in the Monument design are story boards, plaques, oral history narratives and stimulating visual images that capture the essential interpretations of the South, during this era in American history. As outlined in the attached design concept, visitors to the Cotton Pickers of America Monument and Sharecroppers Interpretive Center will be welcomed to a Central Plaza lined in Legacy Bricks that lead to the iconic sculptural remembrance of an enslaved family, in typical clothing for picking cotton: a tribute to the enslaved laborers and sharecroppers. We expect that students of all ages will be impacted by these images and be spurred to explore the entire Center in search of their relationship to these experiences.

The Center will serve as a magnet, drawing students and faculty from schools and colleges/universities from around the country to visit and conduct research concerning economic disparity.  It will be located near several institutions of higher learning in this regard, namely Delta State University, Mississippi Valley State University, Alcorn State University Extension and Demonstration Farm, Mississippi State University Agricultural Research Facility, Mississippi Delta Community College, and Coahoma Community College.

Relative to academic citizenship, the Center will provide avenues for middle, high school, and college students to participate in community service learning associated with educational advancement and economic development.  College students will be paired with younger students to work on scientific projects related to the modernization of cotton manufacturing and agriculture.  The Center will bridge these experiences for students between the arts and sciences, and enhance the overall educational development for lifelong learning, and appreciation of African American heritage as seen through the dimensions of the cotton industry.

Khafre Inc staff will work with public/private/home schools and university professors to generate curriculum that is appropriate for their respective students. A virtual site will also be developed to accommodate distance-learning capabilities. 



NATIONAL PARKS SYSTEM

A critical part of the KHAFRE, Inc strategy to secure funds to build and maintain the Monument, once built, will come primarily from federally funded agencies, such as the National Park Service (NPS). As an agency of the Federal Government, the National Park Service (NPS) has the authority to enter into agreements and is responsible for ensuring that all agreements are managed responsibly and in accordance with law and regulations. Agreements allow the NPS to work cooperatively with other federal, state, nonprofit and for-profit organizations to further the NPS mission.



The educational and economic benefits of increased tourism to the downtown Mound Bayou area would be tremendous, as many visitors would no doubt enjoy the museum(s), sculptures, tour homes, bed-and-breakfast accommodations, shops, restaurants and other amenities that will be within walking distance to The Cotton Pickers of America Monument and Sharecroppers Interpretive Center. We also anticipate that the Monument Plaza will become a regular stop en-route to annual family reunions, as members come in search of their family’s “Legacy Brick(s).”