Dr. Cassie Sade Turnipseed, assistant professor of history at Mississippi Valley State University, has been named Diversity Educator of the Year for Mississippi by the state Institutions of Higher Learning’s Board of Trustees.
At a ceremony in Jackson on Thursday recognizing Black History Month, Turnipseed received a plaque and a resolution outlining her contributions to excellence in diversity and inclusion through her work at Valley.
“I was so shocked, because I didn’t realize it was an award for the entire state,” Turnipseed said. “I thought about eight of us were being selected from all the state universities.
“It was really humbling to know that people in Mississippi are appreciating outside-the-box thinking as it relates to diversity and change and to accept someone like me who thinks the way that I do.”
Foremost among Turnipseed’s contributions to teaching diversity are her academic research and volunteer work in service of what she has branded Sweat Equity in the Cotton Kingdom, the topic of her research.
She organizes an annual symposium at the university and is the organizing force behind a proposed national monument that will honor the sweat equity contributions of cotton pickers to the economy and culture of the American South and the significance of that work, which went largely unpaid, in American history.
The monument, to be located in the Mississippi Delta, will honor enslaved workers, sharecroppers, tenant farmers and day laborers of the cotton fields in the American South.
“This is a remarkable honor for Dr. Turnipseed and MVSU,” Valley’s president, Dr. William Bynum, said at the awards ceremony. “It is a great testament to the valuable contributions she has made at Valley to demystify a Historically Black College or University. We are inclusive to all races and value a diverse population on our campus to promote greater dialogue to improve understanding and thought.”
Turnipseed told the gathered crowd that in her work she hoped “to leverage the professed ambitions of the State of Mississippi to better understand the diversity of its people.
“I also understand that diversity, fully engaged, not only enriches higher educational opportunities for MVSU students but also enhances the capacity to develop a better appreciation for the multicultural and interdependent communities in which we live, work and play.”
Turnipseed is a California native with Mississippi family roots, a resident of Indianola and a community activist through her nonprofit organization Khafre, Inc. The organization supports Da House of Khafre, an African art and cultural center located in downtown Indianola.
Her work has brought visitors to Valley from Mali, Norway and Nigeria as well as Washington, D.C., and many states across the U.S.
An employee at Valley since 2013, Turnipseed holds a bachelor’s degree in radio/television broadcast communications from San Francisco State University; a Master of Science degree in telecommunications management from Golden State University; a Master of Business Administration degree in international business management from Golden State University; and a doctorate in public history from Middle Tennessee State University.
Turnipseed said she hopes to turn one of the “most historic” buildings on the Valley campus into an interpretive center for the history and culture of the Delta, including her Sweat Equity project.
The Diversity Award is selected by the IHL’s Office of External Relations from a pool of nominees representing all universities in the state system as well as University of Mississippi Medical Center and Mississippi State University Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine.
•Contact Kathryn Eastburn at 581-7235 or keastburn@gwcommonwealth.com.
