Don't Close the Book: A Campaign for Hope
It is easy to become disheartened by challenges facing our community. Social disparities, educational deprivation, and safety concerns can cast shadows that threaten to engulf our spirits, creating a sense of despair that leads many to question the viability of their efforts to effect change. Yet, we believe that every community is a tapestry of individuals, each thread woven together, forming a vibrant picture of hope and resilience. This is our story, and it's not over.
Literacy Campaign: #1000Strong
SMMEIIS aims to provide early intervention and supplemental programs to both improve literacy and raise awareness about illiteracy in Southwest Mississippi. Our goal is to discover the correlations of illiteracy to issues of our community such as poverty, low self-esteem/ social emotional development, racial inequality, and gun violence. By 2026, we want to increase the literacy levels of 1,000 children and adults, ensuring that our community experiences the lifelong advantages of literacy.
Arts & Culture
The PIZZAZZ Dance Troupe Presents...
Arts & Culture
The PIZZAZZ Dance Troupe Presents...
artist-in-residence
Meet Maleigh Crespo, Our 2023-2024 Artist-In-Residence
Maleigh makes history as our first Literary Artist-in-Residence
Maleigh Crespo has established herself as a talented writer, regularly contributing insightful and engaging blogs to our platform. Her unique perspective and captivating writing style have garnered a loyal following and have enriched our readers' experience. In addition to her blog contributions, Maleigh has also curated our organization's first-ever creative writing contest. As our literary artist in residence, Maleigh will collaborate with our team to develop exciting literary initiatives and help nurture a vibrant creative community in our city.
BookSong: "Do you see the clouds?" By Maleah Dawn, Our 2022 Artist-in-Residence
BOOKSONGS are an educational resource for elementary teachers and learners. We take educational texts/ literature and make the information/ stories appealing to the youthful ear. In this BookSong, Maleah Dawn makes a musical adaptation of the children's book, "Cloud Dance", by Thomas Locker.
BookSong: "I am water" By Maleah Dawn, Our 2022 Artist-in-Residence
BOOKSONGS are an educational resource for elementary teachers and learners. We take educational texts/ literature and make the information/ stories appealing to the youthful ear. In this BookSong, Maleah Dawn makes a musical adaptation of the children's book, "Water Dance", by Thomas Locker.
- meet the executive-artistic director
Clinnesha D. Sibley, a native of McComb, Mississippi, is an award-winning writer, published author, community advocate, and educator. She has taught Playwriting and African-American theatre courses for the University of Arkansas and College of Charleston. After teaching at the university level for seven years as an Assistant Professor, she moved into secondary education.
A writer of plays, blogs, poetry, prose, essays and creative non-fiction, Clinnesha’s work has been featured in countless literary journals. She received the Holland New Voices Award, the Arkansas Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship, Mississippi Theatre Association Adult Playwriting Award, A.I.M. Award for Creative Writing, a 2021 Vance Fellowship from the Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration, 2020-2021 Teacher of the Year at Mississippi School of the Arts, 2022 STAR Student-Teacher Achievement Recognition Program, and Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction by the National Society of High School Scholars.
Clinnesha’s writing, often influenced by the Civil Rights Movement, contributes authentic narratives about Mississippians, southerners, and Black women to the contemporary literary canon. Her plays have been recognized by many reputable companies and organizations including Penumbra Theatre, Athena Project, Blackboard Reading Series, New Circle Theatre, The Union For Contemporary Art, and Destination Freedom Black Radio Days.
She has contributed to Howlround Theatre Commons (“How to Survive Predominantly White Academic Theatre…”), Black Acting Methods Critical Approaches (“Remembering, Rewriting, and Reimagining: Afrocentric Approaches to Directing New Work for the Stage”), and 2020: The Year that Changed American Anthology (“I Am Speaking”: Why Black and Brown Voices Matter”).
Clinnesha was selected as one of twenty-four change-makers across the United States for the 2017-2018 National Arts Strategies Creative Communities Fellow Program. This program was her springboard into the non-profit sector and social entrepreneurship, which grounded her in the role of Executive-Artistic Director for the Southwest Mississippi Multiplex for Early Innovative Intervention Studies. In addition, she currently serves as the Fine Arts Coordinator for the McComb School District where she is a major player on the arts-in-education scene.
Clinnesha is married to her high school sweetheart, Keith Sibley, and they have three children: Kaylee, Karlee, and Keith Jr.
