SouthTalks: Reclaiming the Legacy: How the Crowders Turned a Dark Past into Faith & Family

Overview

Stephanie Thayer is a descendant of Ranson D. Crowder, who became one of the largest landowners and slaveowners in what is now Grenada County, Mississippi. The Crowders owned most of the land, including a former plantation, where Camp McCain was later built. Hollis Crowder is a descendant of people enslaved on that property. Several years ago, Crowder reached out to Thayer’s family to better understand his family genealogy, and the two began to form a bond. UM professor of anthropology and Southern Studies, Jodi Skipper, who studies slavery and public memory, will facilitate this conversation to explore the potential for racial reconciliation in the US and what Crowder and Thayer hope their relationship can symbolize for future generations.