Drs Leo and Gloria McGee’s
Cotton in My Hands
Fine Art Exhibit
Your Art Gallery
Opening Reception TBD
Somewhere in Your Community
USA
On behalf of Khafre, Inc., we are delighted to present “Cotton in My Hands,” an intimately
authentic exhibit that explores the cotton-picking heritage of the American South, particularly the
Mississippi Delta—also known as the Cotton Kingdom. This highly praised collection also extends
to Manchester, England (the Cotton Capital), and Segou, Mali (the origin of cotton culture).
Showcasing 40 years of fine art collecting by Drs. Leo and Gloria McGee, retired professors from
Tennessee Tech University, this exhibition offers a profound glimpse into a pivotal aspect of our
shared history.
Dr. Leo McGee, who picked cotton as a young boy in Arkansas, reflects: “To me, laboring in the
fields of the South is as much a part of American heritage as the blues, jazz, chitterlings, peach
cobbler, playing the dozens, and double-dutch.” Recognized as the world’s largest collection of fine
art representing cotton industry pickers, sharecroppers, and merchants, this exhibit honors the
unsung heroes of our American experience.
**Exhibition History**
Phase I of this historical exhibit was displayed at the James H. White Library on Mississippi Valley
State University’s campus from 2019 to 2020 (Itta Bena, MS). Next we presented at the B.B. King
Museum (Indianola, MS), Utica Community College (Utica, MS), Johnson Hall—Jackson State
University (Jackson MS), and currently in the Mound Bayou Museum (Mound Bayou, MS); as well
as private showings in da House of Khafre (Indianola, MS), and the home of Dr C.S. Turnipseed.
These showings provided the Mississippi Delta community an opportunity to celebrate while
appreciating the authentic heritage their ancestors made through their efforts of cotton-picking
throughout the American South.
“By placing this important cultural and economic contribution in respectful historical context and
presenting it on university campuses, museums, art galleries and cultural centers we honor the
dignity of the field hands and cotton-picking sharecroppers,” says Dr. C. Sade Turnipseed, curator
of the “Cotton in My Hands” exhibit. “They are the unsung heroes and national treasures of our
American experience.”
This significant exhibit is made possible by the generous donation from Drs. Leo and Gloria
McGee in 2018, to Dr. Turnipseed and the Mississippi Delta-based nonprofit organization Khafre,
Inc. Dr.
Turnipseed, a public historian, community outreach specialist, and assistant professor of history at
Jackson State University, was entrusted by the McGee family “to take the collection to the next
level.” She aims to do just that by showcasing the “Cotton in My Hands” exhibit at universities,
museums, art galleries, and cultural centers around the world as part of the International Cotton
Pickers Unite Movement—especially in cotton-growing regions throughout the American South,
West Africa, and Western Europe.
Founded in 2009, Khafre, Inc. is headquartered in the Mississippi Delta and serves as the epicenter
of this monumental movement. Under Dr. Turnipseed’s leadership, Khafre, Inc. strives to facilitate
a powerful, positive shift in perceptions about the African American experience in the cotton fields
of the Mississippi Delta—a shift intended to reverberate throughout Mississippi, the United States,
and beyond. The organization’s mission is to transform lives, build communities of equality, and
operate as a hub of hope and healing through educational and cultural projects that connect and
strengthen individuals and organizations both within and outside the Mississippi Delta.
Through the vision of Khafre, Inc., and the dedication Brittany Myburg, JSU’s Art and History
Departments, and JSU’s History Club the legacy of those who labored in the cotton fields will finally
receive the honor and respect they deserve.
Let us celebrate as we Elevate! Phase II in Development—Coming Soon!