MERIDIAN, Miss. (Queen City Newsfeed) – Renowned sports journalist Rick Cleveland will join longtime cultural advocate Malcolm White for a public conversation at The MAX on Saturday, June 7 at 11 a.m., exploring the connection between Mississippi’s sports and arts legacies. The event coincides with the opening weekend of the State Games of Mississippi.
Presented in The MAX’s Hall of Fame gallery, the program will examine the careers of Mississippi icons who bridged athletic and artistic achievement, including Jim Weatherly, Charley Pride, John Grisham, Dizzy Dean, Lem Barney, Jerry Clower, and Elvis Presley. Following the talk, both Cleveland and White will sign books available for purchase at The MAX Store.
“We look forward to welcoming thousands of athletes and their families to The MAX this weekend and throughout the summer,” said Penny Kemp, president and CEO of The MAX. “When Malcolm mentioned the opportunity to explore the intersection of arts and athletics with Rick, I couldn’t think of a better time to explore this topic than the opening weekend of the State Games of Mississippi.”
Cleveland, considered the most awarded sportswriter in Mississippi history, began his journalism career at 13 and has covered legends like Walter Payton, Jerry Rice and Brett Favre throughout their careers. He is currently a columnist for Mississippi Today, and his work is syndicated across the state. In 2017, Cleveland was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame after serving as its executive director. He is a recipient of the Mississippi Press Association’s Distinguished Mississippian Award and was the first sportswriter to receive the Richard Wright Award for Literary Excellence.
Cleveland has authored four books: Vaught: The Man & His Legacy; Boo: A Life in Baseball, Well Lived; Mississippi’s Greatest Athletes; and The Mississippi Football Book, co-authored with Neil White.
White, a Jackson-based cultural ambassador and former executive director of the Mississippi Arts Commission, is known for founding Hal’s St. Paddy’s Parade and co-owning the iconic Hal & Mal’s restaurant. Over the decades, he has launched numerous Mississippi cultural institutions and festivals and helped lead statewide initiatives like the Mississippi Writers Trail and Mississippi Freedom Trail. A former tourism director for the Mississippi Development Authority, White has long advocated for the state’s culture as an economic and educational asset.
White is the author of Little Stories: A Collection of Mississippi Photos and The Artful Evolution of Hal & Mal’s, and co-hosts “Deep South Dining” on Mississippi Public Broadcasting Radio.
White frequently travels the state talking about foodways with the Mississippi Humanities Council Speakers Bureau—and, this year, he was presented the Humanities Council’s highest honor, the Cora Norman Award for lifetime contribution to the public humanities.
For more information, visit msarts.org or call The MAX at (601) 581-1550.
