Greenwood in Leflore County, Mississippi — The American South (East South Central)
Endesha Ida Mae Holland
— Mississippi Writers Trail —
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 19, 2023
1. Endesha Ida Mae Holland Marker
Holland was born August 29, 1944, in Greenwood. Named Ida Mae after her mother, she later gave herself the name “Endesha,” a Swahili word meaning “to steer,” an ideal description for the driven social activist, educator and prize-winning playwright. Despite an abusive childhood and dealings in prostitution, Holland joined the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s volunteering for SNCC. Her efforts in helping Black people register to vote landed her in jail multiple times. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in African American Studies and later received her M.A. and Ph.D. there. Dr. Holland's Second Doctor Lady, a play about her mother, became the source material for her autobiographical play, From the Mississippi Delta, and her memoir of the same title. In it she wrote, "If South is a perspective as well as a direction, then the Mississippi Delta may well be the most southern place on earth.” She died January 25, 2006, in California.
Erected 2023 by Mississippi Writers Trail.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Arts, Letters, Music • Civil Rights • Women. In addition, it is included in the Mississippi Writers Trail series list. A significant historical date for this entry is January 25, 2006.
Location.
this page online
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Emmett Till (a few steps from this marker); Greenwood's First Artesian Well (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Battery 'C' (approx. 0.2 miles away); WGRM Radio Studio (approx. 0.2 miles away); First United Methodist Church (approx. ¼ mile away); Charles Edward Wright (approx. ¼ mile away); Furry Lewis (approx. ¼ mile away); LeFlore County Confederate Memorial (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Greenwood.
Also see . . .
1. Endesha Ida Mae Holland. Excerpt:
Holland's mother adamantly opposed her involvement with the SNCC, fearing reprisals from members of Greenwood's white community. In 1965 a fire broke out in the family's home, killing Holland's mother; Holland said afterward that she believed the Ku Klux Klan had indeed firebombed the house in retaliation for her civil rights work. In all, she was jailed thirteen times for her civil rights work.(Submitted on July 22, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
2. Endesha Ida Mae Holland
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 19, 2023
2. Endesha Ida Mae Holland Marker
In 1965 Holland left Mississippi and enrolled as an undergraduate at the University of Minnesota. Although it took thirteen years to finish her B.A. in Black studies (1978), Holland immediately enrolled in a Ph.D. program at the University. She also traveled the country speaking teaching the history of the civil rights movement in Mississippi and speaking out against the atrocities she had seen and experienced. Holland’s autobiographical play From the Mississippi Delta was performed for years across the nation.(Submitted on July 22, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
3. Dr Endesha Ida Mae Holland (Find A Grave).
(Good Shepherd Cemetery, Greenwood, Leflore County, Mississippi)(Submitted on July 22, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
From NEW YORK TIMES, February 1, 2006:
Endesha Ida Mae Holland, a noted scholar and dramatist whose best-known play, "From the Mississippi Delta," chronicled her journey from poverty and prostitution in the Jim Crow South to civil rights activism, a Ph.D. and an academic career, died on Jan. 25 at nursing home in Santa Monica, Calif. She was 61.
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, July 19, 2023
3. Endesha Ida Mae Holland Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on October 28, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 22, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 93 times since then and 26 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on July 22, 2023, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
