Senate Concurrent Resolution 626

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING AND COMMENDING DR. STUART ROCKOFF OF JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI, FOR RECEIVING THE MISSISSIPPI HUMANITIES COUNCIL 2010 PUBLIC HUMANITIES AWARD FOR PRESERVATION OF MISSISSIPPI CULTURE.

WHEREAS, The Mississippi Humanities Council has announced the recipients for its 2010 Public Humanities Awards, which recognize outstanding contributions by Mississippians to the study and understanding of the humanities. On February 26, 2010, Dr. Rockoff will be presented the Preserver of Mississippi Culture Award from the Mississippi Humanities Council for his many contributions to the public humanities and specifically for his outstanding work in the field of Jewish history in the South; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Stuart Rockoff is Director of the History Department of the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. In that capacity Dr. Rockoff has actively researched and documented the Jewish population in Mississippi over the course of its more than 200-year history. He has frequently participated in collecting oral histories of the Jewish population and other groups in Mississippi through the Mississippi Oral History Program funded by the Mississippi Legislature through the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, administered by the Mississippi Humanities Council and coordinated by the Center for Oral History at the University of Southern Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Stuart Rockoff is considered an expert on the fascinating history of the Southern Jewish Americans who immigrated from Europe in the 19th Century through the Port of New Orleans and settled in many Mississippi cities and towns along the Mississippi River. These Southern Jews were very influential in the economy and culture of our state and many served their country in the Civil War, World War I, World War II and more recent military conflicts; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Rockoff is also past President of the Southern Jewish Historical Society, which is the primary organization dedicated to the study and presentation of the history of Jews in the American South. Dr. Rockoff is part of a community of academic scholars and lay people united by an interest and enthusiasm for the professional historic research of this field of study. Stuart Rockoff has written, published, lectured and taught about Mississippi history, freely sharing his knowledge and expertise in this area of study for over a decade through a variety of venues. Stuart Rockoff will have a chapter on Jewish history in the forthcoming second volume of "The Ethnic Heritage" in Mississippi series, published by The University Press of Mississippi and underwritten by the Mississippi Humanities Council; and

WHEREAS, The Mississippi Humanities Council's objectives include providing public recognition for exemplary leadership which contributes to an understanding of cultural heritage and values; and

WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we acknowledge this historian who has made a significant mark on the community and state in which he lives:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby recognize and commend Dr. Stuart Rockoff upon his receipt of the 2010 Mississippi Humanities Council Preserver of Mississippi Culture Award, and extend to Dr. Rockoff and his family our best wishes on this auspicious occasion.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Dr. Rockoff, forwarded to the Board of Trustees of The Mississippi Humanities Council and be made available to the Capitol Press Corps.