Author Alysia Steele presents “Delta Jewels” at Off Square Books Tuesday, April 7. DM Photo | Logan Kirkland
Assistant Professor of Journalism Alysia Steele said her grandmother, Althenia A. Burton, was the inspiration for her book detailing the lives of 50 church-going women across the Mississippi Delta,“Delta Jewels: In Search of My Grandmother’s Wisdom: Portraits and Interviews with My Elders.” Burton raised Steele for 14 years after her parents divorced when she was 4 years old.
“I never recorded her voice or took her photograph,” Steele said. “It has been my only regret as a granddaughter and journalist.”
Nearly 20 years after Burton died, Steele began putting together “Delta Jewels” as a coffee table book recording the oral histories of 50 Mississippi Delta women.
“I can’t interview her (Burton), but I figured I could interview other people’s grandmothers,” Steele said.
For her interviewees, Steele said she was looking for women over 70 who held the title of “church mother” in their community.
After driving 6,000 miles and capturing 7,000 photographs and 240 hours of audio, the finished product is a biography, autobiography and snapshot of a changing landscape in Mississippi.
Steele signed “Delta Jewels” at a release party Tuesday at Square Books. Now, adding to the ever-cumulating mileage, Steele is beginning a tour of the South showcasing her work. In many of the stops, such as those in Clarksdale, Yazoo City and Ruleville, Mississippi, one or more of the women from the book will be present to meet fans.
“This book isn’t an overview of the women or their lives, but poignant highlights from their lives,” Steele said. “I wanted to share life lessons so people could learn history that’s not shared in traditional history books –– some African-American history that’s largely overlooked.”
The stories range from those of happiness to those of tragedy and oppression. In an interview with The New York Times, Steele said the stories women told her brought her to tears.
“They put a face on history for me,” Steele said.
After the book was completed, Steele raised $4,300 on Indiegogo.com to frame and deliver a portrait of each of the women.
Steele said she wanted readers to reflect on the elders in their life after having read “Delta Jewels.”
“More than anything, I want people to record voices of their loved ones, and I want them to photograph them,” Steele said. “Collect their voices and images before it’s too late – before you forget what their voices sound like.”
