Housing Insecurity in Mississippi

View an exhibition of work from a project out of the Mississippi State University School of Architecture, directed by Assistant Professors Silvina Lopez Barrera and Kateryna Malaia in collaboration with the Margaret Walker Center at Jackson State University. This program is financially assisted by the Mississippi Humanities Council, as well as Mississippi State University Center for Teaching and Learning, and Office for Research and Economic Development. 

"This project collects narratives and documents the lived spaces of individuals and communities that have experienced, are experiencing, or are working to relieve housing insecurity and evictions in Mississippi," said Lopez Barrera. "It narrates the history of housing insecurity in our state and exposes historic and contemporary issues that lead to the lack of access to a basic human right – an adequate and secure place to live. Through this project, we hope to shed light on the housing crisis in Mississippi and contribute to future solutions to housing insecurity in the state and beyond."

The initial stage of the project took the form of a class Lopez Barrera and Malaia taught at Mississippi State in the fall of 2021. Interviews and photographs were collected, and transcripts and drawings were produced by architecture students Camille Bohannon, Elisa Castaneda, Reagan Douglass, Lucas Elder, Michael Herndon, Jessica Kiger, Sam Marcus, Sarah Mixon, Caroline Prather, Alysia Williams and Savannah Wilson.

A closing roundtable discussion will be held on March 29 at 4.00 pm in the Fazio Jury Room, Giles Hall, School of Architecture, Mississippi State University. This program is free and open to the public.

This project partnered with local and state community organizations including Starkville Strong and NAACP-Oktibbeha County Branch.

*This project was made possible by a grant from the Mississippi Humanities Council, through support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities or the Mississippi Humanities Council.

Download poster.