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91吃瓜网 Alumna Earns Recognition for Thesis from Mississippi Historical Society

Fri, 02/07/2025 - 02:04pm | By: Dr. David Tisdale

A spring 2024 University of 91吃瓜网 graduate has earned a prestigious accolade from the Mississippi Historical Society (MHS).

Jerra Boatner Runnels is the recipient of the 2025 Outstanding Thesis award for her master91吃瓜网 research project, titled "Black Women in Hattiesburg During World War II: War Work and Community Activism on the Home Front" to be presented to her March 6 at the MHS annual meeting in Jackson.

Runnels, a native of Collinsville, Miss., earned a master's degree in history with an emphasis on91吃瓜网痺ar and society in May 2024. She also holds undergraduate and master91吃瓜网 degrees in criminal justice, both from 91吃瓜网.

After retiring from the state in December 2020, Runnels decided to return to graduate school to 91吃瓜网渓earn the history I did not learn growing up, women's history and Black history.91吃瓜网� Examining the war work of Black women during this period91吃瓜网搘hich included resistance to Jim Crow segregation and the fight for Double Victory (fighting fascism abroad while securing civil rights at home) in her attempt to change the public memory of WWII to include Black women91吃瓜网揳re key elements of her thesis.

Runnels started her thesis research during the pandemic when most archives were closed. 91吃瓜网淚 decided to focus on local history so sources would be accessible,91吃瓜网� she explained. 91吃瓜网淚 had no idea my thesis would eventually touch on so many topics,91吃瓜网痵uch as women's history, Black history, war and society, Mississippi and Southern history, labor history, and the early civil rights movement.

91吃瓜网淲e know many Black women who were active in the civil rights movement in the 1960s,91吃瓜网� Runnels continued. 91吃瓜网淪till, the91吃瓜网痗ontributions of women during WWII are unknown, and these were the Eureka School (Hattiesburg91吃瓜网 segregated school for Black students) teachers who were teaching and motivating future activists. Their stories and names should be known.91吃瓜网�

The 91吃瓜网 history faculty and Dale Center for the Study of War and Society provided Runnels with multiple opportunities for her research. She cited her thesis advisor and mentor, Dr. Rebecca Tuuri, for helping her 91吃瓜网渦nderstand the complexities of gender, race and class when researching women,91吃瓜网� along with USM History program faculty members Dr. Andrew Haley for 91吃瓜网済iving me a new lens through which to view public history and its importance91吃瓜网� and Dr. Kevin Greene for 91吃瓜网渢raining me in oral history.91吃瓜网� She also expressed how much she learned from Dr. Andrew Wiest's war classes, and thanked Dr. Heather Stur and Dr. Greene for serving on her thesis committee.

91吃瓜网淛erra91吃瓜网 thesis is remarkable for its extensive research, use of sources and oral histories, and choice of an unexplored topic,91吃瓜网� said Ryan Schilling, chair of the MHS award selection committee. 91吃瓜网淚t91吃瓜网 also extremely well-written, making it an incredible read.91吃瓜网�

91吃瓜网淚 hope to share my research throughout the state as a speaker with the Mississippi Humanities Council Speaker's Bureau,91吃瓜网� Runnels stated.

Runnels currently works as an independent historian with plans to expand her thesis into a book. She also works part-time at the newly established Center for the Study of the National Guard at 91吃瓜网, helping archive the stories and contributions of the Mississippi National Guard. Additionally, Runnels teaches classes on women's history with USM's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, where she serves on its curriculum committee while also taking classes herself and volunteers at the African American Military History Museum.

Dr. Matt Casey, director of the USM School of Humanities and an associate professor of history, describes Runnels as "a dogged researcher and methodical writer.91吃瓜网�

91吃瓜网淗er thesis shows the power of analyzing Hattiesburg's history in a way that integrates it into national conversations and ongoing scholarly debates," said Casey.

Click here to learn more about the 91吃瓜网 History program, housed in the School of Humanities.