JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - The director of the Mississippi Arts Commission says he will retire in at the end of September.
Malcolm White is in his second stint as head of the commission. He started working there after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and promoted arts as a way to educate people, create jobs and change communities.
In 2012, White left the commission and went to work for Mississippi Development Authority as the state tourism director. He returned to the Arts Commission in 2016.
Among other programs, he has overseen development of a Mississippi Writers’ Trail with literary markers.
White and his late brother, Hal White, started the downtown Jackson restaurant Hal & Mal’s.
Carol Puckett, board chairwoman for the Mississippi Arts Commission, said in a news release last week that White has energized the agency.
“He is well-known for his big ideas, passion for the arts in all forms and advocacy of small towns and out-of-the way places. The arts in Mississippi are better, healthier and more visible because of his leadership,” said Puckett, who co-hosts a Mississippi Public Broadcasting radio show with White about Southern cooking.
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