Mississippi Expat: Amerria Causey
"Mississippi is everything I am and everything that I am not. Even as a little kid, I knew that I didn’t belong there."
What does it mean to call Mississippi home? Why do people choose to leave or live in this weird, wonderful, and sometimes infuriating place? Amerria Causey is ambivalent about her home state. At once deeply grateful to the “community of people who loved me and poured into me,” they also admit that they’d never move back to Mississippi: “I feel like I served my time.” Originally from the Mississippi Delta, Amerria left Mississippi to pursue a graduate degree. She’s now two years into her doctoral studies in virology at Harvard Medical School, where she’s found a great group of friends—“all black scientists from various walks of life.” Today, Amerria shares the ways that Mississippi shaped them and what they’ve learned about their home state since moving away.
Where are you from?
I’m from Hollandale, MS. A small town in the Mississippi Delta. Population sub 3,000 people. No stop lights, two gas stations, lots of love, and Friday night lights.
When did you move to Boston and why did you move there?
I moved from Mississippi in 2020 after I graduated from Jackson State with my bachelor’s in biology. My first stop was Maryland where I pursed a master’s degree at Towson University. I moved to Boston in the fall of 2022 to pursue my doctoral degree in virology at Harvard Medical School.
What does “home” mean to you? How does Mississippi fit into that definition?
For me, Mississippi is where I’m from. I’m not sure if it feels like home to me anymore.
Home has always been very amorphous to me. My parents both struggled with drug addiction and were unable to be the parents I needed them to be, so I became a child of Hollandale. I am a product of aunties and uncles buying school supplies and giving speeches on Easter Sunday. I think though, being gay, I always felt like home didn’t truly accept me.
What do you miss most about Mississippi?
I miss homecomings. Mississippi homecomings at both the high school and collegiate level are like nothing else you can find in the U.S. I’m not sure what the secret ingredient is, but boy is it special.
How have you cultivated community in Boston? Do you still feel rooted to Mississippi?
As a person from a really small town, I knew that the first thing I needed to find in Boston was people. People are what gets you through tough times. Lucky for me I have a great group of friends—all black scientists from various walks of life. I know that I am still rooted in Mississippi because I find myself talking to my friends the way I would hear my aunts talk on the phone. For example, chicken was on sale at a grocery store nearby. I told everyone I knew, and after I hung up I had this vivid memory of my auntie Peggy coming to my auntie Lena’s house with a box of chicken wings telling everybody they needed to get down to Sunflower. I am the culmination of those that have come before me, and it makes me really proud.
I know that I am still rooted in Mississippi because I find myself talking to my friends the way I would hear my aunts talk on the phone.
What’s the weirdest question or assumption you’ve encountered about Mississippi (or about you as a Mississippian) by someone who’s never been there?
People expect me to have a thicker accent than I do. Also, once someone assumed that I would be the expert on country music in the room since I was from Mississippi. That one kind of offended me. It probably ties into the fact that I think people don’t realize how black of a state Mississippi is. People are always shocked when I share with them that it is the state with the highest black population. My high school was 99% black, and I attended a historically black university. I found myself around very little country music.
How has being from Mississippi affected your identity and your life’s path?
This question is so big. Mississippi is everything I am and everything that I am not. Even as a little kid, I knew that I didn’t belong there. I had dreams and goals so much bigger than what Mississippi could offer me. But I’m also eternally grateful that as a child with no parents I found myself being raised by a community of people who loved me and poured into me. I’m not sure if that would have been my story if I was from anywhere else.
Even as a little kid, I knew that I didn’t belong there. I had dreams and goals so much bigger than what Mississippi could offer me. But I’m also eternally grateful that as a child with no parents I found myself being raised by a community of people who loved me and poured into me.
What is something that you’ve come to understand about Mississippi by living elsewhere?
Heartbreakingly, I have come to realize how under-resourced my home state is. Living in parts of the country that are more developed, especially when comparing a place like Hollandale to a place like Boston, I come home and all I can see is parks that are falling apart. Roads that have gone unpaved for years. My people live in homes that are crumbling beneath their feet. I just get sad. There is no reason for children to go without only because they didn’t win the birth zip code lottery. 38748 should have the same opportunities as 02215 but that is not the world, we live in.
Have you ever thought about moving back? What would need to happen in order for you to move back to Mississippi?
Bluntly, I would never move back to Mississippi. I feel like I served my time. I might be too gay and too me to ever really feel comfortable there. So much would need to change I don’t even know where to start. I’d need an overhaul on state infrastructure and education. I’d also need Tate Reeves to denounce all his hateful anti-LGBTQ claims and say he loves the gays. So, I doubt the state will see me as a resident again.
What do you wish the rest of the country understood about Mississippi?
I think that people in liberal states sleep easy at night thinking that all the racist boogey men live down south. And they are there, of course, but racism is systemic and pervasive in every corner of American life. It is what this country was built on. You’d be much better served by unlearning and undoing the prejudices that you carry (we all carry) in your day-to-day life than dreaming up this nightmarish hell-scape because at least you’re better than them. You are not.
Is there a Mississippi change-maker who you think everyone needs to know about?
Every single day I wish more people knew the story of the integration of Ole Miss. That story probably really speaks to me since I am an academic person, and I have seen in my lifetime the change education can make to your earning potential and the opportunities that arise. The bravery of James Meredith should be shouted from the rooftops. He is my hero.
Bluntly, I would never move back to Mississippi. I feel like I served my time. I might be too gay and too me to ever really feel comfortable there.
If you had one billion dollars to invest in Mississippi, how would you spend your money?
I would start with a light rail that ran from Memphis through Jackson and ended in New Orleans. There is no such thing as an easy trip home for me. Every airport option is at least two hours and thirty minutes away from wherever I need to go. So, it’s the flight plus renting a car and driving. If we could get a train that ran in a timely fashion to at least get me from Memphis to Jackson that would be lovely. My next task would be the schools, but I don’t even know where to start. Maybe I’d make the teaching salary more competitive with the rest of the country so we could recruit educators and pay the ones we already have fairly. I’d also abolish school uniforms but that’s like a personal vendetta.
What or who do you want to shamelessly promote? (It can absolutely be a project you’re working on, or something you are involved in.)
I have nothing to promote but me and my science! I am currently doing viral oncology research that I think will be very important to our understanding of cancer! https://decapriolab.dana-farber.org/
Please tell your readers to follow along with my career. I’m about to show the science world what we are made of down South. Also, I would love for more Mississippians to move to Boston, if you were looking for a sign, this is it.
Best of luck finishing up your degree!