Mississippi Native: Jerid P. Woods

"Instead of being with the folks who complain about what’s going on, I’d rather be with the ones in the thick of it, making sense of things. That’s what home means to me."

What does it mean to call Mississippi home? Why do people choose to leave or live in this weird, wonderful, and sometimes infuriating place? Jerid P. Woods (also known as Akili Nzuri) started the Instagram account @ablackmanreading in 2018 as a way to connect communities of color across all diasporas through a shared love of literature. From the beginning, says Jerid, “it was going to be important that folks not only knew that I was from Mississippi, but that I was very proud of it, and that this was headquarters.” Through his work with Baldwin & Co. Bookstore, the Mississippi Book Festival, and Oxford Conference for the Book, Jerid has talked with authors from Deesha Philyaw to Kiese Laymon to James McBride. Today, he tells us why home—specifically Natchez, Mississippi—matters so much to him and the work he does.

Jerid at Baldwin & Co. bookstore in New Orleans conducting an author interview.

Where are you from?

I’m from what we affectionately call, the Miss-Lou! That’s Natchez, Mississ…