Mississippi Native: Lawson King
"As far as how Mississippi has affected my life’s path—I think about how crazy it would be to tell third grade Lawson, who dressed up as an artist for career day, that it happened."
Where are you from?
The Delta
How long have you lived in Mississippi?
My whole life, save for a few years spent apprenticing with sculptor Ray Katz in metro Detroit. My mother’s family relocated to Greenville from Hong Kong to operate a grocery store on Nelson Street, and my father’s family relocated from Miami to Greenville for a research position at USDA. My parents wed as teenagers and I was born at King’s Daughters Hospital in Greenville, MS. (Fun Fact: the same hospital where Jim Henson was born.)
I can feel at home most places but there’s something about the big open skies and far reaching flat of the Delta that offers me space and time to breathe.
What does “home” mean to you? How does Mississippi fit into that definition?
Home feels more like a state of mind than a physical place to me. Where everything feels at peace, and I know I have people in my corner. I can feel at home most places but there’s something about the big open skies and far reaching flat of the Delta that offers me space and time to breathe.
How have you cultivated community in Mississippi? Who are the people who have made you feel rooted here?
I actually don’t feel like I’ve done much active community building. It feels more like luck or the natural path. Like one day I just looked up and I was surrounded by all these wonderfully caring and wonderfully different people. And all these folks make me feel supported and valued and the feeling is mutual. There’s no real rhyme or reason when it comes to each individual relationship we build cause they’re all unique, but I’ve learned that in Mississippi, small gestures and just being an authentic, kind person casts a wide net.
There’s no real rhyme or reason when it comes to each individual relationship we build cause they’re all unique, but I’ve learned that in Mississippi, small gestures and just being an authentic, kind person casts a wide net.
The amount of people who showed up when my son Camille was born last summer really made that feeling of being rooted concrete. People messaged, called, brought groceries and food. But there are folks that make me feel rooted specifically in Mississippi. Like the lady Rosie who works at Andy’s Convenience Store who is always smiling, ready to ask about the baby when I walk in. I’m grateful to Mississippi for the relationships I’ve made here that enrich my life intellectually, emotionally, and creatively.
What’s the weirdest question or assumption you’ve encountered about Mississippi (or about you as a Mississippian) by someone who’s never been here?
I think the weirdest thing to folks who haven’t been to Mississippi is seeing Chinese people with heavy southern drawls. Even folks here in Mississippi are caught off guard by it. One time I was working at a restaurant and we hosted a banquet dinner for the MS Delta Chinese Heritage group. Even though my mama is one of the countriest folks out there it felt so weird to me stand there and talk to these country Chinese people, or to my coworkers—my kinfolks. Later, one of my coworkers came up to me and said my uncle was looking for me. I applauded him for his creative joke, but he was serious. This guy was related to me.
How has living in Mississippi affected your identity and your life’s path?
Growing up a Chinese-looking kid in a very Black and white world created a cloud in my personal identity. When I was three years old my father, who was white, was killed in the line of duty by a fellow officer of the Indianola Police Department. My mother remarried a Black man, and we moved in with him across the tracks. My earliest memories are there, and up until I attended to the Mississippi School for Math and Science, almost everyone I knew was Black. I remember it being so hard for me to make friends in the beginning because I just didn’t know how to talk to people who weren’t Black. I found out they called me “ghetto Asian” and said they were afraid of me because I had a buzzcut with a crispy line up and wore Jordans and baggy clothes. The truth is that I was more afraid of them.
Growing up a Chinese-looking kid in a very Black and white world created a cloud in my personal identity.
The segregation I experienced as a child stunted my ability to move through the world. I lacked the exposure to different races, cultures, and ways of thinking. I was fortunate to attend Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science where the student body was so diverse, I made friends whose races I had never even heard of.
As far as how Mississippi has affected my life’s path—I think about how crazy it would be to tell third grade Lawson, who dressed up as an artist for career day, that it happened. Tell him his mom didn’t drive all over town in vain looking for a French beret. Tell him that you can ride around and see sculptures and murals he made in public places—he wouldn’t believe it.
That’s why I choose to make public art. Anyone from any background can have an experience with the work. The lack of accessible art in Mississippi could’ve killed that dream. I have my grandma, Marcella Small, to thank for sharing her love of art with me and nurturing me along my path. She taught in Delta State’s Art Department so it’s a real full circle moment for me to be in her footsteps.
If I leave it’s because I chose to. No matter how bleak Mississippi’s situation seems I know I have my people here.
What is something that you’ve learned about Mississippi only by living here? In what ways has Mississippi lived up to your expectations?
There are so many dang talented people here, and they’re so humble. Southern hospitality is real.
Do you ever consider moving away someday? Does a sense of duty keep you rooted here? Do you have a “tipping point”?
When I was younger, I would’ve told you that I wanted to get out of Mississippi ASAP and never come back. This view has changed, and while I probably will move out of Mississippi again to pursue creative growth and opportunities, I’m sure I’ll be back. A sense of duty to the people and the arts culture of Mississippi keeps me wanting to settle down here. I wouldn’t say I have a “tipping point,” though. If I leave it’s because I chose to. No matter how bleak Mississippi’s situation seems I know I have my people here.
Mississippi is a complicated place that produces complicated people. The culture here cultivates relationships between people who, on paper, shouldn’t be friends.
What do you wish the rest of the country understood about Mississippi?
Mississippi is a complicated place that produces complicated people. The culture here cultivates relationships between people who, on paper, shouldn’t be friends. In Mississippi, you’re able to get to know someone not as this party or that party, but as a person. These complex relationships create space for honest, respectful dialogue and a deeper understanding of your neighbor.
Do you have a favorite Mississippi writer, artist, or musician who you think everyone needs to know about?
Maybe I’m a little biased, but my mama, Maggie Cobb, is my favorite Mississippi artist. She makes direct and honest paintings from observations. One day I wore a sweater with a Walter Anderson design of a man on horseback surrounded by a line pattern. The next day she brings me a painting of the design on a board she found. She’s added color, glitter, extended the pattern, and added a whole woman because, “he needed a friend.” Her paintings seem to give me permission to have fun with my art.
If you had one billion dollars to invest in Mississippi, how would you spend your money?
I’d put art, field trips, fair wages, and healthy foods back in public schools.
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.)
Delta State Art Department – Talented, caring faculty and passionate students create an enriching creative community to learn and grow. Also hosts art exhibitions that are open to the public.
The Mathews Sanders Sculpture Garden – Currently exhibiting forty-six outdoor sculptures across Cleveland, MS. Offers a rotating exhibition of seventeen sculptures every two years.
Delta Arts Alliance – Arts organization employing local artists to teach art to children across the Delta who don’t have art programs in their schools. They also host a gang of other operations like art exhibitions, community theater, and specialized workshops.
🥳❤️❤️❤️ and dang a flip phone archival image !
“ I’d put art, field trips, fair wages, and healthy foods back in public schools.”
Yes!