William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation

The William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation was an internationally recognized healing and equity organization, established in 1999 and based at the University of Mississippi until 2018. It grew out of President Clinton’s One America: The President’s Initiative on Race, marking the first time a sitting president called for a national conversation on race not precipitated by a crisis. Led by founding executive director, Dr. Susan M. Glisson, the Institute focused on racial reconciliation, community engagement, and youth leadership development. It sought to connect and empower local leaders, especially in communities haunted by histories of racial violence, to address social inequities using honest dialogue, trust-building and truth-telling.

The Institute operated under the umbrella of the University of Mississippi until 2018, when it became an independent nonprofit organization and relocated from Oxford, Mississippi, to the state’s capital in Jackson. Governor Winter and his wife Elise Winter continued to work with the Institute to promote racial justice and equality in Mississippi until their deaths in 2020 and 2021.

In December of 2021, in consultation and agreement with the family and estate of Governor Winter, the organization’s name became The Alluvial Collective. The goals of its work remain the same.

Text by Susan M. Glisson, excerpted from the finding aid to the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation Collection in UM's Archives and Special Collections