Alysia Burton Steele

 
Alysia Burton Steele is a photojournalist and assistant professor at the Mississippi School of Journalism and New Media. Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Steele holds a degree in journalism from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and a Master of Fine Arts from Ohio University. In 2006, while working for the Dallas Morning News, she joined their photography team in winning a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of Hurricane Katrina.

Her 2015 book, Delta Jewels, chronicles the lives of over 50 Mississippi Delta women – church elders, including civil rights activist Mrs. Myrlie Evers – who have shared poignant highlights of their lives during the Jim Crow era. To complete the book, Steele drove over 6,000 miles and collected oral histories from women in 27 Mississippi Delta towns.
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Ms. Steel’s photography has been featured in The New York Times, NBC.com, USA Today, Southern Living, Chicago Sun-Times, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Garden & Gun, The Commercial Appeal and The Clarion Ledger.