Mississippi Civil Rights Museum facts for kids
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Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in 2017
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| Established | 2011 (funding); December 9, 2017 (opening) |
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| Location | Jackson, Mississippi |
| Type | Public |
| Visitors | 500,000+ |
The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum is a special place in Jackson, Mississippi. It teaches people about the American Civil Rights Movement that happened in Mississippi from 1945 to 1970. This movement was a big effort to gain equal rights for all people, especially African Americans.
The museum got $20 million from the Mississippi Legislature (the state's law-making group) in 2011. The governor at the time, Haley Barbour, helped get this money. Building started in 2013, and the museum opened its doors on December 9, 2017. The Mississippi Department of Archives and History manages the museum. It is the first museum about civil rights to be sponsored by a U.S. state.
Contents
How the Museum Started
Early Ideas for the Museum
Back in the mid-1980s, the Mississippi State Historical Museum had a small exhibit about civil rights. But by 2001, people felt there needed to be a bigger museum. Civil rights leaders, historians, and tourism experts began planning for a dedicated civil rights museum. Iola Williams, from Hattiesburg, was a key supporter of the idea.
At first, different places were considered for the museum. One idea was the historic Brownlee Gymnasium at Tougaloo College, a college mainly for Black students. Another idea was an old building near Jackson State University.
Starting in 2000, state Senator John Horhn, a Democrat, tried to pass laws to get money for the museum. His bills suggested putting the museum at Tougaloo College, but they didn't pass each year. In 2004, another politician, Erik R. Fleming, also tried to create a state civil rights museum. Even the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation at the University of Mississippi supported the project.
More attempts to get funding failed in 2005 and 2006. Some bills asked for money just for planning, or suggested a committee choose the site. Despite wide support from many people, these efforts didn't succeed at first.
Study Groups and Decisions
Finally, in 2006, state Senator Hillman Frazier helped pass a law to create a study group. This group was asked to report on how to build the museum. However, some African Americans in Mississippi were careful. They worried the museum might not tell the full, true story of the state's difficult civil rights past.
In November 2006, Governor Haley Barbour suggested creating a $500,000 state group to plan the museum. In December, the study group said a $50 million museum should be built in Jackson. They also suggested linking it to a "civil rights trail" of important historical places across the state. They thought the museum should be about 112,500 square feet and supported by private donations.
A month later, in January 2007, Governor Barbour said the museum was "overdue." His support helped many state lawmakers, even Republicans, to back the idea. There was a lot of support for the $500,000 planning money. But lawmakers argued about where the museum should be built – in Jackson or the Mississippi Delta area. A bill to borrow $48 million to build a museum in Jackson passed the House but failed in the Senate. In March 2007, a bill to provide $500,000 for planning passed and was signed into law by the governor.
Choosing the Location
The 2007 law created a large committee to pick the museum's site. Senator Hillman Frazier and former Justice Reuben Anderson led this group. Many places were suggested, including:
- Grenada, where people tried to stop school integration.
- Hattiesburg, important during the 1964 Freedom Summer voter registration.
- Jackson State University in Jackson.
- Natchez, a former slave market site.
- Philadelphia, where Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. led marches.
- Tougaloo College in Jackson.
A consulting company helped the committee. They narrowed the choices down to a few sites, mostly in Jackson.
In February 2008, the consultant suggested a 9-acre spot at Tougaloo College. Other top choices included Vernon Dahmer Park in Hattiesburg and several sites in downtown Jackson. The museum's supporters hoped it would open in a few years, focusing only on Mississippi's civil rights story.
However, there was strong disagreement about the Tougaloo College site. Some people wanted the museum in Greenwood, near where 14-year-old Emmett Till was murdered. This event helped start the modern civil rights movement. Others wanted it in downtown Jackson. Some felt the committee was biased because many members had ties to Tougaloo College. The consulting firm explained that Tougaloo was chosen for its size, easy access to the highway, and parking space.
On March 10, the governor's committee voted to accept the Tougaloo College recommendation. At this point, the museum was expected to cost $73 million and have 73,650 square feet of space. It would include exhibits, a gift shop, meeting rooms, a memorial garden, and a theater. Ten million dollars would be for a special fund to help the museum long-term. It was predicted to attract 125,000 visitors in its first year.
Delays and Challenges
Even after a site was chosen, almost nothing happened with the museum project for three years. This was due to a bad economy, lack of clear direction from the governor's office, and the death of a key consultant. Governor Barbour's office said he was still working on it.
By 2009, there was still little progress. No more money had come from the legislature, no board of directors was named, and no timeline was set. Justice Anderson blamed the poor economy. Senator Horhn thought the Tougaloo College site was too controversial and suggested rethinking the location.
By late 2010, the project seemed stuck. Governor Barbour had focused on a "Mississippi Civil Rights Trail" of historic markers instead of the museum. Many museum supporters felt he had gone back on his promise.
The Museum is Created
The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum finally got the funding and approval it needed in 2011.
In late 2010, Governor Barbour was thinking about running for president. He made some comments about the White Citizens' Council in his hometown that were widely criticized. Many people felt he was downplaying the harshness of racial intolerance in Mississippi.
Perhaps to address this criticism, Governor Barbour declared in his 2011 "State of the State" speech that the museum must be built. He said, "This is the year to get this museum going." He received a standing ovation. Barbour supported building the museum next to the planned Museum of Mississippi History. State officials said they had many historical items, films, and records to use for the museum's collection.
In the state House, lawmakers introduced bills to fund the museum. Debates about the location continued, but the House eventually passed a bill to fund both the civil rights museum and the Mississippi history museum, along with a parking garage. The funding was set at $55 million ($30 million for the civil rights museum).
The state Senate passed its own version, also funding the civil rights museum at $30 million, but requiring half the money to come from private donations first. Governor Barbour then supported this public-private funding idea.
Lawmakers faced a deadline for passing money bills. They agreed to fund the museum through a bond sale (a way for the state to borrow money) instead of direct spending. Governor Barbour even threatened to call a special meeting of the legislature if the museum wasn't funded. He wanted the state to pay for building the museum, but for private and public funds to be split 50-50 for getting collections and building exhibits.
With the threat of a special session, the House and Senate quickly agreed. The final bill, passed on April 4, 2011, allowed the sale of $20 million in state bonds for the museum's construction. It also set up a 50-50 public-private funding plan for getting the collection. This meant public money would match private donations. Governor Barbour signed the law in April.
Designing and Planning the Museum
In September 2011, the state approved selling $40 million in bonds for both the Museum of Mississippi History and the Civil Rights Museum. By December, the location was set at 200 North Street in downtown Jackson.
On December 15, 2011, it was announced that African American architect Philip Freelon would design the building. The public was invited to meetings to share ideas for the museum's exhibits and collections. By April 2012, architectural drawings were shown around the state to get feedback. People wanted a unique building that felt dignified inside. They also stressed that the exhibits should tell the true story of the civil rights movement without hiding anything.
Officials said the civil rights museum's exterior would be finished by 2017, with total construction costs around $70 million.
In July 2012, a new design was revealed that would connect the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum to the Museum of Mississippi History, sharing a lobby. The civil rights museum would have seven main exhibit areas, a 40-foot high sculpture in a central space, and two theaters. One film would be about the murder of Emmett Till, and another about the Freedom Riders. Building was expected to start in summer 2013.
The museum hired Jacqueline K. Dace as its director in November 2012. She had experience with African American collections at other museums. In 2017, Pam Junior became the new director.
Museum Opening
The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum officially opened on December 9, 2017. It is the first museum about the U.S. civil rights movement to be sponsored by a state.
The museum is right next to the new Museum of Mississippi History, and they share an entrance. The civil rights museum has several sections. Visitors first learn about the slave trade, then how African American communities grew after the Emancipation Proclamation and Reconstruction.
Then, visitors enter a large room with a tree. On its leaves are images of unfair laws and violence from the Jim Crow laws era. The names of over 600 African Americans who were lynched (killed by mobs) in Mississippi are carved into five large stones. These first few sections are designed to feel a bit tight, to give a sense of the challenges people faced. The rest of the museum is more open and focuses on the 30-year period when Mississippi was central to the civil rights struggle. These sections include exhibits on people who were murdered for their activism.
Many civil rights activists praised the museum's opening, saying it showed "an honest depiction of Mississippi's past." Critics from The New York Times also praised the museum, saying it "rivets attention" and "refuses to sugarcoat history."
About the Museum
Museum Layout
The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum has a lobby and eight main exhibit areas, called galleries. The design is circular, with the galleries around a central rotunda. The idea is that visitors go through darker areas representing tough times in history, then come out into a bright, peaceful space. Most galleries are small and dimly lit, with exhibits from floor to ceiling. The bright rotunda is the heart of the museum.
- Gallery 1: "Mississippi Freedom Struggle" This gallery shows the history and culture of Black people in Mississippi from the arrival of African slaves until the end of the Civil War.
- Gallery 2: "Mississippi in Black and White" This section covers the time between the Civil War and 1941. It focuses on lynchings, the Ku Klux Klan, and Jim Crow laws (laws that enforced segregation and discrimination). Five monuments here list the names of those who were lynched. This gallery also has an artificial tree with images from the Jim Crow era.
- Gallery 3: Central Rotunda This is the bright, central part of the museum. It has the This Little Light of Mine sculpture, which lights up with faces of activists killed during the civil rights movement.
- Gallery 4: "A Closed Society" This gallery shows the start of the civil rights movement from 1941 to 1960. It has two small theaters showing films about the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education court decision and the 1955 murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till. You can also see the doors to Bryant's Grocery, where the incident with Emmett Till happened. A recreated segregated classroom shows the different experiences of white and Black children.
- Gallery 5: "A Tremor in the Iceberg" This section covers early civil rights struggles from 1960 to 1962. It has exhibits about the Freedom Riders and a model of a jail cell. A short film here tells about the life of Medgar Evers, a civil rights activist. After the film, a spotlight shines on the rifle that killed him.
- Gallery 6: "I Question America" This gallery focuses on the important years of 1963 and 1964. It has a recreated rural church where you can watch a film about Freedom Summer. An interactive exhibit lets you explore files from the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission, a state agency that tried to stop racial integration.
- Gallery 7: "Black Empowerment" This section shows the successes and challenges of the Mississippi civil rights movement from 1965 to 1975. You can see the bullet-riddled pickup truck of Vernon Dahmer, a civil rights leader whose home was attacked and burned by the Ku Klux Klan.
- Gallery 8: "Where Do We Go From Here?" This final gallery encourages visitors to think about the future of minority citizens in Mississippi and share their own ideas.
This Little Light of Mine Sculpture
The idea for the glowing, interactive sculpture came from the thought that "everybody has a light" (meaning everyone can contribute) and that there is always hope.
The sculpture was designed by Cindy Thompson. It is 40 feet tall and hangs from the ceiling. It's made of fabric-covered aluminum blades, each with many small LED lights controlled by a computer.
As more people enter the central gallery, more lights on the sculpture flicker. Every 30 minutes, the songs This Little Light of Mine and Ain't Gonna' Let Nobody Turn Me Around play. The lights flicker and move with the music. Children, college students, and adults recorded these songs. While the music plays, the side panels in the gallery also light up.
The sculpture took three years to build and has been praised by many national news outlets.
New Leadership
On July 11, 2023, Michael Morris became the new Director of the Two Mississippi Museums, which includes the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and the Museum of Mississippi History. He replaced Pamela D.C. Junior, who retired. Morris studied history and political science at Jackson State University and has worked for the Mississippi Department of Archives and History since 2016.
Visitors to the Museum
Officials first thought about 180,000 people would visit both museums in their first year. By February 2018, over 80,000 people had already visited. Museum officials believed it could become the second-most visited civil rights museum in the South, after the National Civil Rights Museum in Tennessee. As of 2023, more than 500,000 visitors have come to the museum since it opened in December 2017.
See also
- List of museums focused on African Americans
- Civil Rights Movement
- Mississippi Department of Archives and History
- Museum of Mississippi History
- Tougaloo College
