News Releases

A new program at the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum will highlight music genres that originated in Mississippi. The first of the museum’s Field to Funk series will take place on Tuesday, April 2, at 6 p.m. in the Craig H. Neilsen Auditorium at the Two Mississippi Museums.

The program will explore the history of gospel music. The Utica Jubilee Singers from Hinds Community College’s Utica campus will perform.

“We are very excited to introduce our Field to Funk series to our patrons,” said museum director Pamela Junior. “This musical series will enlighten the public on the different styles of music influenced through African culture. Our first program of the series will feature music from the plantation fields and old spirituals. This will be an excellent program where we can learn why these particular songs were important during slavery times and why they should still be a reminder of where and what we've come from.”

Dr. William H. Holtzclaw, founder of Utica Normal and Industrial Institute, formed the Utica Jubilee Singers in 1921, which is now the Utica Campus of Hinds Community College. The Utica Jubilee Singers traveled throughout the United States and Europe to raise funds for the school.

The doors open at 5:30 p.m. There is no charge to attend. For more information, call 601-576-6800 or email info@mscivilrightsmuseum.com. The museums are located at 222 North Street, Jackson, MS 39201.

The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, which opened alongside the Museum of Mississippi History in December 2017 in celebration of the state's bicentennial, explores the period from 1945 to 1976, when Mississippi was ground zero for the Civil Rights Movement nationally. The museums are open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m.