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Two days before our nation marked 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, 19 people became American citizens during a ceremony at the Two Mississippi Museums.

Jennifer Jimenez was one of them. Before the ceremony, she toured the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and the Museum of Mississippi History, where she likely saw stories of other immigrants who make up the fabric of Mississippi’s history.

So, after U.S. District Judge Kristi H. Johnson administered the oath, Jimenez succinctly shared how she felt in that moment.

“I am so proud,” said Jimenez, who was born in Panama. “It is good to know this country accepts you.”

In her remarks, Judge Johnson welcomed the new citizens to exercise their rights as Americans.

“I encourage you to strive to make this country, this state, your own community the best they can be, and exercise the rights and privileges you are now entitled to as an American citizen,” Johnson said. “Vote. Serve on a jury, if called. If you want to run for public office – run. But these new privileges and rights carry with them new responsibilities and duties.

“You have a duty to obey the law, pay your taxes, and defend your new country. We are always in need of good citizenship, no matter if we are naturalized or natural born, and we should all leave this ceremony today recommitting ourselves to the ideals represented in the United States Constitution,” she said.

The naturalization ceremony was part of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History’s activities to observe America250. This is the second year the ceremony has been held at the museums in collaboration with the U.S. District Court.

In his opening remarks, Spence Flatgard, president of the MDAH Board of Trustees, told the 19 they were being celebrated.

“You are part of our American family now,” Flatgard said.

The new citizens also received gifts from the Daughters of the American Revolution as they exited the stage with their Certificate of Naturalization.

For Nikitaben Kosada, originally from India, the moment was made even more poignant as it comes so close to the nation’s anniversary.

“It’s like being part of 250 years of history,” she said.

A Mississippi Department of Archives and History archivist recently catalogued an amazing artifact within the agency’s collections – a scrap of a white surrender flag from the Civil War.

Shaun Stalzer, MDAH’s senior archivist of government records, made the discovery while sorting through the collection.

A curious item grabbed his attention, and he was floored by what he found – a yellowing scrap of linen, about 5x10 inches, with these words printed in fading ink, "Piece of white flag that surrendered Ft. Lee, Vicksburg, July 4, 1863.”

MDAH Civil War experts were able to figure out the artifact’s backstory. It was determined that Private Willam C. Phipps of Company A, 11th Indiana Infantry, received this section of flag during the surrender of the Confederate Fort Garrott (then known as Fort Lee). The fort flew white flags of surrender when Confederate Lt. General John C. Pemberton surrendered to Maj. General Ulysses S. Grant. Phipps’ company captain ripped the Confederate surrender flag and distributed pieces to his soldiers.

This background information was determined by historian Jeff Giambrone and Shane Keil, deputy director of the MDAH Museum Division. Keil and Giambrone are currently identifying artifacts for the Vicksburg Civil War Visitor Center that will eventually open in the historic River City. Keil and Megan Bankston, Vicksburg Project manager, are leading the development of the museum that will be adjacent to the Vicksburg National Military Park.

The rare flag artifact will one day be on display at the Vicksburg Civil War Center. Until then, it can be viewed among many other artifacts online. Visit MDAH’s Historic Objects Collection page to see more. To learn more about MDAH’s work on the Vicksburg project, visit here.

The Mississippi Department of Archives and History will accept applications for the Community Heritage Preservation Grant (CHPG) Program July 1 – Oct. 2. Communities across the state are encouraged to apply.

The CHPG program helps preserve, restore, rehabilitate, and interpret Mississippi courthouses and schools across the state. In communities that participate in the Certified Local Governments program, buildings other than courthouses and schools are also eligible, if they have been designated as Mississippi Landmarks.

“We are grateful to the 2026 Mississippi Legislature for funding this year’s program,” MDAH Director Barry White said. “The grant program benefits communities across the state, offering a resource to preserve their local structures, and in turn, their local histories.”

Since its inception in 2001, the CHPG program has provided more than $61 million in funding for 355 projects in 71 counties across Mississippi.

Eligible applicants are encouraged to review the application materials early in the application period to allow adequate time to prepare a complete the submission.

For more information, visit MDAH’s Preservation and Planning webpage. Applications must be submitted before 5 p.m. on Oct. 2.

The MDAH Board of Trustees will award the grants at its quarterly meeting in January 2027. For more information call 601-576-6535 or email chpg@mdah.ms.gov.

Author and native Mississippian Eddie S. Glaude Jr. offered his take on the nation's legacy when he recently stopped by the Two Mississippi Museums for a conversation about his book, America, U.S.A.: How Race Shadows the Nation’s Anniversaries.

Glaude sat down with Two Mississippi Museums Director Michael Morris to talk about how his latest writing project evolved into an America 250 theme. Each chapter of the book walks the reader through America’s anniversaries and celebrations. Ahead of each chapter is a bar of music written by award-winning classical composer Joel Tapson. The music’s role, Glaude said, is to help capture the feeling of that chapter’s narrative.

“You’ll hear quotes of familiar American theme songs. A motherless child you can hear in the middle part, the upper registers of the piano and the lower registers of the piano going at each other,” Glaude expressed. “I'm still emotional when I listen to it.”

He described his approach as “a risk” and said he was going outside of his comfort zone.

“I knew I took a huge risk at that level of form and content. … I was doing something I never had done before,” he said.

Glaude’s book explores American history and how race has played a crucial part in shaping nations. He discusses other prominent authors and figures such as W.E.B DuBois, John Dos Passo and Herman Meville.

The book conversation was in partnership with Lemuria Books and the Mississippi Book Festival. Attendees were able to purchase a copy of the book and receive a signed copy.

Want to know when a book conversation is hosted at the Two Mississippi Museums? Join our Weekly Update Newsletter mailing list by visiting here.

Nine Mississippi properties have been listed in the National Register of Historic Places so far this year, including the Terry Rosenwald School that served Black students in Hinds County from 1924-1948; the W.C. and Elaine Gryder House in Ocean Springs, built by Robert Faust and is an example of Organic style architecture designed by notable American architect Bruce Goff; and the Dr. Early Colman and Ann Foote Clements House, built circa 1891 in Rolling Fork.

The National Register of Historic Places is the nation’s official list of historic resources worthy of preservation. Mississippi has 1,541 listings in the National Register. Most of the listings in the National Register are buildings, but other historic resources that have been listed include historic districts, objects, sites, and structures.

The Mississippi National Register Review Board, administered by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, reviews, makes comments on any changes needed to be made on nominations, and approves or disapproves nominations presented to the board. The approved nominations are forwarded to the National Park Service, which makes the final determination to list the resource.

The following is the full list of the 2026 Mississippi sites listed so far in the National Register and the chronological order in which they were listed:

• Natchez Outbuilding Survey Multiple Property Documentation Form, Jan. 26 – The outbuildings and ancillary structures in Natchez are significant artifacts of the experience of enslavement that give insight of daily life during the pre-Civil War period.

• Texada (Boundary Increase and Additional Documentation) – Natchez, Adams County, Jan. 26 – The property is composed of a large, two-story, six-bay, double pile brick house at the corner of S. Wall and Washington streets; a two-story, brick kitchen/quarter at the rear and set parallel to the main house; a two-story wood-frame quarter facing Washington Street; and brick-paved courtyard and grassy work yard site. 

• "Prairie Queen" – West Point, Clay County, Jan. 26 – Built in 1898 for Ben Walker by his cousin, Master Builder James R. Walker, the plantation house is a significant local example of a late 19th century Greek Revival style. While built almost a half century after the grandest Greek Revival houses in the area, “Prairie Queen” is a large-scale version of this style showing its continued popularity in the area.

• Hill-Burton Multiple Property Documentation Form, Feb. 23 – The Hill-Burton Act led to more than 200 new healthcare facilities being built in Mississippi between 1948 and 1975. The majority of Hill-Burton funded facilities were in the Southern states, with Mississippi as the nation’s leading recipient. The program played a key role in the future integration of public health care and is oftentimes considered vital federal legislation toward progressive social reform and civil rights.

• Coahoma Community College Historic District – Clarksdale vicinity, Coahoma County, Feb. 23 – Coahoma Community College is a small historically black college located five miles north of Clarksdale in the Mississippi Delta. Most of the buildings on the Coahoma Community College campus date to the mid-20th century, with major construction projects taking place throughout the 1950s and 1960s.

• Terry Rosenwald School – Terry, Hinds County, Feb. 23 – The "Colored Public School of Terry" was built as a Rosenwald School, one of over 5,500 such buildings built throughout the South with both private and public funding for Black students. The school building on this site is documented as “Terry School” on a school card in the records of the Julius Rosenwald Fund Collection at Fisk University.

• (Old) Kemper County Hospital – DeKalb, Kemper County, Feb. 23 – The (Old) Kemper County Hospital, built in 1949, is significant as a Hill-Burton funded healthcare facility, along with being an intact example of a mid-20th century International style hospital.

• Dr. Early Colman and Ann Foote Clements House – Rolling Fork, Sharkey County, March 30 – The Clements House was built circa 1891 for Dr. Early Colman and Ann Foote Clements, who were early settlers of Rolling Fork. The Clements House is significant as a late 19th century I-house, a rare intact example of period architecture.

• W. C. and Elaine Gryder House – Ocean Springs, Jackson County, June 15 – The W.C. and Elaine Gryder House is significant as one of Mississippi’s best examples of Organic architecture. It was designed by prominent Organic architect Bruce Goff specifically for its occupants, William Conneil and Elaine Gryder.

   

History came alive for area youth participating in the 2026 History Exploration Camp held at the Two Mississippi Museums. Eighteen campers showed off their talents with a variety show on Friday, June 12.

The summer camp transported campers back to the 1960s to explore how Mississippi helped shape the Space Race, music, and major cultural change. Campers enjoyed hands-on activities, stories, and creative projects that brought history to life.

The children entertained with dance numbers, singing, acrobatics, percussion, and even balloon animals.

“Our theme for this camp is '60s, so we started off teaching about (American) Bandstand and Motown,” said camp coordinator, Courtney Derricks. “We introduced the variety show as a lesson. They've been practicing and now are showing some of their talents.”

Derricks added the campers learned about “House Heroes,” such as businesswoman and activist Clarie Collins Harvey, investigative journalist Ida B. Wells, astronaut Fred Haise, U.S. Senator Blanche Kelso Bruce and Sister Thea Bowman, a Catholic nun, teacher and musician who spoke against racism.

“We are hearing a lot from the parents,” Derricks said. “One of my favorite things to hear is when the campers get home, and they're just talking their parent’s ears off about what they've been learning.”

The summer camp continues at Two Mississippi Museums this week through June 18. This camp is offered each year so register early.

The Mississippi Department of Archives and History’s curatorial staff recently led a public workshop, showing attendees how a museum exhibit is developed.

The workshop, “Legacy in Action: Practical Exhibit Planning & Installation,” was sponsored by the Southeastern Museum Conference as part of the conference’s 75th Anniversary Legacy Forward Learning Series.

The daylong event featured individual workshops offering practical guidance on developing exhibits from concept to installation, including ADA considerations, artifact handling and working within historic spaces. 

Three of these sessions included hands-on exercises, led by MDAH exhibit designer Hannah Battey, and director of conservation Kathryn Etre. Attendees learned how to apply stickers to Gator Board, vinyl to walls, and padding to mannequins. 

Attendees had the opportunity to ask MDAH’s curatorial team questions, as well as get help troubleshooting scenarios at their own museums. 

The workshop highlighted the process used to develop exhibits on display at the Two Mississippi Museums, including the temporary exhibit Mississippi Made. To learn more about this free exhibit, visit here. 

Smithsonian Institution Historian Eric Hintz recently delivered a presentation on innovation in Mississippi and around the country as part of the History Is Lunch series at the Two Mississippi Museums. 

Hintz’ presentation is among the activities sponsored by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History in observance of America250. This program is a part of the Making History, Making Change Lecture Series that is organized by Smithsonian Affiliations as part of the Smithsonian's Our Shared Future: 250.

Hintz’ Mississippi discussion focused on the special temporary exhibit, Mississippi Made, which highlights entrepreneurs, innovators, performers, and craftspeople who made—and make—Mississippi.

Hintz, a former resident of Clinton, Mississippi, shares that many of the nation's first discoveries were made in the Magnolia State. 

“I was really amazed to learn that some of the first lung and heart transplants were conducted right down the street at University of Mississippi Medical Center,” Hintz said. 

From guitar amplifiers created in Meridian to root beer made on the Gulf Coast, Mississippi has much to offer in the celebration of innovation in the nation, he added.

“If I leave you with anything today, it's the idea that ... innovation and industry in Mississippi is not just a thing of the past, but that it's continually reinventing itself in Mississippi.” he said. 

Hintz opened his discussion by sharing some of his work as director of the Lemelson Center for the Study of Innovation and Invention at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History.

“One of the things that I had the privilege of working on was an exhibition ... called Places of Invention,” said Hintz.

Places of Invention opened its doors in 2015. At about 3,300 square feet, the exhibit offered a glance into certain times in American history that were hot spots for innovation. The exhibit offered a bird's eye-look into six case studies exploring innovation in major cities such as Silicon Valley and The Bronx, New York.

The exhibit published about nine hundred stories exploring the topic of innovation beyond the major innovating cities and inspired another exhibit: Spark! Places of Innovation.

"The Spark! exhibit highlighted smaller places of innovation. The exhibit is a part of the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street program and is on display at the Hinds Community

College campus in Utica. It will highlight exhibitions in Mississippi through 2027 in Meridian, Greenville, Oxford, Hattiesburg and Gulfport. 

The history of gospel music was shared through songs and stories during a recent performance by the Grassroots Gospel Project at the Two Mississippi Museums.

In celebration of America250, the 250 Voice Community Sing program highlighted music, freedom and hope. The event also was part of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History’s Religion Initiative, funded by a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.

The Grassroots Gospel Project, led by Chandra Wise, celebrates gospel music, culture, and history. The project focuses on bringing the community together through song.

“We come together to celebrate the gift of gospel music because you can’t talk about American music without talking about gospel music,” said Wise.

Throughout the evening, the audience learned more about the history of the genre and its influence on generations of artists. The program offered details on some of the first gospel writers, such as Charles Albert Timmons and Thomas A. Dorsey, and current artists, Kirk Franklin and Mary and Mary. Mississippi artists – The Williams Brothers and the Mississippi Mass Choir – were also highlighted.

“As it has been said multiple times tonight, gospel music has its roots deep in the American soul, especially here in the state of Mississippi.” Wise said. “Gospel music has influenced every other genre. But for us, it is the sound and expression of our faith.”

Through storytelling and music, the evening brought together the community, highlighting one of the goals of MDAH Religion Initiative by creating an opportunity for the community to explore faith and traditions that shape Mississippi today. 

For more information, visit https://www.mdah.ms.gov/religion.