Mississippi Civil Rights Museum

The Two Mississippi Museums will host a Juneteenth celebration with free admission, from June 19-21, sponsored by Ingalls Shipbuilding, the largest manufacturing employer in Mississippi. 

The three-day celebration also includes Juneteenth Jubilee, a free, family-friendly event celebrating community and culture. The Jubilee is Friday, June 19, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. The activities include specialized flash tours at 5 p.m. at the Museum of Mississippi History, and 6 p.m. at the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. The focus will be on themes of emancipation and liberation in Mississippi.

Local food trucks will be on-site as visitors enjoy line-dancing workshops, games, crafts, and facepainting. There will be an adults-only lounge and a kids’ zone.  

The Jubilee celebration will feature spoken-word performances by JT the Poet and Sadie, at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., respectively. Live music will be performed throughout the event. There will also be a live art raffle, offering a painting by Tony Davenport or a wood-burned piece by Kira Cummings.

“Ingalls is proud to once again support the Two Mississippi Museums’ Juneteenth celebration,” said Lisa Bradley, Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporate Stewardship and Community Relations Manager. “This annual event brings families and communities together to learn more about Mississippi’s history. We are honored to help provide free admission and support the museums’ enduring legacy of education and innovation.”

Ingalls Shipbuilding has sponsored this event for five years.

“This annual event draws hundreds of people to the museums each year. It’s a chance to celebrate history and family,” said Two Mississippi Museums Director Michael Morris. “Ingalls has been a great corporate partner to the museums. Their sponsorship is the reason we’re able to offer free admission during this holiday weekend.”

Signed into law on June 17, 2021, Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, or Juneteenth, is a federal holiday to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States at the end of the Civil War.

Celebration of Juneteenth began on June 19, 1865, when Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, with some 2,000 troops, and decreed the Emancipation Proclamation freed all enslaved people, officially enforcing emancipation in the Confederate-controlled state.

For more information, call 601-576-6850, or email info@mdah.ms.gov.

Mississippi Made, a special exhibit highlighting the people, industries and creative traditions that have shaped Mississippi and influenced the nation, will open March 7 at the Two Mississippi Museums. 

Presented in celebration of America’s 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Mississippi Made traces more than two centuries of innovation, craftsmanship and cultural influence through approximately 250 artifacts. The free exhibit spans from the early 19th century to the present day, reflecting Mississippi’s role in agriculture, manufacturing, music, fashion, science, literature and the arts.

“The stories featured in Mississippi Made illustrate how Mississippi’s people and ideas have made a lasting impact on both the nation and the world,” said Katie Blount, director of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. “This exhibit offers visitors an opportunity to better understand those contributions through the objects that document that legacy.”

Objects on display include a 19th century cotton spin-ginner used on small plantations, patent models and tools tied to Mississippi inventors, and a Lindsey eight-wheel log wagon developed in the early 20th century to support the state’s timber industry. Together, these objects illustrate how Mississippians responded to local needs with ingenuity that achieved national and global reach.

The exhibit also highlights Mississippi’s impact on music and literature. Elvis Presley’s bathrobe and a Velvet Elvis wall tapestry are among the artifacts, along with those tied to music icons B.B. King and Jimmie Rodgers, and Leontyne Price. Literary contributions are represented through portraits of William Faulkner and Richard Wright, painted by Mississippi artists, and Eudora Welty’s typewriter.

Design, craft and cultural expression are featured through pottery by George Ohr, an embroidered piece by Ethel Wright Mohamed, a loom and a coverlet woven on that loom, a dress designed by Vicksburg native Patrick Kelly, and a gown worn by Miss America Mary Ann Mobley. Film and popular culture are reflected through set pieces from “A Time to Kill,” a film based on John Grisham’s novel of the same name. The movie was filmed primarily in Mississippi.

Mississippi’s connections to science, transportation and industry are explored through objects such as a NASA flight jacket worn by astronaut Richard Truly, along with vehicles manufactured by Toyota and Nissan in Mississippi. Artifacts tied to tourism and leisure highlight Mississippi’s mid-century tourism and hospitality culture.

“Mississippi Made brings together objects that tell a broader story about the state’s creativity, industry and innovation,” said Michael Morris, director of the Two Mississippi Museums. “Each artifact reflects how Mississippians responded to local needs in ways that shaped life far beyond the state.”

Mississippi Made is sponsored by Wayne-Sanderson Farms and will be on exhibit through Nov. 6, 2026.

"As a company with deep Mississippi roots, Wayne-Sanderson Farms has a long history in the state—beginning with the separate legacy operations of Sanderson Farms and Wayne Farms and combining to become the industry leader we are today,” said Wayne-Sanderson Farms President and CEO Kevin McDaniel. “It's exciting to see the progress we've made together in Mississippi as business partners and as neighbors, and we're proud to sponsor this exhibit and share that story."

Museum hours are Tuesday–Saturday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Admission to the museums is free every Sunday. The Two Mississippi Museums are located at 222 North St. in Jackson. Free parking is available along North Street and in the visitor garage on Jefferson Street.

For more information, visit www.mdah.ms.gov.

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The Foundation for the Mid South will sponsor a free admission day at the Two Mississippi Museums on July 2 in honor of the birthday of civil rights leader Medgar Wiley Evers. Education staff from the Two Mississippi Museums—the Museum of Mississippi History and Mississippi Civil Rights Museum—will host flash tours at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. that day.

“Thanks to the Foundation for the Mid South, visitors can explore the Two Mississippi Museums free of charge and discover the stories about the activism of civil rights leaders like Medgar Evers, who fought to dismantle segregation and improve the lives of Black Mississippians,” said Michael Morris, director of the Two Mississippi Museums.

Medgar Evers became the first field secretary for the NAACP in Mississippi. He advocated for nonviolent but direct action, helping to establish new local chapters and leading initiatives such as boycotts, voter registration drives, and protests aimed at desegregating public parks, schools, and beaches. Evers also investigated incidents of racial violence and injustice by interviewing eyewitnesses, gathering evidence, and briefing members of the press.

Despite threats, he continued his activism, linking Mississippi's civil rights struggle to the national movement. On June 12, 1963, he was assassinated by White supremacist Byron De La Beckwith. His legacy endures through numerous honors and institutions bearing his name.

“At the Foundation for the Mid South, we believe equity begins with access—to history, to truth, and to the tools that shape our future,” said Greg Johnson, president and CEO of the Foundation for the Mid South. “As we honor the legacy of Medgar Evers, we’re proud to support this free admission day at the Two Mississippi Museums, creating greater access to the stories that continue to educate and inspire.

“This is more than just a day at the museum. It’s a chance for individuals and families to reflect, learn, and engage with the transformative journey toward justice that Evers championed. His unwavering commitment to activism reminds us of the power each of us holds to effect change in our communities.”

The Foundation for the Mid South works in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, bringing together public and private sectors to focus resources on increasing social and economic opportunity in the region.

The Museum of Mississippi History opened in tandem with the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum on Dec. 9, 2017, in celebration of the state's bicentennial and is administered by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum explores the period from 1945 to 1976 when Mississippi was ground zero for the national Civil Rights Movement. The Museum of Mississippi History explores the entire sweep of Mississippi’s history from its earliest inhabitants to the present day.

Atomic Alert!: Confronting ‘The Bomb’ in the New Atomic Age, a free traveling exhibition designed by Overland Traveling Exhibits, opens Sept. 7 at the Two Mississippi Museums and will be on display through Nov. 8. The exhibition explores the history of the Federal Civil Defense Administration (FCDA) established to prepare Americans for the perils of the new Atomic Age.

In August 1945, in the waning days of World War II, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on cities in Japan. Four years later, the Soviet Union tested its first atomic weapon, and the Cold War began. Nuclear testing made its way to Mississippi through the detonation of two nuclear devices outside of Hattiesburg. The first test, Project Salmon, occurred in October 1964 and, roughly two years later, Project Sterling followed, which used a smaller bomb in the cavity left behind by the first blast.

“The Two Mississippi Museums are excited to share this free, special exhibit,” said Michael Morris, director of the Two Mississippi Museums. “We welcome the public to explore and learn about Mississippi’s role in nuclear testing during the Atomic Age.”

The exhibition puts a special focus on the educational and volunteer programs of the FCDA, which encouraged the building of bomb shelters, the establishment of neighborhood wardens, and taught children to “duck and cover.” Atomic Alert! includes a striking artistic interpretation of the impact of a nuclear blast, featuring the silhouette of a bomb roughly the size and shape of the bombs dropped in World War II.

Visitors can immerse themselves in the era with Mississippi artifacts that tell the story of the state’s response to nuclear threat, including stocking civil defense hospital supplies. Other exhibit artifacts include a Geiger counter used to detect ionizing radiation on objects at ground level and a booklet that instructed families who did not have designated shelters on how to construct a shelter within their home.

Atomic Alert!: Confronting ‘The Bomb’ in the New Atomic Age programming includes two free History Is Lunch programs on Sept. 25 and Oct. 9 and two free gallery talks on Oct. 10 and Oct. 22.

Atomic Alert! was developed, designed, built, and toured by Overland Traveling Exhibits and independent Atomic Age scholar Michael Scheibach. Founding institutions for the exhibition include the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County in Moorhead, Minnesota.

For more information, go to https://2mm.mdah.ms.gov/atomic-alert or call 601-576-6850. 

In honor of Juneteenth, HII's Ingalls Shipbuilding division is sponsoring free admission to the Two Mississippi Museums from Saturday, June 17, through Monday, June 19. Visitors can explore themes of emancipation and liberation in Mississippi.

“We are grateful to Ingalls Shipbuilding for making it possible for so many Mississippians to visit the Two Mississippi Museums and celebrate emancipation in the United States,” said Katie Blount, director of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

Saturday, June 17, Juneteenth-themed tours through the Two Mississippi Museums are available at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 18, a Juneteenth-themed tour is available at 2 p.m.

During Juneteenth Jubilee on Monday, June 19, visitors can enjoy free Juneteenth-themed tours at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. and register for an on-site, behind-the-scenes historic object collections tour happening at 2:30 p.m.

This free, family-friendly day continues 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. with extended museums hours, craft-making activities for children, card games, live music from Jerry Jenkins, DJ Lil Walt, Jermaine Van Buren Jr., Montage, and Mastadon, and on-site food trucks Smokin 7, Oops All Vegan and Fertile Ground Brewery.

Visitors may also enjoy Juneteenth family gallery activities at the This Is Home: Medgar Evers, Mississippi, and the Movement exhibit, on display now through June 30, in the FedEx Exhibition Hall.

Signed into law on June 17, 2021, Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, or Juneteenth, is a federal holiday to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States at the end of the Civil War.

Celebration of Juneteenth began on June 19, 1865, when Union general Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, with some 2,000 troops, and decreed the Emancipation Proclamation freed all enslaved people, officially enforcing emancipation in the Confederate-controlled state.

For more information, call 601-576-6850, or email info@mdah.ms.gov.