Mississippi Civil Rights Museum | Mississippi Civil Rights Museum

MISSISSIPPI CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM
222 NORTH STREET
JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI

HOURS
TUESDAY–SATURDAY 9AM–5PM
SUNDAY 11AM–5PM

Explore the Galleries

Explore the movement that changed the nation. Discover stories of Mississippians like Medgar Evers, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Vernon Dahmer, as well as those who traveled many miles to stand beside them, come what may, in the name of equal rights for all.

Explore the Galleries at the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum

Points of Light

The Civil Rights Movement in Mississippi is full of ordinary men and women who refused to sit silently while their brothers and sisters were denied their basic freedoms. A number of these heroes are featured throughout the museum as Points of Light, shining exemplars of dignity, strength, and perseverance in the face of oppression.

Dr. James W. Silver

Shocked by the riot at Ole Miss in 1962, which he witnessed, and offended by the state’s attempt to blame federal marshals, history professor James W. Silver set the record straight in Mississippi: A Closed Society. Silver condemned Citizens’ Council tactics and White supremacy. He compared the state to a totalitarian regime, where White supremacists defined the agenda and crushed opposing voices. For this efforts, Silver became, "the most hated White man in Mississippi." The Citizens’ Council campaigned to have him fired. Silver remained until 1965, when he took leave to teach at the University of Notre Dame. He never returned.

Brenda Travis

Burglund High School student Brenda Travis became a symbol of courage to local youths in McComb. At age 15, Travis spent weeks canvassing neighbors for voter registration. She lied about her age to join the Greyhound terminal sit-in. Fresh out of jail, she then led the student walkout that landed her back in jail. Travis was expelled and sentence to the Oakley Reformatory School. At Oakley, Travis corresponded with Aurelia Young and other Movement veterans. In 2006, Burglund High gave honorary degrees to those who had been expelled. Randall O’Brien, then executive vice president and provost at Baylor University, had been a twelve-year-old boy in McComb during the walkout. He presented her with the Bronze Star Medal he had earned in Vietnam.

Explore Mississippi

Many of the homes, colleges, and historic sites discussed in this gallery still exist today. Journey beyond the museum walls and explore the places where history happened.