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

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. 

Anne Moody

Anne Moody

Anne Moody’s Coming of Age in Mississippi offers a firsthand account of Black life in Mississippi. Moody picked cotton to help her family, went to segregated schools, and sang in church choirs. As a teenage housekeeper serving local Whites, she was shaken by Emmett Till’s murder and ongoing violence against her neighbors. Moody pursued higher education at Tougaloo College, where she joined the Movement. She sat in at the Capitol Street Woolworth’s, marched after the murder of Medgar Evers, and volunteered to staff CORE’s Freedom House in Canton. Her memoir describes recruiting youths, trying to win the trust of rural Black people, and struggling to get by while suffering harassment from local Whites.

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.

Natchez Museum of African-American History and Culture

Natchez Museum of African-American History and CultureArtwork, literature, and artifacts relating to the lives of African Americans in Natchez

301 Main Street
Natchez, Mississippi

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Mound Bayou, Mississippi

Mound BayouMound Bayou was founded by former slaves led by Isaiah Montgomery in 1887 as an independent African American community.

202 West Main Street
Mound Bayou, Mississippi

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