Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, African-American museum in Jackson, United States
The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum is a documentation center in Jackson housing eight gallery spaces filled with exhibits on the movement for equality. The collections feature artifacts, photographs, and personal items that show how people lived through and responded to injustice.
The institution opened in 2017 as Mississippi's first state-funded center dedicated to this history, marking when the state formally began to document and recognize this past. Its creation came after decades during which this history was largely absent from official spaces.
The space tells stories of activists and ordinary people who risked their safety for change, through objects that belonged to them and spaces that reflect how they lived and worked. Visitors encounter names and faces that were long overlooked in history books.
A weekday visit allows for a more reflective experience, though weekend visits offer the energy of more visitors gathering together. Plan to spend several hours to move through the galleries without rushing through the material.
At the heart of the building sits a light sculpture that plays 'This Little Light of Mine,' growing brighter and louder as more people gather around it. The piece physically demonstrates how individual actions join together to create something stronger.
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