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.

Hazel Brannon Smith - Wilson “Bill” Minor Papers, Manuscripts Division, Mississippi State University Libraries

Hazel Brannon Smith

Hazel Brannon Smith earned a Pulitzer Prize for her reporting on race as editor/owner of the Lexington Advertiser. Smith wrote that all races "should have the same protection of the laws and courts." She condemned the Citizens’ Council "Gestapo" tactics. The Holmes County Citizens’ Council boycotted her paper and pressured the local hospital to fire her husband. In 1960, local teens burned a cross on her lawn. In 1961, she criticized the police attack on Tougaloo Nine supporters. She hosted Movement activists and printed their materials. In 1964, her Jackson newspaper office was bombed. Huge debts caused by the boycott forced her to declare bankruptcy. 

Dr. L.C. Dorsey - Photo courtesy UMMC Dorsey Research Honor Society

Dr. L.C. Dorsey

A native of the Mississippi Delta, L.C. Dorsey began working in her community for Operation Head Start in 1964. Her involvement led to the founding of Mississippi’s Office of Economic Opportunity and eventually to working within the Movement as a part of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP). During her time with MFDP, Dorsey organized marches, boycotts, and voter registration drives throughout the state. After completing her doctorate in social work at Howard University, she resumed her duties with Head Start, serving as director of social services. In 1974, Dorsey began her tenure as associate director of the Southern Coalition on Jails and Prisons and was later appointed to the National Council for Economic Opportunity by President Jimmy Carter. 

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.

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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Corinth Contraband Camp

Corinth Contraband CampEstablished to accommodate enslaved people who fled to safety during the Civil War

800 North Parkway Street
Corinth, Mississippi 

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