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.

Rabbi Perry Nussbaum - Photo courtesy American Jewish Archives

Rabbi Perry Nussbaum

A Toronto native, Rabbi Perry Nussbaum came to Jackson’s Beth Israel Congregation in 1954. He spoke out against segregation in his sermons, despite a congregation that largely remained silent. In 1961, Nussbaum was moved by the sacrifice of the young Freedom Riders, if not entirely in favor of their methods. Since about a third of the Riders were Jewish, he tried to organize the state’s rabbis to visit them at Parchman, but none agreed. So each week he drove north to Sunflower County to deliver personal items and cigarettes, and he led a short worship service. In 1964, he organized the Committee of Concern, which raised money to rebuild Black churches. As a result of his activism, Rabbi Nussbaum’s temple and home were bombed. 

Judge Reuben Anderson - McCain Library and Archives, The University of Southern Mississippi

Judge Reuben V. Anderson

In 1967, Reuben Anderson became the first African American to graduate from the University of Mississippi School of Law, just five years after James Meredith integrated the university. He started his legal career working as a civil rights attorney for the firm Anderson, Banks, Nichols, and Leventhal. He practiced for ten years, serving as an associate council for the Mississippi NAACP Legal Defense Fund and Educational Fund. He often carried his diploma with him into courtrooms in Mississippi to prove he was an attorney. Governor Bill Allain appointed Anderson to the Mississippi Supreme Court in 1985. He was the first Black justice and served until 1991.

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.

The Piney Woods School

The Piney Woods SchoolFounded by Laurence C. Jones in 1909, it is the largest, independent African American boarding school in the United States.

5096 US Highway 49
Piney Woods, Mississippi

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University of Mississippi Civil Rights Monument

University of Mississippi Civil Rights MonumentHonors James Meredith and all those who fought for equal educational opportunities

University Circle
University of Mississippi
University, Mississippi 

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