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.

Rims Barber

A native of Chicago, Reverend Rims Barber began his journey in the Civil Rights Movement in 1964, when he joined the Freedom Summer effort in Mississippi. After Freedom Summer, Barber stayed in Mississippi working as a community organizer and activist in Canton. He worked for State Representative Robert Clark to “represent the unrepresented” and with the Children’s Defense Fund to desegregate public schools. As an ordained Presbyterian minister, he officiated the first interracial marriage in Mississippi since Reconstruction in 1970. He also officiated commitment ceremonies for same-sex couples before same-sex marriages were legal in Mississippi.

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.

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.