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.

Fannie Lou Hamer

Fannie Lou Hamer’s nationally televised testimony at the Democratic National Convention in 1964 beamed her message into America’s living rooms. She challenged party leaders to uphold America’s commitment to equality under the law. In plain language, she talked of getting fired and thrown off a Delta plantation for trying to register to vote. She offered gritty details of her vicious beating by police in the Winona jail in 1963. Hamer was an activist for voting rights and school desegregation. Until her death in 1977, she continued to speak for civil rights and advocate for poor people.

Governor William F. Winter

"Poorly educated people translate into poor people," said Governor William Winter, who led the effort to pass the landmark Education Reform Act in 1982. The act established a public kindergarten system for all Mississippi students, made school attendance compulsory, raised teacher salaries, and tightened teacher certification requirements. Winter held hearing around the state to build grassroots support. Opponents objected to new sales and income taxes used to fund the bill. The Legislative Black Caucus strongly supported the bill because poor schools disproportionately affected Black Mississippians.

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.