News Releases

The Mississippi Civil Rights Movement, the origins of blues music, Mississippi during World War I, and women’s suffrage are some of the topics that will be covered in the annual meeting of the Mississippi Historical Society (MHS). The meeting will be held March 1–3 at the Two Mississippi Museums—the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum.

“While the leadership and organizational goals of the Mississippi Historical Society have evolved over the decades, it has remained a stalwart defender of the need to preserve and study Mississippi’s rich and complex past,” said MHS president Susannah Ural. “Hosting our meeting at the Two Mississippi Museums symbolizes our determination—as a historical society and as Mississippians—to continue that tradition of preservation, inquiry, and debate for many years to come.”

At the Friday luncheon, Chester M. “Bo” Morgan will present “Mississippi: 1917–1941.” Morgan is professor of history at the University of Southern Mississippi and author of Treasured Past, Golden Future: The Centennial History of the University of Southern Mississippi. Participants can tour the museums Friday afternoon. On Friday evening, author and former University of Mississippi history professor Charles Eagles will be the banquet speaker.

Saturday, March 3, will consist of concurrent sessions on the Women’s Suffrage Movement and role of museums in Mississippi’s public history. The Bettersworth Award for outstanding history teacher and other awards will be presented Saturday afternoon.

Registration is $35 for MHS members and $60 for non-members. To register or view the entire schedule, visit the MHS website at www.mississippihistory.org/online-registration.

Rooms are reserved March 1 and 2 at the Westin Jackson Hotel. The MHS rate at the Westin Jackson Hotel, located at 407 South Congress Street in Jackson, is $139 plus tax for a single room. For more information call 601-576-6847 or email mhs@mdah.ms.gov.