Mississippi Historical Society Awards Projects from Across the State During Annual Meeting
The Mississippi Historical Society held its annual meeting March 6-7 in Jackson to honor its 2025 award winners, including presenting the Lifetime Achievement Award to Frank Figgers, a lifelong civil rights and community activist.
Awards were also given for Book of the Year, Journal of Mississippi History Article of the Year, and Teacher of the Year at the gathering that drew nearly 200 people to the Two Mississippi Museums.
Figgers was active in the Civil Rights Movement while a student at Lanier High School and Tougaloo College. Later at Jackson State University, Figgers preserved stories of civil rights activism through oral histories, and he led the interpretation and preservation of M.W. Stringer Lodge, which housed the office of Medgar Evers. The lodge also was the site of numerous significant events during the movement, including the convention of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.
Wright Thompson, senior writer for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine, received the Book of the Year Award for The Barn: A Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi. The book examines the death of Emmett Till in 1955 and provides a wide social, political, and cultural context for understanding the role of place in history.
Eve Wade, a history teacher in Chicago, received the Journal of Mississippi History Article of the Year Award for “Look for Me in the Spring: Migration Clubs and the Black Metropolis,” which examines the movement of African Americans from Mississippi to Chicago in the early twentieth century.
The Outstanding Local Historical Society Award was presented to the Pass Christian Historical Society. The Teacher of the Year Award was presented to Carlous Smith of Florence Middle School.
Awards of Merit were presented to the Black History Gallery for preserving the history of the Civil Rights Movement in McComb; Bridging Winona for commemorating the life of Fannie Lou Hamer; Catherine C. Myers for compiling a book on the history of Pass Christian; the City of Ridgeland for creating the Ridgeland History Trail as part of the city’s celebration of 125 years; Eddie and Frank Thomas for compiling the book, Miss Lyla’s Papers: A Posthumous History of Iuka, Mississippi; Jackson State University president Marcus L. Thompson for his leadership on historic preservation at the school; DeeDee Baldwin for researching and creating a website, Against All Odds, about the first African American legislators in Mississippi during Reconstruction; the Dr. Jane Ellen McAllister House Foundation for organizing a symposium on the 125th birthday of McAllister of Vicksburg, who was the first African American woman in the United States to earn a Ph.D. in education; the Lafayette Community Remembrance Project for its memorialization work around historical racial injustice; the Laurel Black History Project for its work to expand knowledge about the history of Laurel’s Black community; Mississippi Heritage Trust for its work collecting, documenting, and preserving Freedom Houses; the Monroe County Rosenwald Schools Initiative for its work to preserve the story of Rosenwald Schools; the Neshoba Youth Coalition for commemorating the sixtieth anniversary of Freedom Summer; and the Simpson County Bicentennial Executive Committee and Simpson County Historical and Genealogical Society for organizing the celebration of the bicentennial of Simpson County.
Rebecca Tuuri, associate history professor at the University of Southern Mississippi, completed her term as president of the society and welcomed the new president, Roscoe Barnes III, cultural heritage tourism manager at Visit Natchez. Keena Graham, superintendent of the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument, was elected vice president. New board members are Richard Damms, Mississippi State University-Meridian; Mandy Hornsby, City of Biloxi; Kristi Melancon, Mississippi College; John Spann, Mississippi Humanities Council; Stefanie Taylor, Alcorn State University; and Al Wheat, Mississippi Department of Education.
The Mississippi Historical Society, founded in 1858, encourages outstanding work in interpreting, teaching, and preserving Mississippi history. Membership is open to anyone. Benefits include receiving the Journal of Mississippi History, the Mississippi History Newsletter, and discounts at the Mississippi Museum Store. For information on becoming a member, visit www.mississippihistory.org.